Capitals Breakdown Day: Top Takeaways, Tidbits & Quotes
The Washington Capitals held their final media availability of the season on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals got together one last time at MedStar Capitals Iceplex before heading out for the summer, as players came to clean out their lockers, say goodbye and undergo physicals, while also taking the time to chat with the media.
Here are some of the top tidbits and takeaways from the morning:
Alex Ovechkin Will Return For 2025-26
Despite questions regarding his future, captain Alex Ovechkin fully intends to return for 2025-26 for the final year of his contract. He isn’t sure what comes after that, but is looking forward to continuing to show what he can do while helping his team get another shot at a championship.
“I’m going to try to do my best to be able to do well next year… I just want to come back for next year and see the team who is capable to win the Stanley Cup,” Ovechkin said.
The 39-year-old joked that the main objective for next season after breaking the all-time goals record this year will be to simply make the roster in the first place.
Ovechkin will return to Russia and spend some time getting rest and spending time with his family before working with trainer Pavel Burlachenko to prepare for the upcoming season.
Charlie Lindgren’s Journey From Game 5 To Fatherhood
Charlie Lindgren welcomed a healthy baby girl, Molly Mae Lindgren, on Friday at 12:56 p.m. Mom and baby are doing great.
His wife, Mikkayla, went into labor just before Game 5, which Lindgren was backing up. Following the loss, the netminder ran to the parking garage, drove home, packed a go bag and changed into something more comfortable before joining his wife at the hospital.
“It was chaotic, stressful, but it was beautiful, too. It was quite the experience, I won’t forget it,” Lindgren said, adding, “Just the fact we found out she was pregnant on the day we got here this year, and then the baby comes the day after the season. Throughout the season it’s just been this journey and like I said, we couldn’t be more happy and more lucky right now.”
John Carlson Downplays Injury Concerns, Aliaksei Protas Shares More On Foot
John Carlson missed the last three games of the regular season and appeared to be working through an injury in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but said that he was “not really” dealing with anything and that he was “pretty good” health-wise.
Meanwhile, Aliaksei Protas, who missed the rest of the regular season and a handful of playoff games after suffering a skate cut to the foot, said that it could be better and that it wasn’t a factor in his postseason performance. Will see if he needs any additional surgery or medical attention regarding his foot as he undergoes physicals to close out the campaign.
Anthony Beauvillier Hopes To Sign Extension
Anthony Beauvillier, who was acquired at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, is set to hit free agency but hopes that he can re-sign with the Capitals.
“This is a place that I would love to play here for a long time,” Beauvillier said. “The group here is special and the city is awesome.”
There haven’t been any conversations between him and his camp yet, though the season just ended, so that’s not surprising."
Additional Tidbits
Coming off his impressive breakout campaign, Connor McMichael vocalized his desire to play at center going forward.
Pierre-Luc Dubois said that he felt at home with the Capitals right away, and just having a team that let him be himself and didn’t try to force him into specific roles or expectations helped him reach new heights.
Rasmus Sandin said this was the most fun he’s had in his entire NHL career.
The prank war continued on breakdown day, with Brandon Duhaime’s antics being cited by several players in their scrums.