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Washington Capitals: Brendan Leipsic’s road to D.C.

By Michael Marzzacco

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Brendan Leipsic #14 of the Los Angeles Kings skates with the puck ahead of Mario Kempe #29 of the Arizona Coyotes during the third period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on March 09, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Kings 4-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 09: Brendan Leipsic #14 of the Los Angeles Kings skates with the puck ahead of Mario Kempe #29 of the Arizona Coyotes during the third period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on March 09, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Kings 4-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals not only upgraded their fourth line with Garnet Hathaway but added left winger Brendan Leipsic.

There’s no telling what will happen or how the rest of free agency will pan out with the Washington Capitals. The team may not have had enough cap space for a Chandler Stephenson extension. But they may have found their guy for the left wing with Brendan Leipsic.

Jakub Vrana or Christian Djoos are still players General Manager Brian MacLellan wants back but that won’t be easy either with just a $4,285,706 amount in projected cap space via CapFriendly.

The Capitals signed Leipsic to a one-year, $700.000 deal on Monday. Leipsic heads to his fifth team, having spent time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, and Los Angeles Kings.

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Leipsic was drafted in the third round at 89th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2012. After two more seasons with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, Leipsic had a strong first season in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals. He recorded 35 points (7 goals, 28 assists) in 47 games in the 2014-15 season and was named an AHL All-Star.

Despite this, he was traded in February to the Maple Leafs and spent the remainder of that season and the next with their AHL club Toronto Marlies. He finished that season strong with 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 27 games.

The next season, Leipsic had his best season with the Marlies with 54 points (20 goals, 34 assists) and played in six games with the Maple Leafs. He scored his first NHL goal in his debut on Feb. 13, 2016 in Vancouver.

Leipsic spent one more full season with the Marlies, recording 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 49 games before being selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft.

Leipsic played in 44 games for the NHL’s newest franchise, scoring two goals and adding 11 assists before he was traded to the Canucks at the deadline. He played 31 total games with Vancouver for the remainder of 2017-18 season and the beginning of the 2018-19 season. In that stretch, Leipsic notched five goals and nine assists (14 points).

Leipsic’s time in Vancouver came to an end after the team placed him on waivers in December and was claimed by the Kings. Leipsic continued to thrive in 2018-19 in his new city, and set a career-high in total goals and points with seven and 23, respectively. While in Los Angeles, Leipsic scored five goals and added 13 assists (18 points).

Per the Capitals press release, Leipsic ranked fourth on the Kings in goals-for percentage at 51.28% at even strength among forwards with at least 40 games played. He also ranked second on the Kings with 1.73 points per 60 minutes of play and was first in assists per 60-min with 1.30 at even strength.

Breaking down the third line. dark. Next

The Capitals will be getting a new fourth liner that can go next to Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway with Travis Boyd in rotation. Welcome to Washington, Brendan Leipsic.

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