The Washington Capitals were arguably the most active team this offseason, bringing in both Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch to bolster their forward group, as well as Vincent Desharnais to strengthen their blue line.
They also recently announced that Alex Ovechkin would be returning for the 2026-27 season on a one-year deal, which gives the Capitals the strongest forward group in the NHL heading into the new campaign.
Ovechkin mentioned that it didn't take long for negotiations to get done once he decided he was returning, stating, "I think it took us maybe like 10 minutes." He continued, "I called Chris (Patrick) and said, ‘OK, let’s make a deal,’ and he said what was going to happen with the signing bonus and I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
It seems that Ovechkin believes the same thing. Recently, Ovechkin called the Capitals "one of the best teams" following their additions this summer, stating, "I’m very excited for the team, and for the fans as well, because on paper, you can see our team is one of the best teams. But now we have to work for the Stanley Cup, for the playoffs first and then the Stanley Cup."
Ovechkin continued, "Everybody was asking me, ‘Are you coming back? Are you coming back?’ Then, that situation when you can see we have that type of team that we have, to win one more time, the Stanley Cup, it’s one of the big reasons (I’m returning)."
The Capitals enter the 2026-27 season trying to win their first Stanley Cup since 2018, and seem to have the best lineup they've assembled in a long time. While it will be tough to make their way out of the Eastern Conference with some strong teams also trying to beat them out, they have a really good shot of making a deep run next season.
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