The Washington Capitals made a couple of roster moves since the hiring of Chris Patrick. They loaned Ludwig Persson to Jukruit of the Finnish Liiga yesterday and this morning signed Leon Muggli. First let's break down Ludwig Persson.
Ludwig Persson
Persson was selected with the 85th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 20 year old will be eligible to return to North America at the conclusion of the Finland 1 season at Jukurit. He's listed as six foot one and 193 pounds and had a team leading 55 points in 48 games while on loan to IPK of Mestis of Finland -2 last season. That came out to 10 goals and 45 assists. This is a huge step for his development and if the injury bug bites the Caps, they might have him ready as a more athletic Anthony Mantha.
Leon Muggli
Leon Muggli signed a three year entry level deal on Wednesday morning and his contract will carry an average annual value of $940,833. The team expectes to loan Muggli to EV Zug of the Swiss National League (NL) for this upcoming season. The Caps drafted the 18 year old with the 52nd overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. He turned 18 on July 9 and recorded 12 points in 42 games with EV Zug during this past season with three goals and nine assists.
Muggli led all U18 skaters in the National League in scoring and his 12 points were the most ever by a defenseman age 17 or younger in league history. A native out of Cham, Switzerland, he also appeared in four games with Zugs U20 team recording two assists in four games.
Another Chris Patrick quote, via Sammi Silber of The Hockey News:
""We've made a statement already with what we've done this offseason. If you look at the Conference Finals this year, you see some teams that were able to transition from an older core to a younger team that's competitive. I think that's definitely on the table for us.""Chris Patrick
The Caps traded Darcy Kuemper for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Hendrix Lapierre evolved into a back to back Calder Cup champion. Just have to trust the process.