NHL Preview 2024-25 131 SportsForecaster.com

Forwards

Nic Dowd [C]

  • Age: 34
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 190
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 64 12 10 22 -2 47 0.34
Career 604 85 96 181 25 323 0.30
Forecast 66 9 9 18 - - 0.27

The 34-year-old Dowd hit double figures in goals for the fourth straight season in '23-24, a big accomplishment for a center whose specialty is shutting down opponents and killing penalties. His biggest issue last campaign was a lack of discipline (19 minor penalties, second on Washington). They need the defensive forward on the ice.

Pierre-Luc Dubois [C]

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 220
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
LA 82 16 24 40 -9 70 0.49
Career 604 165 243 408 31 531 0.68
Forecast 80 18 26 44 - - 0.55

Dubois' first season with the Kings was underwhelming, to say the least. His points total dropped by more than a third from 2022-23 (with Winnipeg), he scored just nine goals at even strength and saw his average ice time drop by 2:45. Dubois even spent portions of '23-24 as the fourth-line center. He needs to be significantly better.

Brandon Duhaime [LW]

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 210
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Min/Col 80 5 8 13 -5 70 0.16
Career 323 33 34 67 4 359 0.21
Forecast 78 4 7 11 - - 0.14

Hitting, not scoring, is Duhaime's focal point: he averaged over 15 hits per 60 minutes of ice time as a member of the Avalanche last campaign. He did so while averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time per game. The 27-year-old Florida native brings size, speed and snarl to his bottom-six winger role and stands up for his teammates.

Hendrix Lapierre [C/LW]

  • Age: 22
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 180
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 51 8 14 22 -1 4 0.43
Career 113 9 27 36 1 18 0.32
Forecast 75 13 21 34 - - 0.45

Washington's 2020 first-rounder bounced between the AHL and NHL in 2023-24 before finally sticking with the Capitals late in the campaign. He was hot in late February but cooled down quickly and struggled to generate offense down the stretch, although he did show he could elevate his game in the postseason. Lapierre displays promise.

Andrew Mangiapane [RW/LW]

  • Age: 28
  • Ht: 5-10
  • Wt: 183
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Cgy 75 14 26 40 7 47 0.53
Career 527 127 126 253 37 209 0.48
Forecast 82 19 25 44 - - 0.54

In '24-25, Mangiapane will look to regain the scoring touch that produced 35 goals in '21-22. He has potted only a combined 31 goals since then, and his defensive play has also dropped off. Part of the issue is that he shot less, finishing with 60 fewer shots on goal last season than in '22-23. Mangiapane needs to turn things around.

Connor McMichael [LW/C]

  • Age: 23
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 180
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 80 18 15 33 -20 34 0.41
Career 267 57 66 123 1 108 0.46
Forecast 82 22 20 42 - - 0.51

The 2019 first-rounder prospered offensively after the arrival of Spencer Carbery as head coach, finishing fourth on the team in even-strength goals (15) in 2023-24. He registered 11 of his 18 tallies after the all-star break. However, he was one of the worst in the league at winning face-offs (42.4%) and had an ugly minus-20 rating.

Sonny Milano [LW/RW]

  • Age: 28
  • Ht: 6-0
  • Wt: 194
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 49 15 8 23 4 10 0.47
Career 331 66 77 143 -28 78 0.43
Forecast 59 12 14 26 - - 0.44

The slick, skilled winger scored on 30 percent of his shots on goal (15 of 50) in 2023-24, despite missing a lot of time with an upper-body injury and averaging just 12:30 of ice time. Milano only produced eight assists in 49 games but sported a plus-4 rating. He is useful at even strength but usually needs to play sheltered minutes.

Alex Ovechkin [RW/LW]

  • Age: 39
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 238
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 79 31 34 65 -22 20 0.82
Career 1521 911 741 1652 71 835 1.09
Forecast 81 26 30 56 - - 0.69

At 39, the greatest goal scorer of the 21st century is starting to show his age, although a second-half surge carried him past the 30-goal mark for an NHL-record 18th time in '23-24. Ovechkin looked old and slow during much of the first half, and he was also a complete non-factor in the first-round playoff series against the Rangers.

Aliaksei Protas [LW/RW]

  • Age: 23
  • Ht: 6-6
  • Wt: 247
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 78 6 23 29 -3 8 0.37
Career 275 53 86 139 56 44 0.51
Forecast 80 9 26 35 - - 0.44

The 6'6'' forward from Belarus will try to build upon a 2023-24 campaign that saw him take big strides offensively. He earned more ice time and nearly doubled his points total from '22-23. Protas is not physical (despite his gargantuan size) and lacks some quickness when skating. However, he is a rather responsible defensive forward.

Taylor Raddysh [RW]

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 200
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Chi 73 5 9 14 -19 22 0.19
Career 335 48 59 107 -49 68 0.32
Forecast 74 8 12 20 - - 0.27

The Ontario native is aiming to revive his career after plummeting from 20 goals in 2022-23 to just five last campaign–and none in his last 44 games. His power-play production dropped from seven goals and 13 points to one and three. A reason for his struggles? His shooting percentage dropped (from 15.5% in 2022-23 to 4.2% in '23-24).

Dylan Strome [C]

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 196
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 82 27 40 67 -13 22 0.82
Career 546 152 255 407 -29 182 0.75
Forecast 82 24 39 63 - - 0.77

Strome's offensive chops have reached new levels in his two seasons with the Caps. He led the squad in points last season and had his third straight 20-goal season. The third overall pick in 2015 takes advantage of his chances and makes things happen, though he is neither physical nor especially fast. He is just a good hockey player.

Tom Wilson [RW]

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 225
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 74 18 17 35 -19 133 0.47
Career 865 196 231 427 51 1586 0.49
Forecast 76 21 23 44 - - 0.58

The veteran forward's discipline had improved in recent years–until last season. Wilson finished third in the NHL with 133 penalty minutes. He was healthy again, after making it all the way back from ACL surgery in 2022, but was only occasionally a factor on offense (74 GP, 18-17-35). The Capitals need Wilson to produce more offense.

Defensemen

Goaltenders

John Carlson

  • Age: 34
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 220
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 82 10 42 52 -7 40 0.63
Career 1114 162 586 748 113 370 0.67
Forecast 80 10 39 49 - - 0.61

No NHL player saw more ice time than Carlson last season (25:54 TOI/GP in 82 games). He tied for 16th among NHL defensemen in points and played the hardest minutes on the Capitals–despite seeing a revolving door of defense partners. Though he notched a team-high 194 blocks in 2023-24, his defense is not nearly as good as his offense.

Jakob Chychrun

  • Age: 26
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 216
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Ott 82 14 27 41 -30 60 0.50
Career 571 107 181 288 -28 391 0.50
Forecast 69 9 18 27 - - 0.39

The 26-year-old blueliner matched his career high in points in 2023-24 but struggled badly in his own zone: Ottawa was outscored by 28 goals at even strength with Chychrun on the ice–tied for the highest figure on the squad. He is hyper-aggressive, so he has to learn when he can pinch, when he can join the rush and when to stay back.

Martin Fehervary

  • Age: 25
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 203
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 66 3 13 16 -7 24 0.24
Career 329 24 61 85 23 125 0.26
Forecast 78 4 15 19 - - 0.24

Do not expect much offense from the Slovakian D-man: he has produced campaigns of 17, 16 and 16 points since 2021-22. He scored just three goals last season, while struggling to get his shots on target. Fehervary skates well and is underrated as both a defender and physical player (109 blocked shots, 188 hits in 66 games in 2023-24).

Matt Roy

  • Age: 29
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 212
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
LA 81 5 20 25 21 42 0.31
Career 468 28 112 140 107 147 0.30
Forecast 82 3 16 19 - - 0.23

The 29-year-old does not get a lot of attention. But as a right-shooting shutdown defenseman who can play tough minutes and chip in a little offense, Roy has a lot of value. He placed second on LA in average ice time (20:54 TOI/GP) and hits (152) in 2023-24, but first in average penalty-killing time (2:51 SH TOI/GP) and blocks (197).

Rasmus Sandin

  • Age: 24
  • Ht: 5-11
  • Wt: 189
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 68 3 20 23 -13 24 0.34
Career 334 22 101 123 22 104 0.37
Forecast 75 4 22 26 - - 0.35

The Swedish blueliner averaged a career-high 21:07 of ice time in his first full season with the Caps, despite seeing relatively few special-teams minutes in '23-24. Sandin is a fine puck mover and skater, but his play in his own zone is still a work in progress, and he does not put up enough points to cover his defensive weaknesses.

Trevor van Riemsdyk

  • Age: 33
  • Ht: 6-3
  • Wt: 197
'23-24 GP G A P +/- PIM P/GP
Wsh 70 0 14 14 -7 18 0.20
Career 706 26 126 152 31 221 0.22
Forecast 76 1 11 12 - - 0.16

The younger brother of longtime NHLer James van Riemsdyk is a stay-at-home defenseman who makes up for his lack of offense with decent ability in his own end. He is not physical but keeps things simple and does block shots (103 in 2023-24). He does a very good job of keeping opponents from getting lots of high-danger scoring chances.

Charlie Lindgren

  • Age: 30
  • Ht: 6-2
  • Wt: 190
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
Wsh 50 25 16 7 6 2.67 0.911
Career 159 78 56 16 10 2.78 0.905
Forecast 40 18 - - 1 2.79 0.904

The 30-year-old bounced between the AHL and NHL for several years before arriving in DC in 2022-23–and grabbing the starting job last campaign. He was the main reason why the Caps made the playoffs, going 4-1-0 with seven goals allowed in his last five games. The right-catching butterfly netminder has above-average lateral quickness.

Logan Thompson

  • Age: 27
  • Ht: 6-4
  • Wt: 201
'23-24 GP W L OT SO GAA Sv%
VGK 46 25 14 5 1 2.7 0.908
Career 167 100 44 19 7 2.54 0.913
Forecast 44 21 - - 2 2.67 0.91

The 27-year-old Thompson started more than half of his team's games for the first time in 2023-24 and notched a career high in wins. He gives shooters a different look since he is among the few NHL goalkeepers who catch right-handed. Last spring, he started the first four postseason games for Vegas before being replaced by Adin Hill.