The Colorado Eagles’ offseason has taken another hit, and this one lands hard on the blue line.
Jacob MacDonald has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals, closing the book on his second stint in Colorado and adding another major departure to an Eagles roster that has been thinned out fast this summer. The move was announced by Capitals senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick.
For Eagles fans, the bigger picture is getting harder to miss. What started as normal offseason churn now looks a lot more like a teardown of the group that helped fuel a deep Calder Cup Playoff run a year ago.
The losses have stacked up in a hurry. Head coach Mark Letestu, who led Colorado to the Western Conference Final in his first season behind the bench, left for the Vegas Golden Knights, where he’ll serve as an assistant coach.
Jack Ahcan, one of the team’s steadiest puck-moving defensemen, signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Nashville Predators. Veteran forward T.J.
Tynan, another familiar name through multiple stretches with the organization, also moved on and signed with the Springfield Thunderbirds.
MacDonald’s departure feels different because of what he brought when he was on the ice.
Even in an injury-shortened 2025-26 season, the 33-year-old still produced 12 points - four goals and eight assists - in just 17 regular-season games. He added two more points in 17 playoff appearances as Colorado reached the Western Conference Final again.
That kind of output is only part of the story. MacDonald has built one of the most impressive offensive résumés an AHL defenseman has ever put together. He ranks seventh all-time among league defensemen with 103 goals, a rare number for a player on the back end.
His peak came in 2024-25, when he put together a season that bordered on historic. MacDonald won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top defenseman after scoring a league-record 31 goals from the blue line and finishing with 55 points, tops among AHL defensemen.
He also scored 13 power-play goals, the most by any AHL defenseman, and tied for the league lead with five game-winning goals from the blue line. That year earned him First Team AHL All-Star honors and a spot in the All-Star Classic.
Over the course of his AHL career, MacDonald has played 357 games and posted 260 points - 103 goals and 157 assists - with Springfield, Albany, Binghamton, San Jose, and Colorado. A huge chunk of that damage came on special teams, where he’s piled up 134 points on the power play.
His track record has followed him everywhere. Back in 2017-18 with Binghamton, he led all AHL defensemen with 55 points and picked up First Team All-Star honors. In Colorado during the shortened 2019-20 season, he again led all defensemen in goals with 16 and was named a Second Team All-Star.
MacDonald has also logged NHL time, appearing in 135 games with the Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and San Jose Sharks and recording 27 points - 10 goals and 17 assists. In the AHL postseason, he has 35 Calder Cup Playoff games and 11 points.
His route to this point was never straightforward. Undrafted out of Cornell, he started his pro career in the ECHL with the Elmira Jackals and worked his way into a long run as one of the league’s most reliable scoring defensemen.
Now he’s headed to the Capitals organization, and Colorado is left trying to rebuild a blue line that has already lost a familiar face, a proven producer, and another piece of a core that looked so strong not long ago.
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