Alexander Ovechkin’s retirement call was always going to be one of the biggest storylines around the Capitals, and one offseason move apparently hit him harder than most. According to Elliotte Friedman, Ovechkin was feeling down after Washington traded John Carlson, a move that made sense for the organization but clearly didn’t sit well with the captain.
That reaction makes sense given how long the two have been tied together. Carlson and Ovechkin were both central pieces of the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup run, and Friedman noted the pair are close friends.
At the same time, Ovechkin found reason to feel better about where the team was headed as the season wound down. Friedman said he really liked what he saw from Cole Hutson and Ilya Protas.
Hutson, a 20-year-old left-shot defenseman, arrived at the end of the season after his NCAA career at Boston University ended. In 74 games over two seasons there, he put up 80 points, then added 10 more in 14 NHL games.
Protas took a different path, but made just as loud a case for himself. After piling up 124 points in 61 games in the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League season, he moved on to the Hershey Bears and produced 66 points in 69 games.
He also has a familiar name around the Capitals, with older brother Aliaksei Protas already established in Washington’s forward group.
That young talent matters because the Capitals have also added more firepower. With Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner in the mix, the forward group suddenly looks dangerous. For a team that didn’t have the season it wanted in 2025-26, the pieces are there to make Ovechkin’s final chapter a serious one.
Elsewhere in the league, Jason Robertson’s future in Dallas remains unsettled, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have emerged as a team to watch. Robertson is still without a new deal, even though both sides appear to want to stay together.
The issue is money. He’s seeking more than the Stars are prepared to pay, and the belief is that he wants less than the $15.6 million salary offered by the Seattle Kraken.
That offer was turned down, but the decision seems tied to competitiveness as much as dollars. If Dallas were willing to match that level, he likely would have already signed. Instead, the Stars are holding around the $12.5 million range, and if Robertson refuses to come in there, a move could become necessary.
Josh Yohe reported that the Penguins have shown strong interest in Robertson, and that Robertson would be happy to join them. There were also talks between Dallas and Detroit after the Kraken offer was rejected, though a Dylan Larkin deal has not come together yet. A Robertson-Larkin swap has been floated as a possibility, even if Robertson might not extend there either.
Pittsburgh’s interest fits the broader direction the club is trying to take. The Penguins want to get younger and better, and Robertson would fit that push. He’s older than much of the youth wave, but he would still be a major piece and could help define what comes next.
The Penguins are also being tied to another big name. There have been reports of interest in Elias Pettersson from Vancouver, and Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal said Pittsburgh does indeed have interest.
Earlier in the week, there was a report that Vancouver was looking for Ben Kindel in a potential deal, but Dhaliwal said that wasn’t a conversation he was hearing. He also said the Penguins would never give him up for a “bad contract”.
Out in Los Angeles, the Kings are taking a different approach: patience. The organization has long been associated with star power, and that hasn’t changed in a city that loves big names. But the current roster doesn’t have that true franchise centerpiece right now.
Anze Kopitar has retired, Drew Doughty’s career is winding down, and the Kings are still searching for the next face of the franchise. Adrian Kempe remains one of the league’s more underrated wingers, Quinton Byfield is still chasing his breakout year, and Artemi Panarin was brought in to try to lead the offense.
The offseason additions have been solid, but some around the league viewed the overall haul as underwhelming. Still, Friedman said the Kings are looking ahead and keeping their options open for next summer. With a long list of stars potentially available either in free agency or through extension situations that could turn into trade possibilities, Los Angeles is positioning itself for a major swing.
That list could include 2027 free agents Nikita Kucherov, Quinn Hughes, and Cale Makar, while extension-eligible names include Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Zach Werenski, and Andrew Vasilevskiy. The Kings are apparently willing to wait for the right moment, and in true Los Angeles fashion, they’re hoping that moment comes with a blockbuster.
In Other News...
Penguins Fans May Not Like Dubas Next Step Forward
Kyle Dubas has spent much of this stretch trying to build the Penguins from within, leaning on internal development and a steady stream of low-cost moves rather than swinging for a headline-grabbing trade. That approach has already produced some encouraging signs, with players such as Kaedan Korczak and Declan Carlile fitting the kind of value hunting Pittsburgh has leaned into, while the organization also continues to point to a stronger recent draft haul as part of the long-term plan.
For fans hoping the next step is a return to the kind of blockbuster chase that once defined Dubas summer, this is where the patience test begins. The Penguins are still getting linked to bigger names in rumor season, but the current reality is a team that is not in Stanley Cup favorite territory and appears more likely to keep building carefully than to chase a splash for its own sake. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Verbeek May Be Eyeing A Painful Ducks Cap Move
The summer market for restricted free agents has already taken a few twists, and agent Allan Walsh noted that other Group 2 RFAs have seen offer sheets this offseason, with some eventually settling back in with their original clubs. For the Penguins, the bigger ripple effect may come from Anaheim, where Jaff Marek and David Pagnotta have floated the idea that the Ducks could look to move money off the books and use Pittsburgh as a landing spot to help create cap room.
The names being discussed around that possibility include Frank Vatrano, Alex Killorn and Chris Kreider, with the concept stretching beyond a simple player swap. Anaheim could also need to sweeten the return with draft-pick incentives, including a second-rounder, if it wants a deal to move. For now, though, it remains only chatter around a potential cap maneuver, not a confirmed transaction, which leaves the Penguins watching a situation that could still develop quickly if the Ducks decide they need to act. [Read more 🡒]