The Capitals are moving early on two of their young restricted free agents, and the message from Washington is pretty clear: don’t let this get to the offer-sheet stage.
General manager Chris Patrick said Tuesday that the team has already begun contract discussions with Ryan Leonard and Justin Sourdif, a sign that Washington wants to lock down both players before they become tempting targets for other clubs.
Leonard is the bigger name here. The 21-year-old winger just finished a strong rookie season, putting up 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games after arriving from Boston College late in the 2024-25 season. The eighth-overall pick in the 2023 draft burned the first year of his entry-level deal, and Patrick made it plain that the Capitals would rather get a deal done now than wait around.
“Yeah, we’ve had some discussions this summer,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said Tuesday, per NHL.com. “I’m hopeful we can continue to have some discussions here.
That’s not something that I want to let play out. I’d rather get something done if we can, if it makes sense for both sides because I do think what happened this past summer is definitely potentially a harbinger of things to come in the league.
“So, I’d like to have something done sooner than later with him if it works for their side.”
Patrick’s comments were a clear nod to the two offer sheets that hit the league this summer. The biggest was the five-year, $90 million deal the Philadelphia Flyers signed Leo Carlsson to in July, only for the Anaheim Ducks to match it. The New Jersey Devils also gave Barrett Hayton a one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet, and the Utah Mammoth matched that one too.
Sourdif is also on the Capitals’ radar. Patrick said Washington has already opened conversations with the 24-year-old forward in an effort to stay ahead of any outside interest.
“I think my M.O. going forward really is if you have guys that are going to be restricted free agents that could potentially get offer sheets, you want to get in front of it as much as you can, as much as you feel comfortable doing that,” Patrick said. “So, with Justin, we’ve had some conversations as well and we’ll see where it goes.
“We’ll just have to see how things play out with both those guys.”
Sourdif delivered a solid season of his own, scoring 15 goals and finishing with 35 points in 78 games after Washington acquired him from the Florida Panthers last offseason for second- and sixth-round draft picks. A native of Richmond, B.C., he had played only four NHL games with Florida before the trade after the Panthers selected him in the third round of the 2020 draft.
Both players matter to a Capitals roster that looks very different from the one that missed the playoffs this spring. Patrick has already added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner in an effort to push the team back into contention. Alex Ovechkin also re-signed for a 22nd season with the franchise last month, with both sides hoping for a storybook ending and a second Stanley Cup title together.
Ovechkin is one of just three pending unrestricted free agents on Washington’s roster. The team has $19.25 in projected cap space for the 2027-28 season with 19 players under contract, per PuckPedia.
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