As the Capitals enter their 51st season as a franchise, their roster remains largely unchanged from the previous season. Players like Dylan Strome, Nic Dowd, and, of course, Alex Ovechkin, have become mainstays in Washington. Fresh faces, such as Ryan Leonard and Declan Chisholm, will take the ice in 2025-26. After last season’s standout performance by the team, fans are eager to see how things continue to play out for the Capitals. It is sure to be a monumental season, and many players on the roster will hit milestone achievements in 2025-26.
Milestone Games
Quite a large number of players will be playing a milestone game this season, as long as they can stay healthy and play a large majority of the 82 regular-season games. Both Brandon Duhaime and Ethen Frank, both forwards, will play their 50th career game. Rookie Ryan Leonard will have a chance to show his skills in his first true rookie season, as he played just a few regular-season games with the team last year. Justin Sourdif and Declan Chisholm will play their first games in a Capitals uniform–it will be Chisholm’s 100th career game– and Sonny Milano is expected to return from injury and play once again.
Should Dylan McIlrath be called up to the NHL enough, he will also play his 100th career game, as he is just eight away from the century mark. Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, and Martin Fehervary will play their 300th career games this season, whereas Nic Dowd, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Strome, and Jakob Chychrun could all potentially reach game 600. Matt Roy could reach 500 games played, and both Anthony Beauvillier and Trevor van Riemsdyk are likely to reach game 700.
Long-time Washington Capitals Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin will also be reaching big milestones this season. Tom Wilson is likely to play game 900, all in a Capitals uniform. Captain Ovechkin will reach a remarkable 1500 games soon, putting him in the top-30 for all-time games played.
Milestone Points
With many on the Capitals roster having at least 100 games under their belts, we are likely to see some milestone goals, assists, and points be achieved in the upcoming season. So long as these players perform as well as (or better) than they did last season, these markers are not out of reach. Ethen Frank will need to prove himself when he gets NHL time, and could easily find himself in the double-digits for goals, assists, and points this season. Two defenseman, Martin Fehervary and Matt Roy, could reach 30 career goals, as they are just eight and three goals away, respectively. Fehervary is also 25 points short of 100, so, having totaled 25 points last season, the goal is not out of reach.
A handful of players are likely to see big point and assist markers this upcoming season, including Dylan Strome, who could hit point 400 early in the season, as he is just 16 away. Should defenseman John Carlson have another solid season, he will reach assist number 600, being just 31 assists from the marker. His fellow defenseman, Rasmus Sandin, is four assists from 100. Other century mark milestones to come include Aliaksei Protas’ 100th assist (he’s 24 away), Jakob Chycrun’s 100th goal (4 shy), and Nic Dowd’s 100th goal (16 short) and 100th assist (8 away). Dowd could have a milestone-heavy season, as he is also just 24 points from his 200th.
Team captain and NHL superstar Alex Ovechkin will continue to set the all-time NHL goal record every time he finds the back of the net. However, in just three scores, he will have reached career goal 900– a standout feat. Ovechkin’s linemate, Aliaksei Protas, is just seven goals from his career 50th. Tom Wilson could see an exciting season, as he is 21 goals away from 200 and just five points from his 400th.
Goalie Milestones
Goalie milestones are not as easy to find as those of skaters. However, pending the way goalie starts are split this season, both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren could see their 100th career wins. Logan Thompson was last season’s primary starter, and it is anticipated that this season will be similar. He is just 13 wins short of 100, and with 31 wins last season, that accomplishment will come easily to him. Charlie Lindgren, on the other hand, is more of a question mark. The goaltender is 27 wins away from number 100. He played 39 games last season; so, assuming a similar path this year, he would need to win the majority of his games played to reach 100 wins.
Whatever milestones are achieved this season, the Capitals have a talented roster and an incredible amount of potential. Fans are eager to see them back on the ice and will enjoy what the team has to offer.
ITR 49: For Real This Time – Inside The Rink
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