The Washington Capitals released their 2024-25 opening night roster on Tuesday morning after the deadline to submit their 23-man team was due Monday at 5 PM ET.
After Ethan Bear cleared waivers last week, Washington will carry two extra defensemen in Alexander Alexeyev and Dylan McIlrath.
The team also kept left-wing Sonny Milano and center Hendrix Lapierre on the NHL squad after re-assigning left-wings Ivan Miroshnichenko to the AHL’s Hershey Bears and Andrew Cristall to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets on Monday.
The Capitals announced on Tuesday morning that they signed left-wing Jakub Vrana to a one-year, $775,000 contract.
You can view the roster the team submitted below:
Graphic: @Capitals
Center Nicklas Backstrom may be listed on the roster but he is expected to spend the season on long-term injured reserve due to a hip injury. Right-wing T.J. Oshie may not play either due to a nagging back injury. If neither suit up, the Capitals will be free of Backstrom’s $9.2 million and Oshie’s $5.75 million salary cap charges for the season. Even with Backstrom off of the salary cap, Washington is still currently $1.27 million over it, which could be telling for Oshie’s status. Oshie has not participated in any of the team’s informal skates.
Washington will open the regular season against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market).
By Harrison Brown
