The Washington Capitals have a surplus of effective forwards after the additions of Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou and Boone Jenner over the summer — and that could be making a former first-round pick expendable.

As Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reported during intermission of the Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens on Sunday evening, the Caps have granted Ivan Miroshnichenko and his agent permission to seek a trade.

“He just can't get in the lineup,” Friedman said. “He's been given permission to talk to other teams by the Capitals. What the Capitals have said here is they have to get a legitimate return. They're not going to put him on waivers, they know he won't clear, they will trade him, but the return has to be legitimate.

“They won't just do it for the sake of doing it.”

Miroshnichenko has appeared in just three games in 2026-27, scoring a goal in a 5-4 victory against the Canadiens on Oct. 14 and averaging a shade over 11 minutes of ice time.

But he's not a part of the core group, and it looks as though the 20th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft is on the outside looking in.

Washington boasts one of the deeper forward cores in the National Hockey League, and besides their offseason additions, they're getting contributions from up and down the lineup.

Proving that point is Ryan Leonard, who is playing on the fourth line but is third on the team in scoring with eight points in 10 games.

Miroshnichenko has played in 55 NHL games in his career over four seasons, chipping in just 14 points in that span and never accumulating more than six in a single campaign.

Article Continues Below

But he's been excellent in the American Hockey League, amassing 42 points in 53 games with the Hershey Bears in 2024-25 and adding another 34 points in 41 games last year. He also won a Calder Cup with the team in 2024.

The 22-year-old was productive in junior as well, being promoted to the KHL — Russia's top league — in 2022-23 and adding four points in 23 games at age 18.

Still, things have not worked out for the Ussuriysk native in the NHL, and it appears both player and club are agreed that a change of scenery is necessary for the young forward.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound winger could carve out a larger role elsewhere, and it'll be interesting to see what potential return Capitals general manager Chris Patrick will be able to recoup for Miroshnichenko.