NHL rumors: Capitals positioned to both buy and sell, says Pierre LeBrun

The Washington Capitals were the top team in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25. This year, they are currently four points outside of a playoff spot. The Caps need to decide on their direction as the NHL Trade Deadline approaches on Friday afternoon. The Capitals have already traded Nic Dowd to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Now, Washington looks to toe the line between buying and selling as the deadline approaches, according to hockey insider Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

“I wouldn’t label the Capitals as pure sellers despite the Dowd trade to Vegas. My understanding is that Washington is trying to do a bit of both, buying and selling, over the next 27 hours or so. Easier said than done but let’s see where the Caps end up tomorrow,” LeBrun posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Capitals are in an interesting situation. They have nearly the same roster that was the best team in the East last year, but are currently on the outside looking in. They could go all-in and likely make the postseason, but it would be with some aging players. One of the aging players was Dowd, who is 35 years old. Meanwhile, John Carlson is 36 years old, and Trevor van Riemsdyk is 34. Finally, this could be the last season of the 40-year old Alex Ovechkin.

At the same time, the Caps have a young core to build around for the future. Tom Wilson is the old man of the next group at 31. Meanwhile, Ryan Leonard, Justin Sourdif, Ilya Protas, and Cole Hutson are the future. Sourdif is the oldest of the group at 23-years old.

As the Capitals look to improve now, hoping to send Ovi out on top without mortgaging the future, and also preparing for life without their generational star, more moves will be coming.

For all of the NHL Trade Deadline reporting ahead of the Friday 3 p.m. ET deadline, stick with ClutchPoints as stories break and develop.

The post NHL rumors: Capitals positioned to both buy and sell, says Pierre LeBrun appeared first on ClutchPoints.