Capitals trade Dowd ahead of deadline, look to rally for playoff push

The Capitals found themselves in no-man’s land as they shipped veteran forward Nic Dowd to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, one of the final moves ahead of Friday afternoon’s NHL trade deadline.

Washington received a 2029 second-round pick, a third-rounder in 2027 and goaltending prospect Jesper Vikman in the exchange. Vikman, a fifth-round selection in the 2020 draft, has posted an 8-7-3 record with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights this season.

Dowd, 35, spent seven seasons with the Capitals. He recorded 79 goals and 87 assists in Washington, including four goals and a dozen assists this year.

“He’s meant a lot to this team. He’s meant a lot to this community. A lot of the work and the things that he’s done have gone unnoticed,” Capitals coach Spencery Carbery said. “He’ll be missed.”

Washington entered Thursday’s practice — which shifted from mandatory to optional at the last minute — four points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Dowd’s departure shocked the players in the locker room.

“I don’t think anyone in this organization feels too good about it,” Brandon Duhaime, Dowd’s linemate, said after Wednesday’s practice.

“He was one of the first guys that texted me and one of the first guys who greeted me when I got here,” said center Pierre-Luc Dubois. “He’s had a tremendous impact on this team, the dressing room, the staff and the community. It’s never easy to lose a guy like that.”

But Capitals general manager Chris Patrick had a decision to make. Would he try to add contributors at the trade deadline for a postseason push, even though this year’s squad was unlikely to make a run? Or would the franchise strip the roster for parts and load up on prospects for the future?

Thursday’s trade was a move toward the latter. The Capitals are fighting an uphill battle to get into the playoffs. They only trail Boston by four points, but Washington has played three more games.

“Anytime you’re in the position that we’re in — kind of on the fence of the playoffs — there’s always a risk of guys moving out. That’s part of the business,” Duhaime said. “We put ourselves into that situation. It’s unfortunate.”

Dowd’s departure forced the Capitals to face a series of uncomfortable questions. What if they hadn’t lost Tuesday’s game against the Utah Mammoth? What if they had avoided more disastrous losing skids earlier in the season? What if they could’ve turned some of their seven overtime losses into wins?

“My chance in the slot against Utah: what if I score it?” forward Hendrix LaPierre said. “Maybe not. Maybe the decision was already done. But when you lose a friend like that, it makes you rethink a couple of things.”

The idea — that Dowd could’ve stayed with the team if they’d played slightly better — caused Carbery to reach for his chest.

“That tugged a little bit. I haven’t gone there. But from knowing Chris and talking to him every day, they have looked at all different scenarios,” the coach said. “It just sucks. It’s a tough day. But we will wake up tomorrow. We’re pros.”

The elephant in Washington’s locker room is the likely departure of Alex Ovechkin. The sentiment around the fanbase has been constant: keep the roster competitive as long as the Capitals’ captain is still in Washington.

But Ovechkin, 40, is on an expiring deal. He hasn’t confirmed that this season would be his last, but the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer won’t commit to playing another year, either.

On paper, the Dowd trade looks like the Capitals are waving the white flag on what could be Ovechkin’s final season.

The locker room refuses to share that perspective. Many players on the roster remember when the team — in a similar spot on the outside of the playoff bubble — traded away Evgeny Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha and Joel Edmundson in 2024.

Washington still scraped into the playoffs at the end of that campaign.

“We have a lot of belief in the guys that are in this room right now,” LaPierre said. “We’re going to try to make a push. We still believe.”

His teammates echoed similar statements, which boosted the spirits of their heartbroken coach.

“It speaks to the character in our culture. Our guys are not going to throw in the towel by any stretch,” Carbery said.”Every time the puck drops, I know what our guys are going to put into it.”

The Capitals face the Bruins in Boston at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.