Capitals retain goaltending duo for new season

The Washington Capitals appear ready to begin the 2026-27 season with the same goaltending tandem from the past two campaigns: Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, despite trade speculation surrounding Lindgren, the Capitals are set to keep the veteran backstop.

Lindgren, 32, made 21 appearances for the Capitals last year, serving as Thompson's backup. Friedman noted, 'I think that they realize they have a good team there with Lindgren and Thompson, and I think they’re keeping him.' After an impressive 2023-24 season where Lindgren nearly single-handedly dragged the Capitals into the playoffs, his performance has faltered over the past two seasons.

In 60 games since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, Lindgren has a record of 29-22-6, with a 3.01 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage. MoneyPuck indicates he has allowed 6.3 more goals than expected during this stretch.

The Capitals signed Lindgren to a three-year, $9 million contract extension in March of 2025, which carries a $3 million cap hit through the 2027-28 season. With Logan Thompson emerging as one of the NHL's top goalies, there were speculations the Capitals might trade Lindgren to create salary cap space and allow younger goalie Clay Stevenson to take a larger role.

Stevenson, 27, performed well in four games for the Capitals last season, going 3-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. The Capitals also did not tender a qualifying offer to goalie Garin Bjorklund, making him an unrestricted free agent.

This leaves the Capitals with Thompson, Lindgren, Stevenson, and Mitch Gibson as goalies with NHL contracts for the upcoming season. Recent goalie draft picks Antoine Keller and Nicholas Kempf will be attending development camp, with Kempf expected to return to Notre Dame for the 2026-27 campaign and Keller having played four games for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays before returning to Europe last season.

Overall, the Capitals seem to be opting for continuity in their goaltending situation as they head into the new season.