| Pos | Role | Name |
| C | 1 | Nicklas Backstrom  ActiveNicklas Backstrom will play for Team Sweden in the World Championship. The Washington Capitals were eliminated in Game 7 of the second round on Saturday. He missed a substantial part of the season due to a concussion, so extending his season a little longer might be beneficial. May 14 |
| 2 | Marcus Johansson ActiveMarcus Johansson netted his first goal of the playoffs on Thursday. Johansson had 14 goals and 32 assists in 80 regular season games. He also has 12 hits and three blocked shots in four postseason contests. Apr 20 |
| 3 | Mathieu Perreault ActiveMathieu Perreault was moved up to center Washington's second line at practice due to the absence of Nicklas Backstrom, who will serve a one-game suspension in Game 4 on Thursday night. He logged a mere 4:23 of ice time in Game 3's 4-3 loss to Boston on Monday night and had been playing on the club's fourth line. Perreault has no points and no shots in three games in the Capitals' opening round series, but playing alongside Jason Chimera and Alexander Semin in a larger role should help him become more of an offensive threat. Apr 18 |
| 4 | Jay Beagle  SidelinedJay Beagle underwent surgery the day after Game 6 to put pins in his ankle, which made him unavailable for Washington at the end of their season. He sustained a broken foot in Game 5 on a blocked shot and expects to be healed in time for training camp. Beagle will be a restricted free agent this summer, but it's likely that he has earned his place on the Capitals' roster after a strong showing in the postseason. May 17 |
| 5 | Jeff Halpern ActiveJeff Halpern is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and he isn't sure if he will back with the Washington Capitals in 2012-13. "I have a good relationship with [General Manager] George [McPhee]," Halpern said. "I'll talk to George, I would expect. And I'm sure that we'll be honest with each other in our year-end meetings and go from there. I was pretty happy up until a couple months ago with how I played. And whatever happens in a summer, you go through it and take it from there." He is hopeful that he'll have options if it doesn't work out. Halpern had a hard time playing after coach Dale Hunter took over and was scratched for 12 of the team's final 15 regular season games. He played in two playoff contests, but that was only after Jay Beagle broke his foot in Game 5 versus the Rangers. With Hunter gone, it could make him more willing to return but of course the Capitals would have to want him back as well. May 16 |
| 6 | Cody Eakin ActiveThe Capitals recalled Cody Eakin from Hershey of the AHL. Eakin appeared in 30 games with the Caps this season, going 4-4-8. The center was 13-14-27 in 43 matches with Hershey. May 1 |
| 7 | Mattias Sjogren ActiveThe Capitals have brought Mattias Sjogren back from Sweden. GM George McPhee was not very happy when Sjogren bolted the Caps’ AHL affiliate in Hershey for his homeland Sweden earlier this season. Suddenly, the 24-year-old forward may find himself dressing for NHL playoff games as he is under contract to the Caps. Sjogren is not eligible to play for Hershey. Apr 10 |
| LW | 1 | Alex Ovechkin ActiveThe Washington Capitals have extended their AHL affiliation with Hershey through the 2013-14 season. The Bears have been the Capitals' minor-league affiliate for the past seven years and they won the Calder Cup title in 2006, 2009 and 2010. Hershey was knocked out of the playoffs, in the first round, this year by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. May 23 |
| 2 | Brooks Laich ActiveBrooks Laich ended an eight-game goalless drought with his second marker of the playoffs in Monday's loss to the New York Rangers in Game 5. Unfortunately, he also inadvertently deflected Marc Staal's point shot in overtime into his own net for the game winner. Laich finished the contest with five shots and a plus-1 rating. He has six points in 12 postseason appearances this spring. The Rangers hold a 3-2 series lead and the Capitals will look to rebound on home ice in Game 6 on Wednesday night. May 8 |
| 3 | Troy Brouwer ActiveTroy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory against Boston Saturday afternoon. With that win, Washington has taken a 3-2 series lead and will get their first shot at eliminating the Bruins on Sunday. Alexander Semin, Jay Beagle, and Mike Knuble accounted for the Capitals' other three goals. Dennis Wideman, Marcus Johansson, Joel Ward, John Erskine, and John Carlson each registered an assist for Washington. Apr 21 |
| 4 | Jason Chimera ActiveJason Chimera has netted five of his seven career postseason goals against the New York Rangers. He ended up with the game-winner in Wednesday's Game 6 victory in a 2-1 final. Chimera was relatively quiet offensively against the Boston Bruins in Round 1, with just a goal and an assist in seven games, but he has recorded three markers and one assist over six contests versus the Rangers during the semifinals. May 10 |
| RW | 1 | Alexander Semin ActiveAlexander Semin came up huge for Russia against Slovakia in the gold medal game in a dominant 6-2 victory. Semin scored two goals and one assist to help Russia improve its tournament record to 10-0 in 2012. Pavel Datsyuk was almost as good as he collected one tally and two helpers. Alex Ovechkin had two assists to round out some of the big-name scoring. Zdeno Chara scored both of Slovakia's goals, including a 1-0 tally 66 seconds in that seemed to indicate good things for Slovakia, who will settle for silver. May 20 |
| 2 | Mike Knuble ActiveMike Knuble is interested in playing in 2012-13. Knuble will be 40 on July 4th and he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He's coming off of a rough season, so there might not be a lot of demand for his services. May 14 |
| 3 | Joel Ward ActiveJoel Ward's four-minute penalty for high-sticking at the 19:38 mark of the third period of Game 5 was costly, as the New York Rangers scored two goals with him in the box to record a 3-2 victory in overtime. The Rangers tied the game with just seven seconds left in regulation before scoring 1:35 into the extra session. Ward, to his credit, spoke to the media after the game and voiced his disappointment. "It's tough when you let your team down," he said. "We were a few seconds away from winning, and it turns into a loss." The Rangers lead the series 3-2 now, with a chance to qualify for the third round of the postseason on Wednesday night. The Capitals have displayed plenty of resiliency during these playoffs and they'll have to rebound again to force Game 7. Ward has been a solid fourth-line player and has chipped in five points in 12 contests. He should be motivated to redeem himself when the series shifts back to Washington for Game 6. May 8 |
| 4 | Matt Hendricks ActiveFor a guy who has bounced around for years, winger Matt Hendricks certainly has been making a name for himself in the post-season. Hendricks has excelled for the Washington Capitals, especially in Game 6 of their playoff series against the New York Rangers. He was credited with a game-high 11 hits, including several of the heavy variety, and had six shots over 32:05 of ice time. He also won 12 of 17 draws. He's good, teammate Brooks Laich says, because "he's a prick on the ice. You don’t want to play against a guy like that. You have to go through a lot to get the best of Matt Hendricks. He’s gonna compete, and he’s gonna do everything in his power to not let you do it." May 12 |
| 5 | Keith Aucoin ActiveKeith Aucoin wasn't at practice on Thursday because of the birth of his new son, Brayden. A team spokesman said, he is slated to be back with the team for Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils. Aucoin has one goal and two points in nine games with the Capitals this season, but we would like to congratulate on him on his growing family. Mar 1 |
| D | 1 | Mike Green ActiveMike Green, who is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer, is optimistic about the Washington Capitals' future. Although the Capitals are in a position of control with Green, they might still allow him to slip through their fingers. The problem is that they need to give Green a qualifying offer of at least $5 million to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Given Green's injury problems over the last two campaigns, that might be too rich for the Capitals. "That’s something that we’ll talk about, I’m sure, after things settle down here," Green said, "I’m excited to come back if that’s the game plan. That’s what I want, but we’ll see." He's definitely a bit of a gamble, but he's also one of the most offensively-gifted defensemen in the league. May 18 |
| 2 | Dennis Wideman ActiveAlthough Dennis Wideman is interested in re-signing with Washington, neither side seems to be in a rush to get anything done. "I haven’t talked to my agent yet about what’s going to happen," said Wideman. "Obviously, there’s a lot going on with the CBA. I’ll have a meeting with him in the next few weeks and see what’s going on." Wideman is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing his four-year/$15,750,000 contract. He had 11 goals and 46 points in 82 games and figures to be one of the most desirable blueliners if he hits the market. May 21 |
| 3 | John Carlson ActiveJohn Carlson will be a restricted free agent this summer. He didn't take that next step forward in 2011-12 and his play even regressed a little during what was a tough regular season for the Washington Capitals. Carlson dropped from 37 to 32 points in his sophomore year and his plus-minus rating dipped from a plus-21 to a minus-15. His goal production did get a slight bump, but he only ended up nine despite being credited with 152 shots. Carlson will be coming off his entry-level deal, which means he'll have a low qualifying offer, and not much in the way of negotiating power. He logs big minutes despite being 22 years old and should get himself back on track in 2012-13. May 23 |
| 4 | Roman Hamrlik ActiveRoman Hamrlik netted a goal in Washington's 2-1 loss Saturday night. The Capitals have been eliminated from the playoffs. Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera assisted on Hamrlik's goal. Alexander Semin recorded a team-high four shots on goal, but also finished the game with a minus-two rating. Matt Hendricks and Alex Ovechkin each recorded four hits for the Capitals. May 12 |
| 5 | Karl Alzner ActiveKarl Alzner and the Capitals want to keep their game simple when their semifinal series against the Rangers shifts to Washington for Game 3 on Wednesday night. "We've just got to remind ourselves: Don't get fancy. Don't try to make those extra plays. That is the hardest part of playing at home," Alzner said. "We've still got a lot of confidence at home. I think that's still where we play our best hockey. It'll really help, I think, against the Rangers. They're a good team on their ice. It'll be nice to get the crowd behind us so we can get a little bit more momentum." The 23-year-old defender has done an excellent job of shutting down the opposition's best players in the postseason thus far. Alzner has posted 15 hits, 23 blocks and a plus-1 rating in nine playoff games, while averaging 24:35 of ice time per contest. May 2 |
| 6 | Jeff Schultz ActiveThe Capitals blocked an incredible 26 shots in their 3-2 win over the Rangers Saturday night. Jeff Schultz led the way with nine, two more than the entire New York team. If you are looking for a reason the Caps were able to defeat the Rangers Saturday, that's a pretty good place to start. May 6 |
| 7 | John Erskine ActiveJohn Erskine (lower body) appears to be ready to step back into Washington's lineup for Game 4 on Thursday night for the first time since Feb. 12. He skated alongside Dennis Wideman during Wednesday's practice and Jeff Schultz, who has played in the previous three games of the team's playoff series against Boston, remained out on the ice in Thursday morning's session after the regulars had left the surface. He had his knee scoped last month, but he isn't concerned with his conditioning and said that he just needs to let the game come to him should he return to active duty. Apr 19 |
| 8 | Dmitry Orlov ActiveDmitri Orlov went after Carolina's Jeff Skinner on Tuesday night because he felt the former Calder Trophy winner slewfooted him. The incident occurred in the second period when the two players were chasing down a loose puck near the corner. Skinner said that a slewfoot was not his intention, but the Capitals were unhappy with the move. Orlov wasn't hurt on the play, but he took exception to it and racked up two minutes for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct for abuse of an official while trying to get at Skinner. The rookie defenseman also earned an assist in the contest. Both players could hear from the NHL for their conduct. Mar 7 |
| 9 | Tom Poti  I.L.Tom Poti has been trying to rehab his ailing groin on his own this year, but he is considered doubtful to return to the team at all at this point. "Tom's been working at it and improving but I don't know if he'll ever get to the point where he can play again," GM George McPhee said Tuesday. "As I said in the summer, we weren't counting on it." Poti was placed on Washington's long-term injured list prior to this season and he hasn't played any games after he skated in just 21 contests in 2010-11. Jan 18 |
| G | 1 | Braden Holtby ActiveBraden Holtby saved 29 of 31 shots in Washington's 2-1 loss in Game 7 of the second round. Holtby's playoff run is over, but he did a fantastic job with the Capitals. Barring an unexpected event, Holtby is poised to start the 2012-13 campaign on Washington's roster. He was a great prospect even before he made a name for himself in the playoffs and he looks like a very appealing gamble in next season's fantasy drafts. May 12 |
| 2 | Michal Neuvirth ActiveMichal Neuvirth (lower body) will serve as Braden Holtby's understudy on Saturday. "You need a lot of painkillers and try to get through the pain. That's what I'm trying to do," Neuvirth said. "Obviously it's not going to be 100 percent. This thing's got to heal up over the summer, and it is what it is." Even though Neuvirth is available, it's no surprise that the team is sticking with Holtby. Holtby has a 1.60 GAA and .953 save percentage in four playoff starts. Apr 20 |
| 3 | Tomas Vokoun SidelinedTomas Vokoun understands that his days in Washington are probably over. The 35-year-old netminder is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in July after he signed a one-year deal with the Capitals last summer. "I wasn't planning on being back here anyways," said Vokoun. "For me, it was never intention to be here more than a year." His return likely wasn't in Washington's plans either due to emergence of Braden Holtby, mostly during the playoffs, and the fact that Michal Neuvirth also under contract. Vokoun said that he is healthy now, after he ended the 2011-12 campaign on the sidelines with a groin injury, and his agent commented that his client's preference is to stay in the NHL despite rumors that he may head overseas for the KHL. May 16 |
| 4 | Dany Sabourin ActiveThe Capitals recalled Dany Sabourin from Hershey of the AHL. Sabourin was called up a couple of times this season, though he did not play in an NHL game. The 31-year-old has appeared in 57 NHL games with the Flames, Penguins and Canucks. He was 18-12-5 with a 2.76 GAA for the Bears this season. May 1 |
