Captials Place Coach On Leave Pending Investigation

In a somewhat mysterious post, the Washington Capitals have announced that assistant coach Mitch Love has been placed on a team-imposed leave pending an NHL investigation. According to the Washington Post, it involves something centering around "personal conduct."

Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love has been placed on team-imposed leave pending results of an investigation by the National Hockey League. We will refrain from further comment until the NHL’s investigation is complete.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) September 14, 2025

Insider Greg Wyshynski adds a bit more detail for us, indicating that the situation in question occurred before his hiring in 2023 by the Capitals.

Hearing that the NHL and two of the teams that were interested in hiring Love as a head coach this offseason received a letter that led to this investigation. The letters detail a situation that predates his tenure with the Capitals. https://t.co/xnRYG6K69P
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) September 14, 2025

Wyshynski writes that the NHL and two of the teams that were interested in hiring Love as a head coach this offseason received a letter that led to this investigation.

NHL investigation might have cost Mitch Love a head coaching job

Insider Josh Yohe of The Athletic also adds that "NHL teams were aware of this possibility back in April and May, which I believe is a good reason why he didn’t get a head coaching job."

Love, 41, joined the Capitals for the 2023-24 season and serves primarily as a defensive assistant.

Before that, he was head coach of the Calgary Flames' American Hockey League affiliate, the Wranglers, from 2021 to 2023.