Capitals Racing To Lock Up Two Young Forwards Early
GM Chris Patrick has begun contract extension talks with both Ryan Leonard and Justin Sourdif, per NHL.com's Tom Gulitti, well before either player is even eligible for restricted free agency.
"I think my M.O. going forward really is if you have guys that are going to be restricted free agents that could potentially get offer sheets, you want to get in front of it as much as you can, as much as you feel comfortable doing that," Patrick said.
Why This Summer Specifically
The urgency traces back to two offer sheets that reshaped the league's thinking this summer. The Philadelphia Flyers sent Anaheim's Leo Carlsson a five-year, $90 million offer sheet deal in July, making the 21-year-old the highest-paid player in the NHL at $18 million annually.
Days later, the New Jersey Devils tried the same approach on Utah's Barrett Hayton with a one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet. Both Anaheim and Utah ultimately matched and kept their players, but Patrick said the message landed across the league regardless.
Chris Patrick on the negotiations with Ryan Leonard "Yeah, we've had some discussions this summer," Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said Tuesday. "I'm hopeful we can continue to have some discussions here. That's not something that I want to let play out. I'd rather get… pic.twitter.com/PJ2EPdGbpk
— R i N K Y (@RinkyReport) August 18, 2026
Elliotte Friedman flagged the risk to Washington specifically back in July, noting Leonard's representation, Matt and Ryan Keator of the Win Hockey Agency, is the same group that just pulled off the Carlsson deal.
"Ryan Leonard's agent is the Keators, who just did the big deal with Leo Carlsson," Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. "Now, this doesn't mean that everybody here should be running and screaming and worried about what Leonard's future is. But if you're the Capitals, you're looking at this and saying, 'Hey, we realized the landscape has changed here, and we better be prepared for this.'"
Players Washington Wants To Protect
Leonard, 21, is entering the final year of his entry-level contract after a standout rookie season, posting 45 points in 75 games and finishing fifth among all first-year NHL players in goals, assists, and points, all on a $950,000 cap hit. He became just the eighth Capitals rookie ever to score 20 goals in a season, and the first since Alex Ovechkin did it in 2005-06.
Sourdif, 24, is one year into a two-year deal after being acquired in a trade from the Florida Panthers, and posted 35 points in 78 games in his own strong rookie campaign. AFP Analytics had projected a seven-year Leonard extension around $8.26 million annually before Carlsson's deal, a number that likely looks conservative now.
Signing bonuses will be capped at 60 percent of a contract's total value under rules taking effect for deals signed after September 15, 2026, giving Washington another reason to try to get something done before that date.
Patrick wouldn't commit to a firm timeline, with the Capitals opening their season October 2 in Carolina. "I don't know now," he said. "If it made sense, I'd do it tomorrow."
