Behind the Washington Capitals' goalie shuffle

For years, the Washington Capitals have had a solid pipeline of goaltending prospects, running all the way from the nation's capital to Hershey and South Carolina with potential NHL caliber goalies.

Now, the team's goaltending depth isn't what it used to be, and the team hopes it won't have to shuffle the deck again if Remi Poirier doesn't clear waivers Monday afternoon.

A month ago, the goaltending carousel began when Clay Stevenson, who was seen as a potential backup goaltender for Logan Thompson, was taken off waivers by the Winnipeg Jets, leaving the two goaltenders for the Bears being Mitch Gibson and Cal Petersen, who was signed to a professional tryout deal with the Capitals before training camp in the event Stevenson was claimed.

While Petersen was kept in the system and signed to an AHL deal with Hershey, it left just one goaltender not in Washington on an NHL deal - Gibson.

So when Thompson was injured and went on IR a few weeks back, the Capitals had no choice but to promote Gibson, since to bring up Petersen would require him to sign an NHL contract.

Poirier is currently in the second year of a two-way deal he signed with the Dallas Stars in June 2025, and was claimed by the New Jersey Devils before the regular season began. He backed up twice for the Devils in the regular season, but was not sent down to AHL Utica because New Jersey was concerned he would be claimed.

But after the Connor Hellebucyk deal between Winnipeg and New Jersey took place, Poirier became even more of a third wheel for the Devils, and the team needed to move him without losing him for nothing on waivers.

While Winnipeg also has three goalies on the roster since acquiring Nico Daws from New Jersey in the deal for their former starter who refused to play, they as of yet have not attempted to send a goaltender down to Manitoba. Washington would have had a shot at reclaiming Stevenson had they sent him down, so instead of waiting on Winnipeg, the Capitals made a minor gamble and picked up Porirer for their 2027 seventh-round a pick ago Sunday.

There was speculation the move was precursor to another deal, but it's important to note despite backing up, Poirier has not appeared in a regular-season NHL game in his career, and for a team like Washington that has Stanley Cup hopes, it's unlikely to potentially turn over the keys to the crease to someone with no experience - especially without much of a safety net since Gibson also has zero NHL appearances.

The trade with New Jersey was to add a goaltender who is signed to an NHL deal, and also add some depth to the position. Of course, Washington carried three goalies on the roster for a week, but at some point it's counterproductive to have that many since they need to split practice time as well, and since Poirier has not appeared in any games at all since preseason, he needed to be sent down.

And with their own seventh-round pick, the Capitals hope it is a pick that comes near the end of the 2027 NHL Draft - and usually seventh-rounders getting NHL-caliber talent is few and far between, so if he clears and remains in the system, they are getting good value for a pick usually used to move up in the middle rounds of the draft.

Of course, Washington also has to hope he clears, as while the Capitals would be out a pick for a week of depth, the bigger issue will be the team will be back in a position of needing another NHL contracted netminder with just Gibson.

The team could go back to monitoring the Jets' waiver wire, as at some point the Jets may opt to risk it and send a goaltender down.

But clearly, Washington's preference would be having Poirier get work in Hershey and go from there with two goalies on NHL contracts available in case of injury to Thompson or Charlie Lindgren.