The Capitals added Ray Bennett to their coaching staff on Thursday.
It's no secret that the Washington Capitals power play needs something new.
The Capitals power play, despite showing flashes of potential toward the end of the season, finished with the eighth-worst percentage in the NHL this year and proved to be the difference between wins and losses, and arguably, qualifying for the playoffs.
Under Kirk Muller as a whole — and before Muller, Blaine Forsythe — Washington wasn't able to find consistency or much of a spark, and ultimately, is in need of a change as the team transitions and prepares for the post-Ovechkin era.
Now Ray Bennett enters the mix, a long-time veteran of the NHL who officially joined Spencer Carbery's coaching staff and replaced Muller on Thursday.
Bennett's exact role and terms aren't outlined at this time, but it's expected that he'll not just take over for Muller, but do what he can to reinvigorate and stabilize the power play, a longtime area of uncertainty for Washington.
Before joining Patrick Roy's staff with the New York Islanders this past season, Bennett ran the man advantage for the high-flying Colorado Avalanche from 2017 to 2025.
Over those eight seasons behind the bench, the Avalanche boasted the fifth-best power play in the league, operating at 23 percent. It also helped Colorado secure the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Bennett helped a young Cale Makar embrace his role as a top power-play quarterback, and all the while, Nathan MacKinnon's one-timer from the left circle only got more lethal with Makar feeding him on the tape.
Ultimately, it was one rough go, a first-round exit in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs where the power play struggled significantly (3-for-22 against the Dallas Stars), that led to Bennett's dismissal.
That's when Bennett landed a job on Roy's staff, tasked with trying to put the pieces together and solve the long-ailing Islanders power play, which operated at an abysmal 12.6 percent in 2024-25.
Bennett did what he could on the Island, able to improve the man advantage to 16.5 percent, but ultimately, it was New York's failure to add another X-factor name or catalyst to its personnel (besides defenseman Matthew Schaefer) that led to the power play's continued woes.
At the same time, without Bennett, the Avalanche's power play took a nosedive despite its talent, dropping from 24.8 percent a season prior to 17.1 percent, the sixth-worse unit in the league.
Now, Bennett enters a new chapter with the Capitals, leaving the Islanders on good terms, as it was a mutual parting of the ways with Bennett wanting a new opportunity and Pete DeBoer getting the chance to bring his own staff and personnel on board.
For Washington, though, Bennett is the spark the team will need as it transitions to a new-look power play going forward.
Cole Hutson — not Alex Ovechkin, who is still deciding on his future and whether he'll return to the NHL ranks — is the main piece here. Bennett will work with him as he did Makar, helping transform him into a top catalyst and quarterback, while Hutson also learns from Jakob Chychrun, who leads the other unit.
Ovechkin, meanwhile, if he does come back, can be utilized in a different role, with Bennett deploying him in the right spots to still make use of that one-time shot that has defied time.
Factor in Ryan Leonard and Ilya Protas, who played the net front to a tee upon his recall, and Bennett has plenty of rising talent to work with that will rejuvenate an area that D.C. desperately needs help in.