How Will Capitals Goaltending Situation Play Out This Year? Carbery Shares Take & Plans For Lindgren & Thompson Tandem
The Capitals traded Darcy Kuemper and replaced him with Logan Thompson.
Sergei Belski — USA TODAY Sports - How Will Capitals Goaltending Situation Play Out This Year? Carbery Shares Take & Plans For Lindgren & Thompson TandemARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals made quite a few upgrades this offseason with some big moves, and one area they also addressed was between the pipes.
Washington parted ways with Darcy Kuemper, who had signed a five-year deal in 2022 to be the team's No. 1 goaltender but struggled to find consistency during his time in D.C., to the Los Angeles Kings in order to bring in Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Then, at the draft, the Capitals acquired Logan Thompson from the Vegas Golden Knights to work with Charlie Lindgren, whose standout year made him the bonafide starter.
"Chucky has earned a lot of credibility with our coaching staff and with his teammates," Carbery said.
Still, Thompson, 27, has a lot of potential and has had some strong numbers at the highest level thanks to an All-Star season in 2022-23. However, some struggles with injuries led to some extended periods of sitting out, and ultimately, he fell out of the picture in Vegas.
As he joins Washington with one year left on his contract, D.C. sees plenty of potential and is excited about what he can bring to the lineup.
But what exactly will his role be?
For head coach Spencer Carbery, he doesn't see a situation where he names one or the other the No. 1 right away, as both are expected to push each other and compete in a 1A/1B role. Lindgren also has one year left on his NHL deal.
"It's not the NFL where there's a starter Day 1 and a backup. We'll look at it... How that plays out we'll see, but we feel like we're in a good situation with both goaltenders," Carbery said.
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