The Washington Capitals will have a bit of extra money to work with this offseason, as the NHL officially announced that its salary cap will be increasing by $8.5 million for 2026-27. For next season, the cap will be $104 million, while the floor will be $76.9 million. With that increase, Washington now has a projected amount of $36.56 million to work with going into this summer, which could end up being a pivotal one for D.C. after just missing out on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Alex Ovechkin, who remains undecided on his future, is an unrestricted free agent, and the team also has to address pending UFAs in Brandon Duhaime, David Kampf, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Timothy Liljegren. Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre are restricted free agents. All the while, general manager Chris Patrick continues to search for a top-6 forward who can add secondary scoring and is exploring all options, including the trade market and free agency. Also, with Rasmus Sandin out long-term [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/latest-news/capitals-sandin-undergoes-surgery-to-repair-torn-acl-typical-timeline-estimated-as-6-9-months] as he recovers from ACL surgery, the team is looking to add to the right side of its defensive corps. "I'm optimistic in that I think we're in really the best spot we've been in, as far as having the stuff to trade that a team might want," Patrick said. "You know, we've got picks. We've got some good prospects. I mean, there's obviously some prospects that we're not going to move in these deals. From that perspective, our wallet's full. If there's an opportunity there, we'd like to jump on it." Not only do the Capitals have assets, including two first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/latest-news/capitals-to-select-16th-overall-to-open-2026-nhl-draft-own-two-first-round-picks], but they also have some flexibility to work with thanks to the increased cap. The NHL Draft is June 26-27, followed by the start of free agency on July 1.
