- Capitals sign defenseman Jacob MacDonald to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850K at the NHL level
- MacDonald won the 2024-25 Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top blueliner with a record 31 goals
- Read below for what the veteran adds to Washington’s blue line depth
The Capitals added some blue line depth on Sunday.
Washington signed defenseman Jacob MacDonald to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced. General manager Chris Patrick made the move official. The deal carries an $850,000 cap hit at the NHL level.
MacDonald isn’t a household name, but he might be the most productive defenseman the AHL has right now. The 33-year-old won the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s best blueliner in 2024-25, when he set an AHL record for defensemen with 31 goals for the Colorado Eagles.
He added 24 assists that year and led all AHL defensemen with 55 points. Thirteen of those goals came on the power play. He also skated in the AHL All-Star Classic and earned First Team All-Star honors.
This past season slowed down. MacDonald played just 17 games with the Eagles because of injury and put up 12 points. He came back for the playoffs and chipped in two more as Colorado reached the Western Conference Finals.
Across his AHL career, the Portland, Oregon native has 260 points in 357 games with six different clubs. His 103 goals rank seventh all-time among AHL defensemen.
The signing is about depth. MacDonald gives Hershey a proven scorer on the back end and hands Washington a call-up option if the injuries pile up. The Capitals have stayed busy this offseason, reshaping their blue line piece by piece.
He’ll compete for a job in camp, but the safe bet is a heavy role in Hershey and an emergency NHL number whenever the Capitals need one.
