- Elliotte Friedman expected the Capitals to trade Charlie Lindgren this summer
- Washington kept the backup because of how much he means to Logan Thompson
- Read below for Friedman’s full comments on the Caps’ crease decision
Charlie Lindgren spent the summer in trade rumors. He is staying in Washington anyway.
Elliotte Friedman figured the Capitals would move on from their backup. They kept him, and Logan Thompson is the reason.
Friedman ran through Washington’s offseason on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast and said the goalie call caught him off guard.
“The other thing that I thought was interesting, I was pretty sure this summer they were going to deal Charlie Lindgren, and they didn’t. They kept him because they think he’s so important for Logan Thompson. I just didn’t know if the Capitals felt a backup making $3 million was something they could handle. And they just felt it was too important for Thompson to make the deal.”
Here’s Friedman breaking it down on the 32 Thoughts Podcast:
Lindgren is coming off the worst season of his career. He went 9-8-3 with a 3.52 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage, and MoneyPuck ranked him 76th out of 98 goalies in goals saved above expected.
He still has two years left on his deal at $3 million a season. That number, on a backup, is what kept him floating in trade talk all offseason.
Thompson made the math worth it. He earned a spot on the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 2025-26 and ranked among the league’s best goalies statistically, and Washington wasn’t about to disturb the setup that got him there.
The Caps were not shy anywhere else. Their front office added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner, and Vincent Desharnais while shipping out Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre.
Washington also re-signed Alex Ovechkin, who believes this group is a Stanley Cup contender. The front office thinks the whole summer points one way:
Keeping Lindgren was the quiet move in a loud offseason. The Caps decided the chemistry behind Thompson was worth more than the cap space.
