- Capitals acquire goaltender Rémi Poirier from the Devils
- Washington sends a 2027 seventh-round pick to New Jersey
- Read below for how Poirier ended up on the move after a month without a game
The Capitals added another goalie Sunday morning.
Washington acquired Rémi Poirier from the New Jersey Devils for a 2027 seventh-round pick, the team announced. Here’s the Capitals’ announcement:
Poirier is 25 and on a two-way deal that pays $850,000 in the NHL and $135,000 in the AHL, with one year left. PuckPedia has the cap breakdown, showing the trade adds a net $850,000 to Washington’s cap hit:
Poirier never got into a game for New Jersey. The Devils claimed him off waivers from the Dallas Stars on Sept. 27, and any path to playing time disappeared once they landed Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets. We covered the goalie’s first start with his new team in Hellebuyck’s debut win over Dallas.
NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti pointed out a wrinkle in the deal. Because Poirier was claimed off waivers, the Devils had to offer him to any team that put in a claim before they could trade him:
Dallas drafted Poirier in the sixth round, 185th overall, in 2020. He spent last season as the starter for the AHL’s Texas Stars and went 27-19-6 with a 2.61 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and two shutouts in 52 games. His 27 wins ranked second in the league.
The playoffs were rougher. Poirier started all five of Texas’ Calder Cup games and finished 2-3 with an .883 save percentage. Across 137 career AHL games, he is 70-51-14 with a 2.76 GAA, a .908 save percentage and six shutouts.
He becomes the fourth goaltender under contract in Washington, behind Logan Thompson, Charlie Lindgren and Mitch Gibson. The Capitals lost Clay Stevenson to Winnipeg on waivers earlier this fall, and Poirier fills that spot on the organizational depth chart.
Washington would need him to clear waivers before sending him to AHL Hershey. He is still waiting on his first NHL game.
