- Ryan Leonard signed an eight-year, $84 million extension with the Capitals on Tuesday
- The $10.5 million cap hit is the richest ever for a player with under 100 NHL games
- Read below for why Washington had to get the deal done before midnight
Ryan Leonard is a Capital for the next decade.
Washington re-signed the 21-year-old forward to an eight-year, $84 million extension Tuesday, a $10.5 million average annual value that kicks in for 2027-28 and runs through 2034-35.
Tuesday was the last day the deal was even legal. The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement takes effect at midnight and drops the maximum term on an extension from eight years to seven, so the Caps had a hard cutoff to beat:
Nobody with this little NHL mileage has ever been paid like this. James Mirtle of The Athletic pointed out that Leonard’s deal is the largest in league history for a player with fewer than 100 career games. Leonard has 84.
General manager Chris Patrick addressed the length of the bet in the team’s release, and he was straightforward about the fact that Washington is buying years it has not seen yet.
“Ryan is a young and talented player who is still years away from entering his prime, and we believe he has tremendous potential to continue growing into an important player for our organization. While reaching his full potential will take time, we have been impressed with his work ethic and the way he continues to develop his game.”
The rookie year was real, though. Leonard put up 45 points (20 goals, 25 assists) in 75 games, the first Washington rookie to hit 20 goals since Alex Ovechkin did it in 2005-06 and the most points by a Caps rookie since Nicklas Backstrom’s 69 in 2007-08.
He also ranked third among all NHL rookies in power-play points (14) and five-on-five goals (16). Head coach Spencer Carbery has said the scoring was never the question, and that the 200-foot game is where he wants to see growth.
Taken eighth overall in 2023, Leonard still has one year left on his entry-level deal. Washington had been trying to get ahead of a possible offer sheet on him since the summer.
Ottawa got its own paperwork in before the same cutoff, giving Drake Batherson eight years and $86 million.
Buffalo beat the clock last week, handing second-year forward Noah Ostlund an eight-year deal of his own.
Starting Wednesday, none of those contracts are possible. Seven years is the ceiling from here.
