Ryan Leonard wasn’t the only Capital to sign an eight-year contract on Tuesday. The franchise announced late in the day that forward Justin Sourdif agreed to a deal worth $50.8 million over eight seasons.
The contract arrived just hours before the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement — which limited the length of extensions for players — took effect at 12 a.m. on Wednesday.
Washington acquired Sourdif through a trade with the Florida Panthers in June of 2025. In his first full season of NHL action, he racked up 15 goals and 20 assists for the Capitals.
His +17 plus-minus rating ranked third among all rookies last season.
“Justin is a good young forward who has continued to develop steadily throughout his career. He is versatile and demonstrated his ability to play an important forward role for our team whenever the opportunity arose last season,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said. “We are thrilled to sign him to a long-term contract and look forward to seeing him continue to elevate his game alongside our veteran core and our young group of players.”
With the signing of Leonard and Sourdif on Tuesday, the Capitals future is set. Longtime captain Alex Ovechkin is slated to become a free agent after the upcoming campaign. The NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer, who turns 41 on Thursday, is expected to retire.
But the Capitals have an array of talented skaters signed for the foreseeable future. Forwards such as Tom Wilson, Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner, Jordan Kyrou and Aliaksei Protas are signed through the 2028-29 campaign.
On the blue-line, top defenseman Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy and Martin Fehervary are under contract through the 2029-2030 season.
Elsewhere on the roster, promising young players such as Sourdif, Leonard and defenseman Cole Hutson are expected to blossom into stars in the near future.
“We believe [Sourdif] has a bright future ahead of him and are confident that he will continue to make valuable contributions to our organization in the coming years,” Patrick said.
The Capitals open training camp on Thursday. Their preseason slate starts with an exhibition against the Bruins in Boston on Sunday.
Washington opens the regular season on Oct. 2 in Carolina against the defending champion Hurricanes.
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