The Capitals locked in two young pieces of their offense for the long haul Tuesday, just hours before a critical deadline.
The team re-signed forward Ryan Leonard and right winger Justin Sourdif to 8-year contracts on the final day such deals were eligible under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement. The CBA changed at midnight Wednesday and now allows players to extend for up to seven years, meaning both of Washington’s deals may be the last of their kind.
Leonard’s deal is worth $84 million with an average annual value of $10.5 million. Sourdif’s is worth $50.8 million with an average annual value of $6.35 million. Both contracts will start next summer and were part of a long list of similar Tuesday deals from across the league as teams looked to lock in young talent ahead of a new season. The Capitals open training camp on Thursday.
Leonard, 21, was the No. 8 pick in the 2023 NHL draft and finished last season with 20 goals and 45 points, becoming the first Capitals rookie to score 20 goals since Alex Ovechkin in 2005–06. The Capitals decided to give Leonard a long-term deal after playing just 84 games for the team.
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“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,” Senior Vice President and General Manager Chris Patrick said in a release. “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.”
Sourdif was also a rookie last season at 24. The Capitals acquired him from the Florida Panthers a day before the 2025 draft. Patrick pivoted to extending Sourdif after finishing Leonard’s deal.
“Once we got things squared away with Ryan, I just gave Justin’s agent a call and talked about how he wanted to move forward going into the season, and [asked] is this something he wants to continue having discussions on, or does he want to just let the season play out?” Patrick said in a separate release announcing Sourdif’s deal.
“And as the day went on, it became apparent that they were definitely willing to explore an eight-year deal if we could find something that made sense for them. And they definitely were very open to working with us to make a deal. I was really appreciative of that, and really happy that he was willing to stick with it and work with us here in the 11th hour.”
A native of British Columbia, Sourdif started last season on the Capitals’ fourth line and saw his playing time gradually increase over the course of the season. He finished the year with 15 goals and 20 assists and, like Leonard, was set to be a restricted free agent at the end of this coming season.
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