The Washington Capitals haven’t had the successful season they had hoped for. They entered the Olympic break with a 29-23-7 record and without a playoff spot in the standings, though they were once first in the Metropolitan Division.
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If the team wishes to regain that guaranteed “in” to the playoffs, there is a lot of work to be done post-break. It is also critical for the front office staff to make strategic moves before the trade deadline to shake up the roster and re-tool around their key players to create a strong team with true Stanley Cup potential.
There are three players in particular who the organization should consider moving at the trade deadline due to their lack of consistent and valuable contributions to the team. Dylan McIlrath, Sonny Milano, and Hendrix Lapierre could all be moved in exchange for higher-caliber players and/or draft picks to help build the future of the team.
McIlrath Should Have Been Traded Earlier
In October 2025, the Capitals placed Vincent Iorio, a young defenseman and their 55th overall draft pick in 2022, on waivers to make room for McIlrath after his return from injury. This was a case of poor team management. While McIlrath is a more seasoned defender, Iorio is much more well-rounded and high-performing.
It is time for the team to move McIlrath. More often than not, he is a healthy scratch, really only making the starting lineup when another defenseman is injured. The 33-year-old has played just 11 games this season and has not notched a single point.
His redeeming quality as a defenseman is his physicality and heavy-hitter mentality. However, when the team has defenders like Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary, as well as big and physical forwards like Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas, a player like McIlrath is just not necessary. He will be a free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season, but it would be beneficial for the team to move him well before then.
Milano Does Not Produce Enough Offense
Milano, a forward, is another case of a frequently scratched player who does not step up when he is called into the lineup. This is his fourth season on the team, yet he does not seem to be performing any better than when he first joined the Capitals. In fact, his production has faltered to a significant degree.
In his first season in Washington, Milano tallied 33 points in 64 games. This season, he has a mere eight points in 31 games. The team gave him a chance to come back after being on long-term injured reserve for nearly the entire 2024-25 season, but he has not proven his value and earned a full-time spot on the roster.
With talented young forwards like Ryan Leonard (30 points) and Justin Sourdif (26 points), as well as the defense producing points in most games, Milano’s talents are no longer needed in the District. He could be moved to make space for someone who steps up game after game and directly fills a need in the lineup. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, so the team may opt to let his contract expire and have another team pick him up. Either way, it is time to consider moving on from Milano.
Lapierre Has Not Developed Well Enough
The Capitals drafted forward Lapierre in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft. The organization was excited about his potential and wanted to develop a strong, well-rounded, and high-scoring forward. In his draft year with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, he notched a very impressive 31 points in 21 games.
In his rookie season with the Hershey Bears, the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, he had 15 goals and 15 assists in 60 games. He was called up to Washington in 2023-24, and things were looking promising. The young forward scored eight goals and tallied 14 assists for 22 points in 51 games. However, that production took a nosedive the following season, where he had just eight points (all assists) in 27 games.
Lapierre was a point-per-game player in Hershey in 2024-25, earning him a full-time NHL roster spot this season. However, his talents just do not seem to translate to the NHL caliber of play, and he has not developed as quickly or as well as the team and fans might have hoped. He has just nine points in his 56-game season so far and has only scored twice, one of which broke a 90-game goal drought.
It seems Lapierre’s potential is not being fully realized with this team. Maybe another team could develop him more thoroughly and help him translate his AHL scoring abilities to the NHL. It seems that, after three seasons, the Capitals simply are not the place for him to stay and grow into the best version of himself. The team has young, talented forwards by the dozen between themselves and the Bears. Lapierre will become a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
If the Capitals can build around their reliable and productive core of players, they could have a playoff-ready team that puts up a fight for the Stanley Cup. Moving on from McIlrath, Milano, and Lapierre could prove to be a strategic and smart move by the organization that benefits the team for years to come. But first, they need to work with what they have to earn back that playoff spot. They return from the break against the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 25.
