Capitals Begin Extension Talks With Ryan Leonard And Justin Sourdif
Price tags for young players have certainly jumped up in recent months as the impact of a quicker-rising salary cap starts to make its mark. On top of making an impact on current restricted free agents, we’ve seen some hefty extensions handed out to players who still have a year remaining on their current deals.
It appears that the Capitals are looking to get out in front of contract talks with a pair of their key pending RFAs. Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti earlier this week, GM Chris Patrick indicated that talks on new deals for winger Ryan Leonard and center Justin Sourdif are underway.
Leonard has one season remaining on his entry-level deal. Despite that, he has just 84 career regular season appearances under his belt since he burned the first year of his contract late in the 2024-25 season after finishing up his college campaign. The 21-year-old was the eighth overall pick back in 2023 with the hopes that he could emerge as a top-six power forward before too long.
It’s fair to suggest that Leonard is well on his way to doing so. He picked up 20 goals and 25 assists along with 124 hits in 75 games last season while finishing eighth in Calder Trophy voting and both sides clearly feel he has another level or two to get to. Earlier this offseason, AFP Analytics pegged a long-term extension checking in around $8.25MM per season. That figure seems less likely now given how the market has operated but a more medium-term agreement – perhaps in the five-year range that has become more popular – could still come in somewhat close to that projection.
As for Sourdif, he impressed in his first season in Washington, notching 15 goals and 20 assists in 78 appearances. Before that, the 24-year-old had only played in four NHL games altogether. That gives him an even more limited track record to build off of and with his utilization being as more of a third-line forward, an early extension might be harder to come by.
Notably, he’ll be eligible for salary arbitration next summer (something that isn’t the case for Leonard). That could certainly play in Sourdif’s favor if he doesn’t sign now and has a similar level of production in 2026-27. If they are able to work something out, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team point to Jack Drury’s new deal in Nashville, one that pays the center $4.5MM per season for five years. AFP Analytics’ projection is a little more player-friendly, checking in at four years at a little over $5.25MM per season.
While it’s often ideal for teams to pursue deals as quick as possible with some of their core young players, it’s fair to say that this summer’s activity has intensified that desire for Patrick. He made it clear that what transpired this offseason could be a sign of things to come, making it that much more important to try to work something out now:
I’d rather get something done if we can, if it makes sense for both sides because I do think what happened this past summer is definitely potentially a harbinger of things to come in the League.
New CBA elements come into play on September 16th, making the 15th serve as somewhat of a soft deadline for any long-term extension discussions. At that point, the maximum term for contracts goes down by a year (to seven for re-signings, six otherwise) while there are also more restrictions placed on signing bonuses and year-to-year salary variability. It’s unclear if Patrick’s desire is to sign one or both players for that type of term but if that is the goal, they only have a few more weeks to do so.