The Capitals have “engaged more meaningfully” in extension talks with pending unrestricted free agent goaltender Logan Thompson’s camp recently, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports Friday.
Washington is aiming to have the soon-to-be 28-year-old signed, and off the market by the time the 4 Nations Face-Off rolls around in a few weeks, LeBrun wrote. Recent extensions for similarly-aged breakout netminders like the Avalanche’s Mackenzie Blackwood and the Kraken’s Joey Daccord mean the Caps are likely looking at a four-to-five-year commitment with an average annual value between $5MM and $5.5MM to retain his services – potentially even $6MM, Jamie McLennan of TSN told LeBrun.
That would be an astronomical range over Thompson’s current $767K cap hit, which he locked in when he signed a three-year, $2.3MM extension with the Golden Knights midway through his rookie 2021-22 campaign. The Caps needed a goalie last summer after they dealt Darcy Kuemper to the Kings in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Thompson desired more playing time in his contract year after posting a .908 SV% in a career-high 42 starts and four relief appearances in Vegas last year. Washington moved to acquire Thompson on the second day of the 2024 draft, sending a pair of third-round picks Vegas’ way to provide an economical tandem partner for last year’s breakout option, Charlie Lindgren.
While Lindgren and Thompson rotated starts through the beginning of the season, Thompson has emerged as the bona fide 1A option for the upstart Caps. His sparkling 22-2-3 record in 26 games is backed up by a .925 SV%, which ranks third in the league among netminders with double-digit starts. Those 22 wins are also third in the league and are the most among goalies with under 30 starts, ahead of former teammate Adin Hill, who has 18 wins through 29 starts for the Knights.
Advanced statistics are also quite kind to Thompson, positioning him as the clear-cut runner-up to the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck for the Vezina Trophy. His 26.8 goals saved above expected are just 0.4 short of Hellebuyck in nine fewer games, per MoneyPuck, good for a league-leading 1.00 GSAx/60.
Expecting Thompson to maintain this level of play over the life of an extension is unreasonable. However, unlike a contract comparable in Blackwood, he’s established a high floor for his play at the NHL level. His SV% never dipped below .908 during his time in Vegas, and his GSAx has never finished in the red.
Since Thompson established himself as a full-time NHL option, concerns have revolved around his ability to handle a more significant workload, which he’s now quieting with the Capitals. He started a run of seven straight contests before Lindgren recorded a shutout last night against the Kraken, posting a .955 SV% in that span and a 6-0-1 record. Two of those wins were shutouts in back-to-back games against the Ducks and Senators, and he allowed just eight goals total during the seven-game stretch.
LeBrun reported earlier in January that the Caps had started preliminary extension discussions with Thompson and Lindgren, another pending UFA. They took both conversations slowly to avoid upset team chemistry by extending one before the other. While Lindgren has still been above average with a .904 SV% and 2.53 GAA, he’s three years older than Thompson and has a more inconsistent NHL track record. Thompson’s recent dominant stretch with an increased workload has proven he’s the more valuable option to Washington in the long term.
“I think Thompson has put himself into the conversation of being a top-tier Canadian goaltender, as well,” McLennan said. “Right now, you’ve got to see it for what it’s worth. The Caps traded for him. He’s delivered for them. They obviously like him. And he’s in [the] wheelhouse of his prime and getting better. Goalies from 27-32 continue to get better with age.”
As things stand, Thompson is the unquestionable No. 1 option on the UFA market among goaltenders this summer. Names like Hill, Lindgren, Kevin Lankinen, and Ilya Samsonov would move to center stage after a potential extension is announced.