Everyone is looking to add impact players, but few teams are making those players available because the rising salary cap has lessened the pressure to do so - the cap crunch that had previously forced teams hands just isn’t there in the same way right now. That has created a bit of a “water, water everywhere but not an ounce to drink” effect, except it’s “cap space, cap space everywhere but not a worthwhile player to spend it on.” Nevertheless, the Caps were able to land not one but two legitimate top-six forwards (something they’d been after for a while), and at the cost of Connor McMichael (a fine player, but a clear passenger with some offensive acumen who has shown to be indifferent defensively), a prospect with likely third-line upside, the 16th pick in a 13-player draft, a future late third-round pick, and cap space (that won’t handcuff them). Watch the market for legitimate top-six forwards in the weeks ahead - you’ll be thankful that the Caps can sit back and sip their iced tea, having already taken care of their business there.

Oh, and the Caps still have a mid-first round pick, ample cap space and their top prospects - they may not be done yet.

It may be an overreaction, but it seems as if the League is starting to cleave into haves and have-nots, with players deciding which destinations are desirable and which aren’t and forcing their way to their team of choice (see Dylan Larkin, Brady Tkachuk, etc.). By snagging these guys and adding them to the stable of contracts they have on the books for the next five or so years the Caps have planted a flag and, to an extent, insured against being totally iced out.

To that point, the Caps have the following players under contract for the next five seasons (or more): Tuch, Kyrou, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, Martin Fehervary and Logan Thompson. Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson and Ilya Protas are signed or Restricted Free Agents for that entire stretch. Matt Roy is signed for the next four seasons, Aliaksei Protas and Rasmus Sandin for the next three, and Dylan Strome for another two. That’s a solid core, even as some of those pieces will undoubtedly move at some point.

What do these moves mean for The Big Man? Clearly they made these moves to lure him back for one more run as a contender. Or clearly they made these moves in anticipation (or knowledge) of him calling it quits. Who the hell knows?

Here’s some quick maths son the Tuch deal to try to contextualize it a bit more. Next season he's at $10.5M AAV, which is 10.1% of a $104M cap. Last year, that would've been 11% or a $95.5M cap; in 2027-28 it will be 9.3% of a $113.5M cap (and 9.3% of the cap for 2025-26 would be $9.62M). So in Y4, he'll be at 8% of a $132M cap, which would be the equivalent of an $8.27M deal in 2026-27 and in Y8, he'll be at 6.5% of a $161M cap, or what would be a $6.78M deal today (the cap in the out years is a ballpark estimate). I’m not sure people have wrapped their heads around how much the cap is going to increase (I know I haven't) and see this deal as crippling because the numbers (dollars and term) absolutely pop in our June 25, 2026 brains. But if the cap is around $140M in Y6, he'll be taking up 7.1% of the cap, which last season would've been a $7.43M AAV, which is a tick more than Shea Theodore was at last year. (Also, there's a very good chance that Jordan Kyrou's deal is going to age exceptionally well.) In table format, that all looks like this:

Also, with regards to the term, who cares about eight years from now? Not any Cup winners in the cap era, that’s for sure. “Bad deals” disappear, that’s what they do (just ask Vegas Golden Knights/Arizona Coyote/Chicago Blackhawks legend Shea Weber).

But is it an “overpay” for Tuch in terms of dollars or years? Yes. Do I have a problem with a team identifying Their Guy, surveying the market, and doing what it takes to land Their Guy? I do not. A year ago, the Caps balked on adding a year to their offer to Nik Ehlers, who ended up in Carolina (where he was perhaps always going to end up anyway). Lesson learned.

Speaking of Ehlers, the Caps still arguably lack a “superstar” skater but have what was fairly described as a “phenomenal supporting cast” in our Discord; meanwhile, “phenomenal supporting cast” just won a Cup.

It’s taken a little time, but more and more this team is being molded into Spencer Carbery’s vision of how he wants to play. The bet on Tuch is, to an extent, a bet on Carbery. I’m here for it.

As for Tuch and Kyrou, one thing that stands out (besides their speed and effectiveness on the rush) is their defense:

Now, I’m not necessarily buying Kyrou as the 100th percentile defender he’s shown as above, but he’s a massive upgrade over McMichael on that side of the puck:

That matters, because if there’s one place the Caps can get better, fast, it’s defensively (Logan Thompson masked a lot of deficiencies there last year):

The Caps had a good offense last year (well, at five-on-five) and got better; the Caps had an iffy defense last year and got better by addition and subtraction (and by further subtraction if you-know-who hangs ‘em up).

Alex Tuch has already featured in one of the greatest moments in Washington Capitals history. Here’s hoping he stars in more in the future.