EP Rinkside 2024 NHL Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 13-ranked Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals are in a strange place. They're not good enough to contend but remain almost singularly focused on getting Alexander Ovechkin across the finish line as the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer, so that takes a tear-it-down rebuild off the table.

For now, the plan is to retool on the fly, doing whatever they can to keep the team competitive while they try to draft and develop a new Stanley Cup core. It's a tall task but not an impossible one, and if any team is up to it, you might be reading about them. The Capitals routinely punch above their weight on the draft floor. It's how they kept the team competitive for long enough to finally get over the hump and win a Stanley Cup in 2018.

They've done a good job on the draft floor since then, amassing an embarrassment of riches at nearly every position, with credible star power, some high-upside longshots, and a handful of floor bets that should combine to make the team younger and better in the years ahead.

Let's dive right in and look at some of those players.