2005–06 Washington Capitals season

2005–06 Washington Capitals
Division	5th Southeast
Conference	14th Eastern
2005–06 record	29–41–12
Home record	16–18–7
Road record	13–23–5
Goals for	237
Goals against	306
Team information
General manager	George McPhee
Coach	Glen Hanlon
Captain	Jeff Halpern
Alternate captains	Brian Sutherby (Mar.–Apr.) Brendan Witt (Oct.–Mar.) Dainius Zubrus
Arena	MCI Center
Average attendance	13,905
Minor league affiliate(s)	Hershey Bears South Carolina Stingrays
Team leaders
Goals	Alexander Ovechkin (52)
Assists	Alexander Ovechkin (54)
Points	Alexander Ovechkin (106)
Penalty minutes	Brendan Witt (141)
Plus/minus	Chris Clark (+9)
Wins	Olaf Kolzig (20)
Goals against average	Brent Johnson (3.44)

The 2005–06 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals' 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals missed the playoffs for the second season in a row.

Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Alexander Ovechkin played his first game with the Washington Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a shootout against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal in a 5–4 win. The Capitals finished the 2005–06 season in fifth and last place of the Southeast Division with a 29–41–12 campaign, having 12 more points than the 2003–04 season, good for 27th out of the 30 NHL teams. Yet the team played close in every game, playing in 42 one-goal games, although losing two-thirds of those games. A notable first was that Washington area native Jeff Halpern was named captain of the hometown Capitals.^[1][2] At the 2006 trade deadline, March 9, Witt was traded to the Nashville Predators. Several Capitals achieved career highs in several offensive categories, including Matt Pettinger and Dainius Zubrus, who both achieved career highs in all offensive categories. Jeff Halpern set a new career high in assists for the second consecutive season.

Off-season

Regular season

Rookie Alexander Ovechkin with team captain Jeff Halpern during training camp in September.

Many longtime Capitals had career years, with Dainius Zubrus netting 57 points, Halpern having a career-best 33 assists, Matt Pettinger putting in a career-best 20-goal, 38-point effort and seven others on the relatively young team topping 20 points for the first time. Two notable landmarks were also hit by Capitals, as the team's longest tenured Capital, Olaf Kolzig, won his 250th game in goal and Andrew Cassels became the 204th player to play 1,000 games, although he did not finish out his season with the team.

• November 22, 2005 – Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face each other for the first time
• On January 13, 2006 in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game. His hat trick goals went past Jean-Sebastien Giguere for his first ever hat trick game.
• January 29, 2006 – Dainius Zubrus scored the Game Winning Goal in a 2–1 victory for the Capitals.
• April 1, 2006 – Brent Johnson earned a shutout in a 1–0 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
• April 7, 2006 – In a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Olaf Kolzig played his 600th game as a Washington Capitals.
• April 13, 2006 – Alexander Ovechkin becomes the second rookie in history to record 50 goals and 100 points in a season. Teemu Selanne was the first rookie to reach the accomplishment.

The Capitals were the most penalized team during the regular season, with 550 power-play opportunities against. They also allowed the most power-play goals, with 116, and the most short-handed goals, with 18.^[3]

Alexander Ovechkin

Ovechkin's rookie season exceeded the hype, as he led all 2005-06 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals; and his 425 shots not only led the league, but also set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's rookie point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history, and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history. He had 21 power play goals and a plus-minus rating of plus 2. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy, beating out Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Final standings

Southeast Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	2	Carolina Hurricanes	82	52	22	8	294	260	112
2	8	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	43	33	6	252	260	92
3	10	Atlanta Thrashers	82	41	33	8	281	275	90
4	11	Florida Panthers	82	37	34	11	240	257	85
5	14	Washington Capitals	82	29	41	12	237	306	70

^[4] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Eastern Conference^[5]

R		Div	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
1	Z- Ottawa Senators	NE	82	52	21	9	314	211	113
2	Y- Carolina Hurricanes	SE	82	52	22	8	294	260	112
3	Y- New Jersey Devils	AT	82	46	27	9	242	229	101
4	X- Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	52	24	6	242	239	110
5	X- Philadelphia Flyers	AT	82	45	26	11	267	259	101
6	X- New York Rangers	AT	82	44	26	12	257	215	100
7	X- Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	42	31	9	243	247	93
8	X- Tampa Bay Lightning	SE	82	43	33	6	252	260	92
8.5
9	Toronto Maple Leafs	NE	82	41	33	8	257	270	90
10	Atlanta Thrashers	SE	82	41	33	8	281	275	90
11	Florida Panthers	SE	82	37	34	11	240	257	85
12	New York Islanders	AT	82	36	40	6	230	278	78
13	Boston Bruins	NE	82	29	37	16	230	266	74
14	Washington Capitals	SE	82	29	41	12	237	306	70
15	Pittsburgh Penguins	AT	82	22	46	14	244	316	58

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

Schedule and results

2005–06 regular season[6]
October: 4–7–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 1–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 W October 5, 2005 3–2 Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06) 1–0–0 Recap 2 L October 7, 2005 3–7 Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 1–1–0 Recap 3 L October 8, 2005 1–8 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 1–2–0 Recap 4 L October 10, 2005 2–3 New York Rangers (2005–06) 2–2–0 Recap 5 L October 12, 2005 2–7 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 2–3–0 Recap 6 L October 13, 2005 3–5 New York Islanders (2005–06) 2–4–0 Recap 7 W October 16, 2005 3–2 SO Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 3–4–0 Recap 8 L October 20, 2005 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 3–5–0 Recap 9 L October 22, 2005 0–4 Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 3–6–0 Recap 10 W October 26, 2005 3–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 4–6–0 Recap 11 L October 28, 2005 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 4–7–0 Recap
November: 4–7–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–5–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 12 L November 3, 2005 1–8 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 4–8–0 Recap 13 W November 4, 2005 3–2 SO Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 5–8–0 Recap 14 W November 6, 2005 5–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 6–8–0 Recap 15 L November 8, 2005 4–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 6–9–0 Recap 16 L November 11, 2005 3–4 New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 6–10–0 Recap 17 L November 12, 2005 2–3 @ New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 6–11–0 Recap 18 W November 15, 2005 4–3 SO Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 7–11–0 Recap 19 L November 17, 2005 5–8 @ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 7–12–0 Recap 20 W November 19, 2005 5–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 8–12–0 Recap 21 L November 22, 2005 4–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 8–13–0 Recap 22 L November 23, 2005 3–4 SO Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 8–13–1 Recap 23 L November 26, 2005 2–3 SO @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 8–13–2 Recap 24 L November 27, 2005 2–3 Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 8–14–2 Recap
December: 5–6–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 2–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 25 L December 1, 2005 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 8–15–2 Recap 26 W December 3, 2005 5–1 New York Rangers (2005–06) 9–15–2 Recap 27 L December 7, 2005 2–5 Nashville Predators (2005–06) 9–16–2 Recap 28 L December 9, 2005 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (2005–06) 9–17–2 Recap 29 W December 14, 2005 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06) 10–17–2 Recap 30 L December 16, 2005 1–4 @ San Jose Sharks (2005–06) 10–18–2 Recap 31 L December 18, 2005 2–3 Florida Panthers (2005–06) 10–19–2 Recap 32 W December 22, 2005 6–5 SO @ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 11–19–2 Recap 33 W December 23, 2005 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 12–19–2 Recap 34 L December 27, 2005 3–4 OT Boston Bruins (2005–06) 12–19–3 Recap 35 L December 28, 2005 2–7 @ New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 12–20–3 Recap 36 W December 31, 2005 4–3 SO Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 13–20–3 Recap
January: 5–8–2 (home: 3–4–2; road: 2–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 37 L January 1, 2006 2–5 Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 13–21–3 Recap 38 L January 4, 2006 1–3 Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 13–22–3 Recap 39 L January 6, 2006 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 13–23–3 Recap 40 L January 8, 2006 3–4 SO Florida Panthers (2005–06) 13–23–4 Recap 41 L January 10, 2006 3–4 OT Chicago Blackhawks (2005–06) 13–23–5 Recap 42 L January 12, 2006 1–4 @ Dallas Stars (2005–06) 13–24–5 Recap 43 W January 13, 2006 3–2 OT @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06) 14–24–5 Recap 44 W January 16, 2006 6–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06) 15–24–5 Recap 45 W January 19, 2006 5–4 SO St. Louis Blues (2005–06) 16–24–5 Recap 46 W January 21, 2006 5–2 Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 17–24–5 Recap 47 L January 23, 2006 2–3 Boston Bruins (2005–06) 17–25–5 Recap 48 L January 25, 2006 1–8 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 17–26–5 Recap 49 L January 26, 2006 2–3 @ Boston Bruins (2005–06) 17–27–5 Recap 50 W January 29, 2006 2–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 18–27–5 Recap 51 L January 31, 2006 3–5 @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 18–28–5 Recap
February: 2–4–0 (home: 1–2–0; road: 1–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 52 W February 3, 2006 4–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 19–28–5 Recap 53 L February 4, 2006 0–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 19–29–5 Recap 54 L February 7, 2006 0–5 Florida Panthers (2005–06) 19–30–5 Recap 55 L February 10, 2006 4–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06) 19–31–5 Recap 56 L February 11, 2006 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 19–32–5 Recap 57 W February 28, 2006 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06) 20–32–5 Recap
March: 4–6–5 (home: 2–3–2; road: 2–3–3) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 58 L March 2, 2006 1–7 @ Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 20–33–5 Recap 59 L March 4, 2006 2–3 OT @ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 20–33–6 Recap 60 W March 6, 2006 5–2 New York Islanders (2005–06) 21–33–6 Recap 61 W March 8, 2006 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06) 22–33–6 Recap 62 L March 10, 2006 3–4 SO New Jersey Devils (2005–06) 22–33–7 Recap 63 L March 12, 2006 2–5 Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 22–34–7 Recap 64 L March 14, 2006 4–6 Buffalo Sabres (2005–06) 22–35–7 Recap 65 L March 16, 2006 4–5 @ New York Rangers (2005–06) 22–36–7 Recap 66 L March 18, 2006 3–4 SO Florida Panthers (2005–06) 22–36–8 Recap 67 L March 20, 2006 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 22–37–8 Recap 68 L March 22, 2006 2–3 @ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 22–38–8 Recap 69 L March 23, 2006 3–4 OT @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 22–38–9 Recap 70 W March 25, 2006 3–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 23–38–9 Recap 71 W March 29, 2006 5–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 24–38–9 Recap 72 L March 30, 2006 2–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06) 24–38–10 Recap
April: 5–3–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 4–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 73 W April 1, 2006 1–0 @ Ottawa Senators (2005–06) 25–38–10 Recap 74 L April 3, 2006 5–6 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 25–38–11 Recap 75 L April 5, 2006 3–4 SO Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 25–38–12 Recap 76 L April 7, 2006 3–4 Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06) 25–39–12 Recap 77 L April 8, 2006 0–5 @ New York Islanders (2005–06) 25–40–12 Recap 78 W April 10, 2006 2–1 OT @ Boston Bruins (2005–06) 26–40–12 Recap 79 L April 13, 2006 3–5 @ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 26–41–12 Recap 80 W April 15, 2006 2–1 SO @ Florida Panthers (2005–06) 27–41–12 Recap 81 W April 17, 2006 6–4 Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06) 28–41–12 Recap 82 W April 18, 2006 4–1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06) 29–41–12 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
8	Alexander Ovechkin	LW	81	52	54	106	2	52
9	Dainius Zubrus	C	71	23	34	57	3	84
11	Jeff Halpern	C	70	11	33	44	−8	79
24	Brian Willsie	RW	82	19	22	41	−19	77
17	Chris Clark	RW	78	20	19	39	9	110
18	Matt Pettinger	LW	71	20	18	38	−2	39
27	Ben Clymer	RW	77	16	17	33	−7	72
16	Brian Sutherby	C	76	14	16	30	−17	73
6	Jamie Heward	D	71	7	21	28	−5	54
47	Bryan Muir	D	72	8	18	26	−9	72
21	Brooks Laich	C	73	7	14	21	−9	26
10	Matt Bradley	RW	74	7	12	19	−8	72
44	Steve Eminger	D	66	5	13	18	−12	81
26	Shaone Morrisonn	D	80	1	13	14	7	91
34	Mathieu Biron	D	52	4	9	13	−11	50
25	Andrew Cassels‡	C	31	4	8	12	−3	14
19	Brendan Witt‡	D	58	1	10	11	−5	141
23	Ivan Majesky	D	57	1	8	9	−2	66
41[a]	Jeff Friesen‡	LW	33	3	4	7	−11	24
40	Nolan Yonkman	D	38	0	7	7	1	86
20	Rico Fata†	RW	21	3	3	6	3	8
20	Petr Sykora‡	C	10	2	2	4	0	6
38	Jakub Klepis	C	25	1	3	4	−11	8
52	Mike Green	D	22	1	2	3	−8	18
37	Olaf Kolzig	G	59	0	3	3		14
43	Tomas Fleischmann	LW	14	0	2	2	−7	0
15	Boyd Gordon	C	25	0	1	1	−4	4
22	Boyd Kane	LW	5	0	1	1	1	2
28	Kris Beech†	C	5	0	0	0	0	4
30	Frederic Cassivi	G	1	0	0	0		0
51	Doug Doull†	LW	2	0	0	0	−1	19
50	Eric Fehr	RW	11	0	0	0	0	2
36	Colin Forbes†	C	9	0	0	0	−2	2
45	Jonas Johansson	RW	1	0	0	0	0	2
1	Brent Johnson	G	26	0	0	0		14
39	Graham Mink	C	3	0	0	0	0	0
51	Stephen Peat‡	RW	1	0	0	0	−2	2
41[b]	Louis Robitaille	LW	2	0	0	0	−1	5
70	Dave Steckel	C	7	0	0	0	1	0
13	Joey Tenute†	C	1	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season
		GP	W	L	OT	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
37	Olaf Kolzig	59	20	28	11	1987	206	3.53	.896	0	3506
1	Brent Johnson	26	9	12	1	854	81	3.44	.905	1	1413
30	Frederic Cassivi	1	0	1	0	30	4	4.07	.867	0	59

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	Calder Memorial Trophy	Alexander Ovechkin	[7]
	King Clancy Memorial Trophy	Olaf Kolzig	[8]
	NHL All-Rookie Team	Alexander Ovechkin (Forward)	[9]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Alexander Ovechkin (Left wing)	[9]
League (in-season)	NHL Offensive Player of the Month	Alexander Ovechkin (January)	[10]
	NHL Offensive Player of the Week	Alexander Ovechkin (January 2)	[11]
		Alexander Ovechkin (January 23)	[12]
	NHL Rookie of the Month	Alexander Ovechkin (December)	[13]
		Alexander Ovechkin (January)	[10]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Alexander Ovechkin	October 5, 2005	[14]
	Mike Green	October 12, 2005
	Tomas Fleischmann	November 3, 2005
	Jakub Klepis	November 4, 2005
	Eric Fehr	December 18, 2005
	Dave Steckel	December 31, 2005
	Louis Robitaille	February 7, 2006
	Joey Tenute
	Jonas Johansson	April 18, 2006
1,000th game played	Andrew Cassels	November 22, 2005	[15]

Transactions

The Capitals were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.^[16]

Trades

Date	Details		Ref
July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30)	To Colorado Avalanche 2nd-round pick in 2005 Ottawa's 2nd-round pick in 2005	To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick in 2005	[17]
	To Buffalo Sabres Rights to Tim Kennedy	To Washington Capitals 6th-round pick in 2006	[16][18]
August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04)	To Calgary Flames Conditional draft pick in 2006	To Washington Capitals Chris Clark	[19]
August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)	To Los Angeles Kings Future considerations	To Washington Capitals Bryan Muir	[20]
September 26, 2005 (2005-09-26)	To New Jersey Devils Conditional draft pick in 2006[c]	To Washington Capitals Jeff Friesen	[22]
December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02)	To Vancouver Canucks Maxime Ouellet	To Washington Capitals 5th-round pick in 2006	[23]
December 28, 2005 (2005-12-28)	To Carolina Hurricanes Stephen Peat	To Washington Capitals Colin Forbes	[24]
February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03)	To Phoenix Coyotes Dwayne Zinger	To Washington Capitals Doug Doull	[25]
March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09)	To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Jeff Friesen	To Washington Capitals 2nd-round pick in 2006	[26]
	To Nashville Predators Brendan Witt	To Washington Capitals Kris Beech 1st-round pick in 2006	[27]

Players acquired

Date	Player	Former team	Term	Via	Ref
August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08)	Ben Clymer	EHC Biel (NLB)		Free agency	[28]
	Miroslav Zalesak	San Jose Sharks		Free agency	[29]
August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09)	Andrew Cassels	Columbus Blue Jackets		Free agency	[30]
	Lawrence Nycholat	New York Rangers		Free agency	[31]
August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10)	Mathieu Biron	Florida Panthers		Free agency	[32]
	Ivan Majesky	Atlanta Thrashers		Free agency	[33]
August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11)	Frederic Cassivi	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL)		Free agency	[34]
August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)	Jamie Heward	SCL Tigers (NLA)		Free agency	[35]
	Boyd Kane	Philadelphia Flyers		Free agency	[36]
August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17)	Mark Wotton	SKA Saint Petersburg (RSL)		Free agency	[37]
August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18)	Matt Bradley	Pittsburgh Penguins		Free agency	[38]
	Jean-Francois Fortin	Portland Pirates (AHL)		Free agency	[39]
August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25)	Dave Steckel	Manchester Monarchs (AHL)	2-year	Free agency	[40]
October 4, 2005 (2005-10-04)	Brent Johnson	Vancouver Canucks		Waivers	[41]
November 20, 2005 (2005-11-20)	Joey Tenute	Hershey Bears (AHL)	multi-year	Free agency	[42]
March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09)	Rico Fata	Atlanta Thrashers		Waivers	[43]
April 1, 2006 (2006-04-01)	Jamie Hunt	Mercyhurst College (AHA)	2-year	Free agency	[44]
	Matt Stefanishion	Ferris State University (CCHA)	2-year	Free agency	[44]

Players lost

Date	Player	New team	Via[d]	Ref
August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02)	Trent Whitfield	St. Louis Blues	Free agency (UFA)	[46]
August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23)	Garret Stroshein	Boston Bruins	Free agency (UFA)	[47]
September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07)	Josef Boumedienne	ZSC Lions (NLA)	Free agency (II)[e]	[49]
	Jeff Paul	Montreal Canadiens	Free agency (VI)	[50]
October 7, 2005 (2005-10-07)	Justin Eddy	Utah Grizzlies (AHL)	Free agency (UFA)	[51]
	Miroslav Zalesak	Sodertalje SK (SHL)	Release[f]	[52]
October 26, 2005 (2005-10-26)	Jason Doig	Vancouver Canucks	Free agency (UFA)	[53]
November 16, 2005 (2005-11-16)	Darcy Verot	Syracuse Crunch (AHL)	Free agency (VI)	[54]
January 28, 2006 (2006-01-28)	Andrew Cassels[g]		Release	[56]

Signings

Date	Player	Term	Contract type	Ref
July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28)	Eric Fehr	3-year	Entry-level	[57]
August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05)	Alexander Ovechkin	3-year	Entry-level	[58][59]
August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11)	Jared Aulin	1-year	Re-signing	[60]
	Jakub Cutta	1-year	Re-signing	[61]
August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12)	Louis Robitaille		Re-signing	[62]
	Matt Pettinger		Re-signing	[63]
August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15)	Steve Eminger		Re-signing	[64]
	Jeff Halpern		Re-signing	[65]
	Graham Mink		Re-signing	[66]
	Shaone Morrisonn		Re-signing	[67]
	Maxime Ouellet		Re-signing	[68]
	Stephen Peat	1-year	Re-signing	[69]
	Brian Sutherby		Re-signing	[70]
	Brian Willsie		Re-signing	[71]
	Brendan Witt		Re-signing	[72]
	Nolan Yonkman		Re-signing	[73]
August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17)	Chris Bourque	3-year	Entry-level	[74]
	Dwayne Zinger		Re-signing	[75]
August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18)	Dainius Zubrus	2-year	Re-signing	[76]
August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23)	Petr Sykora	1-year	Re-signing	[77]
August 24, 2005 (2005-08-24)	Chris Clark		Re-signing	[78]
August 29, 2005 (2005-08-29)	Mike Green	3-year	Entry-level	[79]
August 30, 2005 (2005-08-30)	Bryan Muir		Re-signing	[80]
August 31, 2005 (2005-08-31)	Jeff Schultz	3-year	Entry-level	[81]
February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03)	Chris Clark	2-year	Extension	[82]
February 11, 2006 (2006-02-11)	Olaf Kolzig	2-year	Extension	[83]
February 22, 2006 (2006-02-22)	Jamie Heward	1-year	Extension	[84]
	Bryan Muir	1-year	Extension	[84]
March 14, 2006 (2006-03-14)	Stephen Werner	2-year	Entry-level	[85]
March 23, 2006 (2006-03-23)	Daren Machesney	3-year	Entry-level	[86]
April 11, 2006 (2006-04-11)	Alexander Semin	2-year	Re-signing	[87]

Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.^[88]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	14	Sasha Pokulok (D)	Canada	Cornell University (ECAC)
1	27	Joe Finley (D)	United States	University of North Dakota (NCAA)
4	109	Andy Thomas (D)	United States	University of Denver (WCHA)
4	118	Patrick McNeill (D)	Canada	Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
5	143	Daren Machesney (G)	Canada	Brampton Battalion (OHL)
6	181	Tim Kennedy (LW)	United States	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
7	209	Viktor Dovgan (D)	Russia	CSKA Moscow Jr. (Russia)

Farm teams

• Hershey Bears, American Hockey League
• South Carolina Stingrays, East Coast Hockey League^[89]

Notes

1. Friesen wore number 12 in his first 14 games.
2. Robitaille wore number 51 in his first game.
3. Eventually determined to be a 3rd-round pick.^[21]
4. In parentheses is the player's free agency group on August 1 if applicable.^[45]
5. Washington retained Boumedienne’s NHL rights and re-signed him on June 14, 2007.^[48]
6. Zalesak exercised a clause to nullify his contract with Washington if he did not make the NHL team.
7. Cassels retired.^[55]

References

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• "2005-06 Washington Capitals Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2022.

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