Wednesday was the first chance the Junkies got to talk to Spencer Carbery since the Capitals signed goalie Logan Thompson to a contract extension – and fitting that it came on the heels of LT making 32 saves in a 3-1 win in Calgary Tuesday night.
“He’s on fire, and he's the definition of a gamer. When the puck drops and the game's on the line, and there's an opponent that's trying to put that little black thing in our net, he just elevates,” Carbs said. “He's played so well for us in so many tight games. Most of the games that we play in are one-goal games, can go either way, and he's delivered time and time again in those big moments.”
Carbery thought the win in Calgary was a perfect example, given that Thompson was playing in his hometown a day after signing that deal, and he turned in THAT performance.
“This kind of speaks to Logan and the year he's having, and the type of competitor he is: he’s coming back home to play in his hometown, so a little bit of a pressure, wants to play really well, and he just signs that contract, so he’s excited,” Carbery said. “He’s now been given that trust and earned the long-term deal with the Caps, and he comes in and plays lights out with all that pressure and everything around him. He just delivered the goods and played outstanding, and was a big part of why we win that hockey game.”
Thompson is third in the NHL in wins and, among qualified goalies, second in the league in GAA and tied for first in save percentage, and he’s doing it in a way unlike many of the other top goalies in the league: he wasn’t a high draft pick, or even drafted at all.
Coming out of juniors, Thompson spent a season in the Canadian college ranks, then time in the AHL and ECHL (where he played for the South Carolina Stingrays, the Caps’ affiliate where Carbery both played and coached) before signing his entry-level deal with Vegas in 2020.
As a guy who also went undrafted out of Canadian juniors and NCAA hockey, and played in the CHL and ECHL before turning to coaching, Carbs can really feel some kind of way about Thompson’s ascension.
“I think that’s one of the things that gives us as an organization, and myself as a coach, great confidence that him signing a long-term deal isn't going to change his approach and isn't going to affect the way he goes about things,” Carbery said. “He has earned everything and proven people wrong throughout his career, and I don't think that'll be any different just because he's earning a lot more money no for many more years to come, and hopefully in our organization. That gives me great confidence that he'll stay hungry and earn every penny of that contract that he just signed.”