The Ryan Leonard era in D.C. could be beginning as soon as Tuesday.
Per reports, including one from a source confirmed by our Grant Paulsen, Leonard is ‘ls likely to get a deal in place with the team today,’ and if that happens, he could make his NHL debut in his college town, Boston, when the Caps face the Bruins Tuesday night.
Leonard, who was the No. 8 overall pick in 2023, saw his sophomore season at Boston College end on Sunday, as the Eagles lost to Denver 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. He led the NCAA with 30 goals on the season – making him the first NCAA player with back-to-back 30-goal seasons since BC's Cam Atkinson in 2009-11 – and 19 assists in 37 games, and was named a Top 10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
"Reached out to him on their season coming to an end last night…proud of him, of the season that he's had but also the way he's conducted himself," head coach Spencer Carbery told the media Monday. “The year that he’s had with the world juniors and another really strong season for him at BC. Anytime you don’t win the last game it’s a tough feeling, especially having played college hockey – you put a lot into that, and those one-and-done scenarios are tough. Just there for him, and we’ll see where it goes.”
In addition to back-to-back 30-goal seasons at BC, Leonard had also led Team USA to back-to-back gold medals at the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships, recording eight goals and eight assists in 14 total games and winning the MVP Award in the 2025 tourney.
Washington has nine games remaining, beginning Tuesday in Boston, and Leonard would be joining the team as they both race for the President’s Trophy – they are three points behind Winnipeg with one game in hand – and take part on the Gr8 Chase, with Alex Ovechkin now four goals from tying and five from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record after tallying No. 890 on Sunday.