From Beauvillier to Wilson, we’re taking a look at and grading the 2024-25 season for every player who laced ‘em up for the Washington Capitals for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2025-24. First up, Anthony Beauvillier.
The Bio:
#72 | Left Wing | Shoots: Left
Height: 5’11” | Weight: 180 | Born: June 8, 1997
Birthplace: Sorel-Tracy, QC | Acquired: At the trade deadline from PIT for a second-round pick
Cap Hit: $1,250,000 | Signed Through: 2024-25 | Expiry Status: Unrestricted Free Agent
The Scouting Report (via Sports Forecaster):
A speedy, skilled forward, he handles the puck well and has a lot of offensive creativity. Excels at chipping pucks past opponents and retrieving them on the other side. Owns good hands and excellent moves in tight spaces. Has added strength since entering the NHL but could use more. Is very streaky offensively, and when he is not scoring the rest of his game tends to suffer.
The Stats:
The Charts:
The Key Stat: Beauvillier scored six points in the team’s 10 playoff games, one more than he picked up in the 18 regular-season games he played as a Cap.
The Good: Advertised as a versatile, jack-of-all-trades type of player, Beauvillier largely lived up to that billing, fitting in comfortably wherever Coach Carbery plugged him into the lineup – whether that was on the fourth line or the top line. He scored a goal in just his second game after being acquired by the Caps, then followed it up a few nights later with his first multi-point performance as a Capital.
While there wasn’t much more to speak of in terms of offense for Beauvillier in the regular season, it was in the playoffs that he really stepped up his game and added value to the lineup. His six points were tied for third in scoring on the team with Alex Ovechkin and Connor McMichael, and he was particularly effective in the Montreal series, picking up five of his six points against the Habs (his lone point vs. Carolina was the team’s lone goal in the Game 5 loss). Throughout the postseason, he showed impressive speed and an ability to drive the net, finishing the playoffs with the team’s third-best HDCF% and was on for the second-most HDGF at evens.
The Bad: Despite that hot start, Beauvillier’s offensive production actually dropped off quite a bit, both from his first handful of games with the Caps and from his overall season. In his 63 games with Pittsburgh, Beauvillier was putting up about .32 points per game; in 18 with the Caps, that dropped to .28 (although considering the Pens’ lack of depth, he was put in more situations to create offense).
And while Beauvillier’s offense was a huge driver in the first round, he – like most of his teammates – kind of disappeared against the Canes, and we were missing the parts of his game that made him stand out after the deadline. Hard to fault him too much, as that was as thorough a team loss as one can be, but it would have been nice to see more out of him down the stretch.
The Video: Filthy first goal as a Cap:
The Discussion: Beauvillier is one of a handful of depth players who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer – should the Caps look to keep him? If so, what kind of contract would you give him to stick around? What do you see his role being going forward if he sticks around in DC?
The Vote: Rate Anthony Beauvillier below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – so if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.