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. Next up, Nic Dowd.
The Bio:
#26 | Center | Shoots: Right
Height: 6’2” | Weight: 190 | Born: May 27, 1990
Birthplace: Huntsville, AL | Acquired: Signed as a free agent on July 1, 2018
Cap Hit: $1,300,000 (then $3M starting 2025-26) | Signed Through: 2026-27 | Expiry Status: Unrestricted Free Agent
The Scouting Report (via Sports Forecaster)
A late-blooming, offensive-minded center in college hockey, he has morphed into a depth role in the NHL after making his debut at age 25. He has some offensive skills and can take advantage of scoring opportunities, though he starts most of his shifts in the defensive zone. Is also adequate on face-offs and a very effective penalty killer.
Long Range Potential: Experienced depth center.
The Stats:
The Charts:
The Key Stat: Nic Dowd set career highs in both goals (14) and points (27) this year. That would be impressive just as a 34-year-old forward playing his tenth NHL season. It’s even more impressive when taking the fact that he averaged the fourth-most shorthanded TOI per game (2:34) among all forwards who played at least 10 games into consideration. This was also the first season of his career where he played all 82 games.
The Good: Despite his offensive highs this season, Dowd is still first and foremost a defensive center for the Capitals. He took 88.9% of his faceoffs (all situations) in the defensive zone, the most on the team. It’s clear that Spencer Carbery and the rest of Washington’s coaching staff still trust him in defensive situations, and he was often called upon to try and shut down opposing stars like Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid.
The Bad: Dowd might have set some career highs in offense this year, but he also set a new career high in penalty minutes with 56. Here’s what we wrote about him in this section after last season:
Unfortunately, all of this still rings true and this season was not a fun drop on the roller coaster. He did see an uptick in drawn penalties this season with 18 instead of 15, but that feels like the least he could do.
The Video:
The Discussion: What do you think was behind Dowd’s offensive burst this year? How concerning is his increase in penalties this season? Were the Capitals right in signing Dowd to a two-year contract extension in April? And finally, what would it take for you to give Dowd a 10 next season?
The Vote: Rate Nic Dowd 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.
