Despite spending most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, veteran defenseman Justin Holl has a strong chance of making the Capitals’ opening-night roster as long as he has a good training camp, writes Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. According to Silber, Holl will need to fend off challenges from younger players such as David Gucciardi and Ryan Chesley for a roster spot, as well as compete against veteran mainstay Dylan McIlrath.
But the key factor working in his favor could be Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery’s familiarity with Holl. Earlier this summer, Carbery called Holl “a very, very reliable veteran” who can help a penalty kill. During Holl’s last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2022-23, Carbery was an assistant coach on Sheldon Keefe’s staff.
That year, Holl led all Maple Leafs blueliners in short-handed time on ice per game, averaging over three minutes per game. Being the top penalty-killing defenseman on a 50-win team helped earn Holl a three-year, $3.4MM AAV deal from the Detroit Red Wings over the summer. The hope for the Capitals and Carbery is that Holl can rediscover some of that form in Washington.
Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:
New York Islanders 2025 first-round pick Victor Eklund has a chance to begin next season in the NHL with the big club, writes Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters. Rosner writes that he believes Eklund “was NHL ready as soon as he came over from Sweden at the end of last season,” a point supported by the fact that Eklund produced 10 points in nine AHL games and registered his first NHL point during his NHL debut.
The 19-year-old scored 24 points in 43 SHL games for Djurgardens IF, and has a chance to begin the year in the AHL with the Hamilton Hammers if he can’t secure a top-six spot on Long Island.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were ultimately able to reach an agreement with RFA netminder Jet Greaves, signing him to a three-year, $5MM AAV extension before an arbitration hearing would be necessary. But it became clear that during the process, there was a significant financial gap to bridge, and it’s one worth noting moving forward with an eye to Greaves’ unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2029.
While the stark difference between the team’s two arbitration filings was to be expected and is a natural part of the arbitration process, Waddell did tell The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline that Greaves’ camp and the team “were so far apart on the money.” Whether that difference in valuation persists going into negotiations on Greaves’ next contract remains to be seen, but at least now the player and team will have a two-year runway before the player even becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1, 2028.