Anthony Beauvillier logged significant minutes with Sidney Crosby on the Pittsburgh Penguins first line in 61 games. If his first game with the Washington Capitals, is any indication, he will have to wait to skate on Washington’s top line with Alex Ovechkin. We could see a turn in Anthony Beauvillier and his stats.
It should happen at some point. Capitals coach Spencer Carbery likes to mix up his lines. Beauvillier has the skills to do it. He started his Capitals career with fourth-line duty, playing with centre Nic Dowd and right wing Brandon Duhaime and logged 10:55 of ice time against the Seattle Kraken Sunday afternoon. He had the Capitals first shot on goal about five minutes into play.
Capitals General Manager Chris Patrick made one deal during the 2025 NHL trade deadline and it was Beauvillier coming over from Pittsburgh.
The trade he made should be considered low-key. It’s a deal that will benefit Washington with depth scoring and experience to bolster its forward depth. As a reminder, the Capitals acquired forward Beauvillier from the rival Penguins for a 2025 second-round draft pick back on Friday morning. A deal a few years back would be unthinkable for the heated rivals. Now, the deal just makes good hockey business sense as the Penguins are sellers and Washington were buyers.
A Look at Anthony Beauvillier’s Stats
Patrick likes the impact Beauvillier has made, in particular in the playoffs. He totaled 15 goals and 14 assists in 49 games with the Islanders in a three-year stretch. That is including producing nine goals and five assists in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Last year in a first-round matchup that Nashville lost to Vancouver in six games, Beauvillier had a goal and assist.
Beauvillier skated with Capitals during a practice Saturday and made his debut Sunday against the Kraken in Washington.
“He is a guy who has had a a couple of good playoff runs in his history,” Patrick told reporters at a press conference Friday afternoon. “The big moments won’t phase him. He gets around the ice really well and he is a good utility player as far as moving around the lineup. I think he will be a really good fit.”
Beauvillier will be a nice addition, adding offense to the bottom-six for the high-octane Capitals, who are poised to make a run at the President’s Trophy. He’s going to the net more and hitting the dirty areas this season while shooting a lot. He has 120 shots on goal and a 10.8 shooting percentage.
Beauvillier likes the fact that he has a few friends on the Capitals. He, and centers Lars Eller and Pierre-Luc Dubois are all from Quebec. Beauviller played with Dubois in the 2018 world championships. Eller and Dubois — who has known Beauvillier since their younger days in Quebec and played with him at the world championships in 2018 — offered their insight on Beauvillier to the Capitals before the trade was made.
Reclamation Project Has Stepped Up His Game
The Capitals – who have made it a priority to add younger and faster players like Beauvillier in recent years — are getting a winger who Pittsburgh turned from a reclamation project into a left winger who stepped up his game and became a solid player.
It’s been a big climb for the typical journeyman in Beauvillier. He’s played for six teams since 2022: the Islanders, Vancouver, Chicago, and Nashville and of course, the two teams that made the trade.
He played for three teams last year and produced the lowest point total (five goals, 12 assists) of his nine-year career. So far this year, the rejuvenated Beauvillier has totaled 13 goals and 20 points in 63 games with Pittsburgh. He skated on the Penguins bottom six, but also on the first line with Sidney Crosby at times.
Beauvillier is on pace for his most goals since 2020. He’s scoring plenty for his minutes played. His 0.93 goals per 60 would rank fifth on the Capitals. That’s behind Tom Wilson (0.89) and ahead of Aliaksei Protas (1.12).
Beauvillier Showing More Physicality
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Beauvillier should continue to be able to get more scoring opportunities 5-on-5 with a Corsi score of 51.8. The Capitals love the physicality he has shown with 108 hits, which is 21 more than his previous career high set in 2019 with the Islanders, who drafted him in the first round four years earlier.
Coming to Washington, I couldn’t be more pumped,” Beauvillier told reporters after practice Saturday. “There’s guys have put in so much work this year. Playing against these guys is never an easy game. It’s an honor and privilege to be here. ”
To make room for a possible acquisition like Beauviller, the Capitals placed 29-year-old forward Jakub Vrana, a former first-round pick and 25-goal scorer, on waivers Wednesday.
The Capitals have more offense coming with the return of injured Sonny Milano and the addition of Ryan Leonard. The Capitals drafted the Boston College sophomore No. 8 overall in the 2023 draft. Leonard is expected to join the Capitals in April after the NCAA playoff tournament. They offered him the chance to play against the Rangers in the playoffs last year, but he decided to return to school.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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