The Washington Capitals have one of the best goaltending tandems in the Eastern Conference in Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren. The pair propelled their team to the best record in the Metropolitan Division last season, with Thompson having a career year in wins and goals against average (GAA).
Thompson, a 28-year-old native of Calgary, did not follow a traditional path to the NHL. After being drafted from the juniors, playing a season of Canadian U Sports hockey, bouncing around the minor leagues and then spending the better part of four seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, Thompson landed with the Capitals in June 2024.
The goaltender impressed his new team so much in the 2024-2025 season that they signed him to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $5.85 million in January 2025.
“Logan has shown he is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL this season and since joining the league,” the Capitals general manager said. Chris Patrick told ESPN after sending Thompson to his new contract. “With his size and exceptional athleticism, we are confident that this addition will strengthen one of the most crucial positions on our team, especially as he enters the prime years of his career.”
Not drafted from Junior
A native of Calgary, Thompson played junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL), where he compiled a 63-41-10 record, along with a .905 save percentage (SV%) and a GAA of 3.36. After completing his junior diploma, he enrolled at Brock University in Ontario so he could continue playing hockey while pursuing a degree in sports management.
“Pro hockey wasn’t even on my mind,” Thompson said The Athletics. “I was just a kid having fun. I had school Monday and Tuesday. I would go home and play video games, drink beer and just be a student (from ‘Logan Thompson’s pro dream was almost over – then his rise to the Golden Knights began’) The Athletics10/18/22).”
For most players, moving from juniors to U Sports means their path to the NHL is closed, but Thompson made the most of his time in college. In the 2018-2019 season, he posted an SV% of 0.934 and won the Ontario University Athletics West Rookie of the Year and Goalie of the Year Awards.
Starts and stops in the Minor Leagues
In March 2019, after his season at Brock University was over, Thompson received an offer from the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL to play on an amateur tryout contract. After appearing in eight games for the Thunder, he was released in April and subsequently signed a professional tryout contract with the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League (AHL). He played in one game for the Devils before signing a one-year contract with the Hershey Bears.
For the 2019-2020 season, Thompson played for the Bears’ ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays. He played in 32 games for the team, earning a 23-8-1 record, 2.25 GAA and a .929 SV%. That summer, he signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Golden Knights, where his former junior coach, Kelly McCrimmon, was now general manager.
A golden opportunity in Las Vegas
Thompson began the 2020-21 season with Las Vegas’ AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. He posted a record of 16-6-2 with an impressive 1.96 GAA and .943 SV%. At the end of the season, he received the AHL’s Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s best goaltender. On January 4, 2022, Thompson became the first U Sports goaltender in more than 30 years to start an NHL game. A few weeks later, the Golden Knights signed him to a three-year, $2.3 million contract extension.
Thompson began the 2022-23 season as the Golden Knights’ starting goaltender due to injuries to Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit. He put up impressive numbers and became the first rookie goaltender to be named to an NHL All-Star Game since John Gibson in 2016. However, Thompson’s rookie season was halted in February 2023 when he suffered a lower-body injury, which he suffered again in March, forcing him to miss the remainder of the regular season. With Thompson watching from the sidelines, the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup thanks to the heroics of previously unknown goaltender Adin Hill.
Related: Capitals sign Logan Thompson to six-year extension
For the 2023–24 season, Thompson and Hill worked as a tandem, but Thompson was inconsistent over the course of the season, with injuries in November and December hampering his progress. He played in 46 games and earned a 25-14-5 record with a 2.70 GAA and .908 SV%. Thompson was named the team’s playoff starter, but was replaced by Hill in Game 5 of the first round against the Dallas Stars, who defeated the Golden Knights in seven games.
Thompson was withdrawn after two consecutive losses, despite making a career-high 43 saves in one of the games. After speaking with team management after the seriesThompson felt that McCrimmon and head coach Bruce Cassidy were committed to using Hill as their starter going forward, so he asked the team for a trade in June.
Trade to the capitals
With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft underway, the Golden Knights traded Thompson to the Capitals for two third-round picks. Washington was eager to acquire another top goaltender after trading Darcy Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings for Pierre-Luc Dubois earlier this summer.
The trade was a bit of a homecoming for Thompson, who attended development camp in 2018 and 2019 as a member of Capital’s ECHL affiliate in South Carolina.
Thompson began the 2024-25 season sharing goal duties with Lindgren, posting a 22-2-3 record in his first 27 games with the club while earning a .925 SV% and 2.09 GAA, second in the NHL behind Connor Hellebuyck at the time. The Capitals wasted no time in signing Thompson long-term, signing him to a six-year extension in January 2025.
Good luck in Washington
The 2024-2025 season was an unqualified success for Thompson. He finished in fourth place in Vezina Trophy voting and finished the regular season with 26 goals saved above expectations – which was third best in the league. He lost only six games in regular regulation and posted a record of 31-6-6.
As his goal partner Lindgren’s performance dipped somewhat last season, Thompson was rewarded with the starting role for the playoffs. He was one of the key factors in the Capitals’ first-round win over the Montreal Canadiens, and while he wasn’t as sharp in the second round against Carolina, his overall playoff stats were still quite good with a .917 SV% and a 2.41 GAA.
This season, Thompson is approaching 100 career wins. He currently has 89 wins in 149 games played. If he reaches the milestone before playing his 166th game, In doing so, he will land in the top ten fastest in NHL history.
The Capitals are hoping for a repeat of last season’s success for Thompson. If Lindgren can find his game again this season, the pair could be the best goaltending tandem in the Eastern Conference. For Thompson, success will likely depend on staying healthy, which has been difficult at times during his career. After a summer of reflection, Thompson is committed to his team’s success and proves the doubters wrong.
“I just want to win games, get back to where we were last year and keep proving people wrong. That’s my biggest mentality,” Thompson said The hockey news. “I want to do my job and help get as many wins for the Washington Capitals as I can and support my teammates and Charlie Lindgren and just be each other’s biggest fan.”
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