WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The Washington Capitals have found their man, hiring Spencer Carbery as their new head coach.
The 41-year-old returns to the Capitals organization are spending three years (from 2018-2021) as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. Carbery spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"We are extremely pleased to name Spencer as our new head coach," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "Spencer is one of the best young coaches in the game who's had success at every level at which he has coached.
We feel his leadership, communication skills, ability to develop players and familiarity with our organization will be a tremendous asset as he makes this next step in his coaching career."
As noted by Dan Holmi of Locked on Capitals, Carbery signed a four-year deal, a big commitment for a first time NHL head coach. His predecessor, Peter Laviolette, had signed a three-year contract when he was hired. But, it's believed that Maclellan saw other teams pursue Spencer - including the Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, and possibly the Columbus Blue Jackets - and closed the deal by offering him a longer contract.
Carbery will also no doubt be key in terms of incorporating youth into the Capitals lineup. During his three-year tenure with Hershey, Carbery coached and helped develop a number of players that appeared in games with the Capitals during the 2022-23 season, including Martin Fehervary, Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael, and Alex Alexeyev.
Under Carbery, Hershey posted a combined record of 104-50-9-8 (.658 point percentage), including an AHL-best 24-7-2-0 record (.758 point percentage) in his final season behind the Bears' bench in 2020-21. Carbery received the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding coach that year.
That experience, coupled with some great work in Toronto, including overseeing a top power play (look for Alex Ovechkin to keep scoring a bunch on the man advantage) made him the best candidate for the Capitals and prompted the extended commitment.
The Capitals parted ways with head coach Peter Laviolette after Washington missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.