# 2005–06 Washington Capitals season

The 2005–06 Washington Capitals season was the Washington Capitals' 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals missed the playoffs for the second season in a row.
Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Alexander Ovechkin played his first game with the Washington Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. In a shootout against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Ovechkin scored the game-winning goal in a 5–4 win. The Capitals finished the 2005–06 season in fifth and last place of the Southeast Division with a 29–41–12 campaign, having 12 more points than the 2003–04 season, good for 27th out of the 30 NHL teams. Yet the team played close in every game, playing in 42 one-goal games, although losing two-thirds of those games. A notable first was that Washington area native Jeff Halpern was named captain of the hometown Capitals. At the 2006 trade deadline, March 9, Witt was traded to the Nashville Predators. Several Capitals achieved career highs in several offensive categories, including Matt Pettinger and Dainius Zubrus, who both achieved career highs in all offensive categories. Jeff Halpern set a new career high in assists for the second consecutive season.

## Regular season

Many longtime Capitals had career years, with Dainius Zubrus netting 57 points, Halpern having a career-best 33 assists, Matt Pettinger putting in a career-best 20-goal, 38-point effort and seven others on the relatively young team topping 20 points for the first time. Two notable landmarks were also hit by Capitals, as the team's longest tenured Capital, Olaf Kolzig, won his 250th game in goal and Andrew Cassels became the 204th player to play 1,000 games, although he did not finish out his season with the team.
* November 22, 2005 – Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin face each other for the first time
* On January 13, 2006 in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game. His hat trick goals went past Jean-Sebastien Giguere for his first ever hat trick game.
* January 29, 2006 – Dainius Zubrus scored the Game Winning Goal in a 2–1 victory for the Capitals.
* April 1, 2006 – Brent Johnson earned a shutout in a 1–0 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
* April 7, 2006 – In a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Olaf Kolzig played his 600th game as a Washington Capitals.
* April 13, 2006 – Alexander Ovechkin becomes the second rookie in history to record 50 goals and 100 points in a season. Teemu Selanne was the first rookie to reach the accomplishment.
The Capitals were the most penalized team during the regular season, with 550 power-play opportunities against. They also allowed the most power-play goals, with 116, and the most short-handed goals, with 18.

### Alexander Ovechkin

Ovechkin's rookie season exceeded the hype, as he led all 2005-06 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals; and his 425 shots not only led the league, but also set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's rookie point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history, and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history. He had 21 power play goals and a plus-minus rating of plus 2. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy, beating out Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

### Final standings

Southeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 2 | 8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 3 | 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 4 | 11 | Florida Panthers | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 5 | 14 | Washington Capitals | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Z- Ottawa Senators | NE | 82 | 52 | 21 | 9 | 314 | 211 | 113 |
| 2 | Y- Carolina Hurricanes | SE | 82 | 52 | 22 | 8 | 294 | 260 | 112 |
| 3 | Y- New Jersey Devils | AT | 82 | 46 | 27 | 9 | 242 | 229 | 101 |
| 4 | X- Buffalo Sabres | NE | 82 | 52 | 24 | 6 | 242 | 239 | 110 |
| 5 | X- Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 82 | 45 | 26 | 11 | 267 | 259 | 101 |
| 6 | X- New York Rangers | AT | 82 | 44 | 26 | 12 | 257 | 215 | 100 |
| 7 | X- Montreal Canadiens | NE | 82 | 42 | 31 | 9 | 243 | 247 | 93 |
| 8 | X- Tampa Bay Lightning | SE | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 252 | 260 | 92 |
| 8.5 ||||||||||
| 9 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 257 | 270 | 90 |
| 10 | Atlanta Thrashers | SE | 82 | 41 | 33 | 8 | 281 | 275 | 90 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | SE | 82 | 37 | 34 | 11 | 240 | 257 | 85 |
| 12 | New York Islanders | AT | 82 | 36 | 40 | 6 | 230 | 278 | 78 |
| 13 | Boston Bruins | NE | 82 | 29 | 37 | 16 | 230 | 266 | 74 |
| 14 | Washington Capitals | SE | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 237 | 306 | 70 |
| 15 | Pittsburgh Penguins | AT | 82 | 22 | 46 | 14 | 244 | 316 | 58 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast
Z – Clinched Conference; Y – Clinched Division; X – Clinched Playoff spot

## Schedule and results

2005–06 regular season :
October: 4–7–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 1–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 5, 20053–2Columbus Blue Jackets (2005–06)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 7, 20053–7Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)1–1–0Recap
3LOctober 8, 20051–8@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)1–2–0Recap
4LOctober 10, 20052–3New York Rangers (2005–06)2–2–0Recap
5LOctober 12, 20052–7@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)2–3–0Recap
6LOctober 13, 20053–5New York Islanders (2005–06)2–4–0Recap
7WOctober 16, 20053–2 SOTampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)3–4–0Recap
8LOctober 20, 20052–3@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)3–5–0Recap
9LOctober 22, 20050–4Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)3–6–0Recap
10WOctober 26, 20053–2@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)4–6–0Recap
11LOctober 28, 20052–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)4–7–0Recap :
November: 4–7–2 (home: 3–2–1; road: 1–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
12LNovember 3, 20051–8@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)4–8–0Recap
13WNovember 4, 20053–2 SOAtlanta Thrashers (2005–06)5–8–0Recap
14WNovember 6, 20055–4Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)6–8–0Recap
15LNovember 8, 20054–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)6–9–0Recap
16LNovember 11, 20053–4New Jersey Devils (2005–06)6–10–0Recap
17LNovember 12, 20052–3@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)6–11–0Recap
18WNovember 15, 20054–3 SOTampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)7–11–0Recap
19LNovember 17, 20055–8@ Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)7–12–0Recap
20WNovember 19, 20055–1@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)8–12–0Recap
21LNovember 22, 20054–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)8–13–0Recap
22LNovember 23, 20053–4 SOTampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)8–13–1Recap
23LNovember 26, 20052–3 SO@ New York Rangers (2005–06)8–13–2Recap
24LNovember 27, 20052–3Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)8–14–2Recap :
December: 5–6–1 (home: 3–3–1; road: 2–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
25LDecember 1, 20052–3@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)8–15–2Recap
26WDecember 3, 20055–1New York Rangers (2005–06)9–15–2Recap
27LDecember 7, 20052–5Nashville Predators (2005–06)9–16–2Recap
28LDecember 9, 20053–4Detroit Red Wings (2005–06)9–17–2Recap
29WDecember 14, 20053–2@ Los Angeles Kings (2005–06)10–17–2Recap
30LDecember 16, 20051–4@ San Jose Sharks (2005–06)10–18–2Recap
31LDecember 18, 20052–3Florida Panthers (2005–06)10–19–2Recap
32WDecember 22, 20056–5 SO@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)11–19–2Recap
33WDecember 23, 20054–2Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)12–19–2Recap
34LDecember 27, 20053–4 OTBoston Bruins (2005–06)12–19–3Recap
35LDecember 28, 20052–7@ New Jersey Devils (2005–06)12–20–3Recap
36WDecember 31, 20054–3 SOPhiladelphia Flyers (2005–06)13–20–3Recap :
January: 5–8–2 (home: 3–4–2; road: 2–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
37LJanuary 1, 20062–5Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)13–21–3Recap
38LJanuary 4, 20061–3Ottawa Senators (2005–06)13–22–3Recap
39LJanuary 6, 20061–3Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)13–23–3Recap
40LJanuary 8, 20063–4 SOFlorida Panthers (2005–06)13–23–4Recap
41LJanuary 10, 20063–4 OTChicago Blackhawks (2005–06)13–23–5Recap
42LJanuary 12, 20061–4@ Dallas Stars (2005–06)13–24–5Recap
43WJanuary 13, 20063–2 OT@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2005–06)14–24–5Recap
44WJanuary 16, 20066–1@ Phoenix Coyotes (2005–06)15–24–5Recap
45WJanuary 19, 20065–4 SOSt. Louis Blues (2005–06)16–24–5Recap
46WJanuary 21, 20065–2Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)17–24–5Recap
47LJanuary 23, 20062–3Boston Bruins (2005–06)17–25–5Recap
48LJanuary 25, 20061–8@ Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)17–26–5Recap
49LJanuary 26, 20062–3@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)17–27–5Recap
50WJanuary 29, 20062–1Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)18–27–5Recap
51LJanuary 31, 20063–5@ New York Islanders (2005–06)18–28–5Recap :
February: 2–4–0 (home: 1–2–0; road: 1–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
52WFebruary 3, 20064–1Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)19–28–5Recap
53LFebruary 4, 20060–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)19–29–5Recap
54LFebruary 7, 20060–5Florida Panthers (2005–06)19–30–5Recap
55LFebruary 10, 20064–5@ Philadelphia Flyers (2005–06)19–31–5Recap
56LFebruary 11, 20063–6Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)19–32–5Recap
57WFebruary 28, 20065–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (2005–06)20–32–5Recap :
March: 4–6–5 (home: 2–3–2; road: 2–3–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
58LMarch 2, 20061–7@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)20–33–5Recap
59LMarch 4, 20062–3 OT@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)20–33–6Recap
60WMarch 6, 20065–2New York Islanders (2005–06)21–33–6Recap
61WMarch 8, 20066–3Pittsburgh Penguins (2005–06)22–33–6Recap
62LMarch 10, 20063–4 SONew Jersey Devils (2005–06)22–33–7Recap
63LMarch 12, 20062–5Ottawa Senators (2005–06)22–34–7Recap
64LMarch 14, 20064–6Buffalo Sabres (2005–06)22–35–7Recap
65LMarch 16, 20064–5@ New York Rangers (2005–06)22–36–7Recap
66LMarch 18, 20063–4 SOFlorida Panthers (2005–06)22–36–8Recap
67LMarch 20, 20062–4Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)22–37–8Recap
68LMarch 22, 20062–3@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)22–38–8Recap
69LMarch 23, 20063–4 OT@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)22–38–9Recap
70WMarch 25, 20063–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)23–38–9Recap
71WMarch 29, 20065–1@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)24–38–9Recap
72LMarch 30, 20062–3 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (2005–06)24–38–10Recap :
April: 5–3–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 4–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
73WApril 1, 20061–0@ Ottawa Senators (2005–06)25–38–10Recap
74LApril 3, 20065–6 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)25–38–11Recap
75LApril 5, 20063–4 SOCarolina Hurricanes (2005–06)25–38–12Recap
76LApril 7, 20063–4Carolina Hurricanes (2005–06)25–39–12Recap
77LApril 8, 20060–5@ New York Islanders (2005–06)25–40–12Recap
78WApril 10, 20062–1 OT@ Boston Bruins (2005–06)26–40–12Recap
79LApril 13, 20063–5@ Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)26–41–12Recap
80WApril 15, 20062–1 SO@ Florida Panthers (2005–06)27–41–12Recap
81WApril 17, 20066–4Atlanta Thrashers (2005–06)28–41–12Recap
82WApril 18, 20064–1@ Tampa Bay Lightning (2005–06)29–41–12Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 8 | Alexander Ovechkin | LW | 81 | 52 | 54 | 106 | 2 | 52 |
| 9 | Dainius Zubrus | C | 71 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 3 | 84 |
| 11 | Jeff Halpern | C | 70 | 11 | 33 | 44 | −8 | 79 |
| 24 | Brian Willsie | RW | 82 | 19 | 22 | 41 | −19 | 77 |
| 17 | Chris Clark | RW | 78 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 9 | 110 |
| 18 | Matt Pettinger | LW | 71 | 20 | 18 | 38 | −2 | 39 |
| 27 | Ben Clymer | RW | 77 | 16 | 17 | 33 | −7 | 72 |
| 16 | Brian Sutherby | C | 76 | 14 | 16 | 30 | −17 | 73 |
| 6 | Jamie Heward | D | 71 | 7 | 21 | 28 | −5 | 54 |
| 47 | Bryan Muir | D | 72 | 8 | 18 | 26 | −9 | 72 |
| 21 | Brooks Laich | C | 73 | 7 | 14 | 21 | −9 | 26 |
| 10 | Matt Bradley | RW | 74 | 7 | 12 | 19 | −8 | 72 |
| 44 | Steve Eminger | D | 66 | 5 | 13 | 18 | −12 | 81 |
| 26 | Shaone Morrisonn | D | 80 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 91 |
| 34 | Mathieu Biron | D | 52 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −11 | 50 |
| 25 | Andrew Cassels‡ | C | 31 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −3 | 14 |
| 19 | Brendan Witt‡ | D | 58 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −5 | 141 |
| 23 | Ivan Majesky | D | 57 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −2 | 66 |
| 41 | Jeff Friesen‡ | LW | 33 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −11 | 24 |
| 40 | Nolan Yonkman | D | 38 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 86 |
| 20 | Rico Fata† | RW | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| 20 | Petr Sykora‡ | C | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| 38 | Jakub Klepis | C | 25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −11 | 8 |
| 52 | Mike Green | D | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −8 | 18 |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | G | 59 | 0 | 3 | 3 | | 14 |
| 43 | Tomas Fleischmann | LW | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −7 | 0 |
| 15 | Boyd Gordon | C | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 4 |
| 22 | Boyd Kane | LW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 28 | Kris Beech† | C | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 30 | Frederic Cassivi | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 51 | Doug Doull† | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 19 |
| 50 | Eric Fehr | RW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 36 | Colin Forbes† | C | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 45 | Jonas Johansson | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Brent Johnson | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 14 |
| 39 | Graham Mink | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | Stephen Peat‡ | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| 41 | Louis Robitaille | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 5 |
| 70 | Dave Steckel | C | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Joey Tenute† | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | OT | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 37 | Olaf Kolzig | 59 | 20 | 28 | 11 | 1987 | 206 | 3.53 | .896 | 0 | 3506 |
| 1 | Brent Johnson | 26 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 854 | 81 | 3.44 | .905 | 1 | 1413 |
| 30 | Frederic Cassivi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 4 | 4.07 | .867 | 0 | 59 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | Calder Memorial Trophy | Alexander Ovechkin |
| League (annual) | King Clancy Memorial Trophy | Olaf Kolzig |
| League (annual) | NHL All-Rookie Team | Alexander Ovechkin (Forward) |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Alexander Ovechkin (Left wing) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Month | Alexander Ovechkin (January) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Alexander Ovechkin (January 2) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Offensive Player of the Week | Alexander Ovechkin (January 23) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Alexander Ovechkin (December) |
| League (in-season) | NHL Rookie of the Month | Alexander Ovechkin (January) |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Alexander Ovechkin | October 5, 2005 |
| First game | Mike Green | October 12, 2005 |
| First game | Tomas Fleischmann | November 3, 2005 |
| First game | Jakub Klepis | November 4, 2005 |
| First game | Eric Fehr | December 18, 2005 |
| First game | Dave Steckel | December 31, 2005 |
| First game | Louis Robitaille | February 7, 2006 |
| First game | Joey Tenute | February 7, 2006 |
| First game | Jonas Johansson | April 18, 2006 |
| 1,000th game played | Andrew Cassels | November 22, 2005 |

## Transactions

The Capitals were involved in the following transactions from February 17, 2005, the day after the 2004–05 NHL season was officially cancelled, through June 19, 2006, the day of the deciding game of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Colorado Avalanche 2nd-round pick in 2005Ottawa's 2nd-round pick in 2005 | To Washington Capitals 1st-round pick in 2005 |
| July 30, 2005 (2005-07-30) | To Buffalo Sabres Rights to Tim Kennedy | To Washington Capitals 6th-round pick in 2006 |
| August 4, 2005 (2005-08-04) | To Calgary Flames Conditional draft pick in 2006 | To Washington Capitals Chris Clark |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | To Los Angeles Kings Future considerations | To Washington Capitals Bryan Muir |
| September 26, 2005 (2005-09-26) | To New Jersey Devils Conditional draft pick in 2006 | To Washington Capitals Jeff Friesen |
| December 2, 2005 (2005-12-02) | To Vancouver Canucks Maxime Ouellet | To Washington Capitals 5th-round pick in 2006 |
| December 28, 2005 (2005-12-28) | To Carolina Hurricanes Stephen Peat | To Washington Capitals Colin Forbes |
| February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03) | To Phoenix Coyotes Dwayne Zinger | To Washington Capitals Doug Doull |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To Anaheim Mighty Ducks Jeff Friesen | To Washington Capitals 2nd-round pick in 2006 |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | To Nashville Predators Brendan Witt | To Washington Capitals Kris Beech1st-round pick in 2006 |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08) | Ben Clymer | EHC Biel (NLB) | | Free agency |
| August 8, 2005 (2005-08-08) | Miroslav Zalesak | San Jose Sharks | | Free agency |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Andrew Cassels | Columbus Blue Jackets | | Free agency |
| August 9, 2005 (2005-08-09) | Lawrence Nycholat | New York Rangers | | Free agency |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Mathieu Biron | Florida Panthers | | Free agency |
| August 10, 2005 (2005-08-10) | Ivan Majesky | Atlanta Thrashers | | Free agency |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Frederic Cassivi | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL) | | Free agency |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Jamie Heward | SCL Tigers (NLA) | | Free agency |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Boyd Kane | Philadelphia Flyers | | Free agency |
| August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17) | Mark Wotton | SKA Saint Petersburg (RSL) | | Free agency |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Matt Bradley | Pittsburgh Penguins | | Free agency |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Jean-Francois Fortin | Portland Pirates (AHL) | | Free agency |
| August 25, 2005 (2005-08-25) | Dave Steckel | Manchester Monarchs (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| October 4, 2005 (2005-10-04) | Brent Johnson | Vancouver Canucks | | Waivers |
| November 20, 2005 (2005-11-20) | Joey Tenute | Hershey Bears (AHL) | multi-year | Free agency |
| March 9, 2006 (2006-03-09) | Rico Fata | Atlanta Thrashers | | Waivers |
| April 1, 2006 (2006-04-01) | Jamie Hunt | Mercyhurst College (AHA) | 2-year | Free agency |
| April 1, 2006 (2006-04-01) | Matt Stefanishion | Ferris State University (CCHA) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Via |
| August 2, 2005 (2005-08-02) | Trent Whitfield | St. Louis Blues | Free agency (UFA) |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Garret Stroshein | Boston Bruins | Free agency (UFA) |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Josef Boumedienne | ZSC Lions (NLA) | Free agency (II) |
| September 7, 2005 (2005-09-07) | Jeff Paul | Montreal Canadiens | Free agency (VI) |
| October 7, 2005 (2005-10-07) | Justin Eddy | Utah Grizzlies (AHL) | Free agency (UFA) |
| October 7, 2005 (2005-10-07) | Miroslav Zalesak | Sodertalje SK (SHL) | Release |
| October 26, 2005 (2005-10-26) | Jason Doig | Vancouver Canucks | Free agency (UFA) |
| November 16, 2005 (2005-11-16) | Darcy Verot | Syracuse Crunch (AHL) | Free agency (VI) |
| January 28, 2006 (2006-01-28) | Andrew Cassels | | Release |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2005 (2005-07-28) | Eric Fehr | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 5, 2005 (2005-08-05) | Alexander Ovechkin | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Jared Aulin | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 11, 2005 (2005-08-11) | Jakub Cutta | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Louis Robitaille | | Re-signing |
| August 12, 2005 (2005-08-12) | Matt Pettinger | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Steve Eminger | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Jeff Halpern | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Graham Mink | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Shaone Morrisonn | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Maxime Ouellet | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Stephen Peat | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Brian Sutherby | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Brian Willsie | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Brendan Witt | | Re-signing |
| August 15, 2005 (2005-08-15) | Nolan Yonkman | | Re-signing |
| August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17) | Chris Bourque | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 17, 2005 (2005-08-17) | Dwayne Zinger | | Re-signing |
| August 18, 2005 (2005-08-18) | Dainius Zubrus | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 23, 2005 (2005-08-23) | Petr Sykora | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 24, 2005 (2005-08-24) | Chris Clark | | Re-signing |
| August 29, 2005 (2005-08-29) | Mike Green | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 30, 2005 (2005-08-30) | Bryan Muir | | Re-signing |
| August 31, 2005 (2005-08-31) | Jeff Schultz | 3-year | Entry-level |
| February 3, 2006 (2006-02-03) | Chris Clark | 2-year | Extension |
| February 11, 2006 (2006-02-11) | Olaf Kolzig | 2-year | Extension |
| February 22, 2006 (2006-02-22) | Jamie Heward | 1-year | Extension |
| February 22, 2006 (2006-02-22) | Bryan Muir | 1-year | Extension |
| March 14, 2006 (2006-03-14) | Stephen Werner | 2-year | Entry-level |
| March 23, 2006 (2006-03-23) | Daren Machesney | 3-year | Entry-level |
| April 11, 2006 (2006-04-11) | Alexander Semin | 2-year | Re-signing |

## Draft picks

Washington's draft picks at the 2005 NHL entry draft held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 14 | Sasha Pokulok (D) | Canada | Cornell University (ECAC) |
| 1 | 27 | Joe Finley (D) | United States | University of North Dakota (NCAA) |
| 4 | 109 | Andy Thomas (D) | United States | University of Denver (WCHA) |
| 4 | 118 | Patrick McNeill (D) | Canada | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| 5 | 143 | Daren Machesney (G) | Canada | Brampton Battalion (OHL) |
| 6 | 181 | Tim Kennedy (LW) | United States | Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) |
| 7 | 209 | Viktor Dovgan (D) | Russia | CSKA Moscow Jr. (Russia) |

## Farm teams

* Hershey Bears, American Hockey League
* South Carolina Stingrays, East Coast Hockey League