Capitals trade for Remi Poirier, carry 3 goalies

Washington got thin in goal the moment Clay Stevenson was gone, and on Sunday morning it fixed that with a late pick. Here's the trade:

PuckPedia

@PuckPedia

🚨Trade To #ALLCAPS Remi Poirier 25 y/o G, Yr 2/2 $850K To #NJDevils '27 7th WSH adds net $850K cap hit t.co/65sEvw92hs

This is a depth move, and it's a cheap one. Poirier is 25, a former Dallas sixth-rounder, and he has played 137 AHL games: 70-51-14, a 2.76 GAA, a.908 save percentage and 6 shutouts. New Jersey claimed him off waivers from the Stars on September 27, and he never played a game for the Devils before they flipped him. The Stevenson loss happened the next day, when Winnipeg claimed him off Washington's waivers on September 28. That left the Caps without the AHL goalie they'd been counting on, and Poirier fills that spot.

For New Jersey, the trade works out nicely. They grabbed a goalie for free off the wire, never used him, and got a pick back for him barely a month later. There's an extra twist on the Devils side too:

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

#NJDevils traded its 7th in 2027 for Hellebuyck, so they essentially get that one back in this deal with the Caps. Poirier was a waiver pickup earlier this year.

New Jersey Devils

@NJDevils

#NEWS: We've acquired a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Washington Capitals for goaltender Remi Poirier.

So that's a waiver claim turned into a draft pick. Sunny Mehta's front office will take that every time.

By early afternoon the real question was where Poirier actually plays. He has to clear waivers before Washington can send him to Hershey, and he showed up on the Caps' roster before anyone at the NHL level got sent out. Carbery laid out the plan before the game:

Tarik El-Bashir

@Tarik_ElBashir

The plan for now is to carry 3 goalies on the #ALLCAPS roster—Logan Thompson, Charlie Lindgren and the newly acquired Remi Poirier, per Coach Spencer Carbery. To accommodate Poirier, the team will waive Dylan McIlrath later today, Carbery said.

So for now it's Logan Thompson, Charlie Lindgren and Poirier on the NHL roster. McIlrath went on waivers at 2pm and cleared, and he was the only name on the wire that day. Thompson got the start Sunday with the same lines Washington has been using, so on day 1 the 3rd goalie is basically a roster spot with pads on.

Carbery wouldn't say how long that lasts. He didn't sound like a coach with a timeline in mind, more like one whose organization lost a goalie it wanted to keep and went out to replace him:

Tarik El-Bashir

@Tarik_ElBashir

Carbery wouldn’t commit to a timeline of how long the #ALLCAPS will carry 3 goalies “or what that will look like.” On Poirier, Carbery added: “A goaltender that has had a lot of success in the American Hockey League, and with losing Clay (Stevenson) on waivers, organizationally, I think just looking for someone that we think could be a good fit, and acquiring that player.”

Tarik El-Bashir

@Tarik_ElBashir

The plan for now is to carry 3 goalies on the #ALLCAPS roster—Logan Thompson, Charlie Lindgren and the newly acquired Remi Poirier, per Coach Spencer Carbery. To accommodate Poirier, the team will waive Dylan McIlrath later today, Carbery said.

Carbery called it day by day, and it really is. Carrying 3 goalies costs you a skater spot every night, and Poirier can't just be shipped to Hershey without other teams getting a shot at a 25-year-old with a winning AHL record. Washington just lost Stevenson that exact way. Whenever the Caps decide to send him down, watch the waiver wire that day, because it's the whole story.