ARLINGTON, V.A. — After the Washington Capitals' 2023-24 season came to an end in disappointing fashion for Charlie Lindgren, the netminder got a phone call from Team USA, asking him to be their man in net for the IIHF World Championships in Prague. He was honored, but declined for a simple reason: his focus remains on the team in D.C.
"My focus is playing for the Washington Capitals," he said bluntly. "I want to make sure I do everything in my power to make sure I put the team in the best spot possible for next year, and I know what I gotta do to make that happen."
Lindgren's season may not have had a happy ending, but it marked a significant year in the 30-year-old netminder's career.
After starting just 26 games last season, Lindgren thrived between the pipes for Washington and stole the starting job from Darcy Kuemper with his stellar play and consistency. He played a career-high 50 games for D.C. in his sophomore season season, going 25-16-7 with a .911 save percentage to help carry the Capitals into the playoffs.
"I was in such a good frame of mind and you know, physically, I felt really good and mentally, I just felt like I was in such a good spot where every time I stepped on the ice, I felt extremely confident and just want to go out there and give our team the best chance to win," Lindgren said.
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Though the numbers didn't bode in No. 79's favor during the first round against his brother's New York Rangers, the netminder still did what he could and said he didn't feel any of the effects of the extra workload take a toll.
"You know, when you're in a race like we were, you maybe don't feel the physical wear and tear maybe as much, just because you're so focused on just doing everything you can to help the team," Lindgren said. "So I never felt worn down... our trainers here do such a good job, and I think they deserve a lot of credit."
As he prepares for a long offseason of work and preparation, where he'll skate with Jake Oettinger again and head back to Minnesota to do the same things he did last year, Lindgren doesn't just want to return and do the same thing for Washington; he's hungry for more.
"I'm not a guy that gets complacent at all, so I want to achieve more," Lindgren said. "I want to be better. I look forward to this summer. I look forward to working hard."
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And of course, in the back of his mind, there's the hope that his hard work and play will lead to an extension with the Capitals, where he hopes to continue thriving as a No. 1 netminder at the highest level.
"D.C. is a place that I feel extremely comfortable. I love living here, I love playing for this team, I love playing for this organization and I can go on and on about how amazing the staff is here and just my teammates," Lindgren said. "It's just a really good situation, and I've really thoroughly enjoyed my time here, so I guess we'll kind of see what happens with that. It'd be nice, I'm going to lie. It's something that I'm working hard (for) and I'm doing everything I can not just for myself, but for my family and for the team and the organization. We'll see what happens."
Overall, Lindgren said he's happy with how the year went, but he's ready to add more to his story.
"I think you go back to last summer, the way I felt after last season where it was I finally got my footing in the NHL full time, and obviously this year, I wanted to go in and essentially make a name for myself and just go out and play for the team hard and compete and just play as well as I can obviously," Lindgren said. "It was a year that when you reflect on it, it's a year that I'm certainly super proud of it. I got the chance to play a lot of gamers, which I'm appreciative of and I got a great opportunity this year. I think that I did a good job with it, so it gives me a lot of confidence going into the summer and I look forward to definitely building on that."
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