Matt Roy, Jakob Chychrun, Taylor Raddysh and Brandon Duhaime all choose their jersey numbers with the Capitals

The Washington Capitals were busy on the first day of NHL free agency, adding four new additions to their roster. Now, a week later, those new Caps have their jersey numbers for next season.

Matt Roy will wear the number 3, Jacob Chychrun bears the number 6, Taylor Raddysh will wear the number 16 and Brandon Duhaime will wear the number 22.

Matt Roy

Matt Roy will wear number 3️⃣ for the Washington Capitals#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/5lf23z29nD

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2024

Roy will wear the No. 3 jersey he has worn for the past five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. He initially wore No. 81 for 25 games with the Kings during the 2018-19 season, when he arrived when veteran defenseman Dion Phaneuf still wore No. 3.

The now 29-year-old defender took a rather circuitous path to becoming number 3 at the beginning of his career.

“I grew up idolizing Nick Lidstrom, so I was No. 5 for most of my childhood,” Roy told Eric Stephens of The Athletic. “I was young, liked Pee-Wee’s and stuff. One year I wanted to mix it up and just put a 6 in front of it. I was 65 for a year and then I just went down to just 6. I got to college and the 6 was already taken, so I split that in half and took the 3.”

Fifteen different players in Capitals history have worn the number 3, and every single one of them has been a defenseman. Four former Capitals have worn the number for at least five seasons, including Scott Stevens, Sylvain Cote, Tom Poti and Nick Jensen.

Jacob Chychrun

Jakob Chychrun will wear jersey 6️⃣ for the Washington Capitals#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/M2GSih7hTx

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2024

Chychrun will keep the number he has worn since making his NHL debut at age 18 with the Arizona Coyotes in 2016. The Florida-born defenseman previously wore No. 5 with the Sarnia Sting in the OHL, but has worn No. 6 since being assigned it by the Coyotes.

“I got the No. 6 in my first training camp in Arizona,” Chychrun told Ian Mendes of The Athletic last year. “I’m not sure if they did it as a gesture because my dad wore No. 6, too, but I thought it was pretty cool. And when I made the team, I just kept it.”

Chychrun’s father, Jeff Chychrun, played parts of eight seasons in the NHL, wearing the number 6 jersey for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins.

15 different players in Capitals history have previously worn the number 6. 14 of those 15 players were defensemen, perhaps the most famous being Calle Johansson from 1989 to 2003. Other more recent names to wear the number include Joel Edmundson, Vincent Iorio, Michal Kempny, Mike Weber, Tim Gleason, Dennis Wideman and Jamie Heward.

Taylor Raddysh

Taylor Raddysh will wear the 1️⃣6️⃣ jersey for the Washington Capitals#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/z4S8vR4B6F

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2024

Raddysh began his rookie season in the NHL wearing the number 16, but finished his freshman season wearing the number 11 after being traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Chicago Blackhawks mid-season. When he arrived in Chicago, the number 16 was already taken by Jujhar Khaira.

“It’s actually the first time I’ve worn No. 11,” Raddysh told The Athletic’s Scott Powers last year. “When I was traded here a couple of years ago, they gave me that number and I’ve stuck with it ever since. Right now, it doesn’t bother me and I’ll probably keep it that way.”

Raddysh also wore number 18 with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, number 14 with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL and number 17 with the Erie Otters in the OHL.

Thirteen players have worn number 16 for the Capitals, most recently Craig Smith, for 22 games after the 2023 transfer deadline. The full list of players wearing this number includes names such as Bengt Gustafsson, Alan May, Trevor Linden, Brian Sutherby and Eric Fehr.

Brandon Duhaime

Brandon Duhaime will wear the 2️⃣2️⃣ jersey for the Washington Capitals#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/H3duWQwwt9

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 7, 2024

Duhaime is the only one of the four new Capitals to choose a jersey number he has never worn before in the NHL. Duhaime wore No. 21 for parts of three seasons with the Minnesota Wild and then wore No. 12 for the Colorado Avalanche at the end of last season.

He wore number 22 during his time in the AHL with the Iowa Wild, but was unable to take it with him when he was called up to Minnesota because Kevin Fiala already wore it. Duhaime also wore number 18 with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials, number 21 with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm and number 9 during his time in the NCAA with Providence College.

Duhaime will be the 23rd player in Capitals history to wear number 22. Steve Konowalchuk wore the number the longest, for over a decade from 1993 to 2004. Other notable former owners of the number include Mike Knuble, Curtis Glencross, Kevin Shattenkirk, Madison Bowey, Lucas Johansen and Johan Larsson.