Five Caps players signed their qualifying offers on Thursday. One did not. Chris Bourque told the team he indeed intends to accept a contract offer in the KHL instead. That had been reported by several media outlets last month, but not confirmed by Bourque or Washington’s front office. Without a guaranteed NHL roster spot the 24-year-old decided to play in Russia for HK Atlant. The Caps retain his NHL rights. Bourque appeared in 13 NHL games with Washington and had been in its system since 2004. Four times he topped 20 goals for AHL Hershey, but never could get sustained playing time for the Caps. Bourque actually made the final roster out of training camp last fall, but was lost on waivers before making it to the regular season.
The Penguins scooped him up on Sept. 30, but he had just three assists in 20 games with them. When Pittsburgh tried to return him to the minors Washington took him right back. Bourque played one game in 2009-10 for the Caps, but played primarily in Hershey, where he helped the Bears win the Calder Cup for a third time during his tenure. But it was also pretty clear that even if Bourque earned an NHL spot this upcoming season it would be as a reserve forward.
Meanwhile, forwards Jay Beagle, Andrew Gordon, Andrew Joudrey and defensemen Patrick McNeil and Zach Miskovic all signed their qualifying offers and remain with the organization. Miskovic, 25, sprained his left knee during a scrimmage on Wednesday and is expected to miss the rest of rookie development camp.
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