The Washington Capitals announced Sunday that assistant coach Mitch Love has been place on a team-imposed leave, pending results of an investigation by the NHL.
Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love has been placed on team-imposed leave pending results of an investigation by the National Hockey League. We will refrain from further comment until the NHL’s investigation is complete.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) September 14, 2025
The team says it will refrain from further comment until the league’s investigation is complete.
Love joined the Capitals ahead of the 2023-24 season after one-year stints serving as the head coach for the AHL’s Calgary Wrangers and Stockton Heat. He also served three seasons as head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades and seven years as an assistant with the Everett Silvertips.
As a player, Love spent five seasons in the AHL, scoring six goals and recording 21 assists for 27 points and 808 penalty minutes in 278 career regular-season games with the Lowell Lock Monsters, Albany River Rats, Lake Erie Monsters, Houston Aeros and Peoria Rivermen.
He also spent parts of six seasons playing in the WHL with the Silvertips, Moose Jaw Warriors, Swift Current Broncos, scoring 33 goals and 66 assists for 99 points in 320 regular-season games and 901 penalty minutes.
The Capitals went 51-22-9 with 111 points in 2024-25, finishing first in both the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference. They defeated the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, also in five games.
Dylan Strome led the team in points with 75, by way of 25 goals and 50 assists. Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin led the way with 41 goals, along with breaking the NHL’s all-time goal record set by Wayne Gretzky.