Capitals terminate Brendan Leipsic’s contract over leaked vulgar Instagram messages
By Jake Starr
After inappropriate messages leaked from an Instagram group chat earlier this week, the Washington Capitals have waived forward Brendan Leipsic.
Days after inappropriate Instagram messages leaked to the public, the Washington Capitals have placed forward Brendan Leipsic on unconditional waivers. This move will lead to the termination of Leipsic’s contract, according to the Capitals.
Leipsic came under fire on Wednesday when screenshots from private Instagram conversations came out on Twitter. In those comments, Leipsic made misogynistic comments towards women and other inappropriate sexual comments.
Also included in those messages were negative comments about some of his Washington teammates. In addition, he called out former teammates of his from the Vancouver Canucks.
Both the NHL and Capitals condemned Leipsic’s comments in statements. The now former Capital released a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, sighting the comments as “inappropriate and offensive.”
Leipsic was on a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Capitals prior to being released. In 61 games this season, he has three goals and eight assists, and is a plus three. He signed with the Capitals last summer after spending the 2018-19 season with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Winnipeg, Mantioba, native was drafted 89th overall in the 2012 NHL draft by the Nashville Predators. He made his NHL debut in 2015 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but didn’t solidify himself on an NHL roster until 2017 with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Following Vegas, he spent parts of two seasons with Vancouver and then finished out last season in Los Angeles. Leipsic was due to become a free agent this summer, but now will hit the open market earlier than expected.
It remains to be seen where Leipsic will end up following his release by the Capitals. He has bounced around throughout his career and now adding this incident to his track record could push away any future suitors.
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