Spencer Carbery

Spencer Carbery (born November 9, 1981) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Carbery started his junior career with the Peninsula Panthers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) in the 1999–2000 season. He was a key factor in the club going to the league finals, putting up 34 goals and 42 assists for 76 points to become the leading rookie scorer in Panthers franchise history. Carbery played junior hockey with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League in the 2000–01 season, scoring 58 points during regular season play.

In 2002, Carbery attended the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he netted 1 goal and 2 assists in 26 games. Carbery attended St. Norbert College from 2003 to 2006, finishing out his NCAA career with 103 points in the regular season.

Carbery turned professional in 2006, signing with the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League (CHL). During the 2006–07 season, he scored 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists) over 63 games in the regular season.

In 2007, Carbery moved to the ECHL, where he split the season between the Bakersfield Condors (18 games, 3 goals, 3 assists), the Stockton Thunder (20 games, 0 goals, 2 assists), and the Fresno Falcons (20 games, 2 goals, 2 assists). Carbery also saw playoff action with the Falcons in 2008, playing one game in the National Conference quarterfinals.

Carbery remained with the Falcons for the beginning of the 2008–09 season, putting up 13 points over 29 games in the regular season. Following the suspension of Falcons operations, Carbery joined the South Carolina Stingrays' roster, scoring 29 points (12 goals, 7 assists) over 39 games. Carbery's playoff action with the Stingrays culminated in 5 goals, 8 assists, and a Kelly Cup championship.

On September 11, 2009, Carbery re-signed as a free agent to a one-year contract to return to South Carolina. In the 2009–10 season on January 7, 2010, Carbery was named an alternate captain for the Stingrays. He achieved a Gordie Howe hat trick on January 16, 2010, against the Kalamazoo Wings. On January 25, 2010, his goal against the Reading Royals aided the Stingrays in tying the ECHL record for the most players with a point in one game. All 15 skaters registered a point in the 8–5 victory over the Royals.

Coaching career On August 31, 2010, Carbery announced his retirement from professional ice hockey and was named the Stingrays' assistant coach. He served as an assistant coach for the 2010–11 season, helping lead the team to a 37–29–3–3 regular season record and an appearance in the 2011 Kelly Cup playoffs.

After Stingrays head coach Cail MacLean resigned to accept a position with the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Heat in July 2011, Carbery was named the team's sixth head coach and director of hockey operations. At the age of 29, he was the youngest head coach in the ECHL at the time. He would eventually leave the Stingrays in 2016 to become head coach of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League. After one season, he left the Spirit to become an assistant for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Returning to the Washington Capitals farm system where he had begun his coaching career, Carbery was announced as the head coach of the Hershey Bears in the AHL on June 26, 2018. In 2021, he led the team to the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy in 2021, the AHL's regular season league championship, and won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award for coach of the year.

On July 17, 2021, Carbery was hired as an assistant coach by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On May 30, 2023, Carbery was named head coach of the Washington Capitals. In his first season, the Capitals clinched the second wild card and eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, but were swept in the first round of the 2024 playoffs by the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers. The following 2024–25 season was an unexpected success for the Capitals, who finished the regular season as the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, and second in the league overall. Carbery was widely credited with improving the performance of the roster. He received the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the NHL's best coach, in recognition of his work.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2000–01 Cowichan Valley Capitals BCHL 60 31 27 58 32 — — — — — 2002–03 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves WCHA 26 1 2 3 22 — — — — — 2003–04 St. Norbert Green Knights NCHA 29 20 21 41 8 — — — — — 2004–05 St. Norbert Green Knights NCHA 30 24 12 36 40 — — — — — 2005–06 St. Norbert Green Knights NCHA 28 11 12 23 41 — — — — — 2006–07 Tulsa Oilers CHL 63 16 28 44 157 — — — — — 2007–08 Bakersfield Condors ECHL 18 3 3 6 44 — — — — — 2007–08 Stockton Thunder ECHL 20 0 2 2 43 — — — — — 2007–08 Fresno Falcons ECHL 20 2 2 4 68 1 0 0 0 0 2008–09 Fresno Falcons ECHL 29 5 8 13 68 — — — — — 2008–09 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 39 12 7 19 126 23 5 8 13 62 2009–10 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 55 10 19 29 132 5 0 0 0 20 ECHL totals 181 32 41 73 481 29 5 8 13 82

Head coaching record Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result Washington Capitals 2023–24 82 40 31 11 91 4th in Metropolitan 0 4 Lost in first round (NYR) Washington Capitals 2024–25 82 51 22 9 111 1st in Metropolitan 5 5 Lost in second round (CAR) Washington Capitals 2025–26 82 43 30 9 95 4th in Metropolitan — — — Missed playoffsTotal 246 134 83 29 5 9 2 playoff appearances

Awards NCHA All-Academic Team – 2004–05, 2005–06 South Carolina Stingrays' Jerry Zucker Community Service Award – March 2009 Coach of the Year (ECHL) – 2013–14 Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award (AHL) 2020–21 Jack Adams Award (NHL) 2024–25