Travis Boyd

Playing career

Travis Boyd spent four seasons playing NCAA Division I hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Big Ten Conference. During the 2014–15 season, he helped the Gophers win a Big Ten Championship and earned a spot on the Big Ten second All-Star team. At just 17 years old, he was the youngest player selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, going 177th overall to the Washington Capitals. On March 31, 2015, the Capitals signed him to a two-year entry-level contract starting in 2015–16. He then joined the Capitals' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on a tryout for the rest of the 2014–15 season, playing two games and recording a goal and an assist. Boyd re-signed with Washington on July 5, 2017. He made his NHL debut on December 4, 2017, after injuries hit the Capitals' regular lineup, and got his first career NHL point on March 18, 2018, against the Philadelphia Flyers. He won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals on June 7, 2018, finishing that season with eight games played, one point, and one playoff appearance.

On July 1, the Capitals re-signed Boyd to a two-year deal worth an average annual value of $800,000. Despite a preseason injury, he started the 2018–19 season in the NHL. He scored his first NHL goal on December 9 in a 4–0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, with an assist from captain Alex Ovechkin. That regular season, he played 24 games and recorded 10 points, but his playoff performance was weak, leading to him being scratched after Game 2 against the New York Islanders. After the season, the Capitals did not give him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

As a free agent, Boyd signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 10, 2020. In the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season, he scored three goals and added eight points in 20 games with the Maple Leafs. Near the trade deadline, Toronto tried to move him to the taxi squad, which required putting him on waivers. On March 22, 2021, the Vancouver Canucks claimed him off waivers. He played 19 games for the Canucks, scoring two goals.