The center is in the final season of a three-year, $2.25 million contract ($750,000 AAV) he signed with Capitals on April 11, 2019 and would've been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Dowd, who has scored one goal in nine games this season, is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and will miss his third straight game when the Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
In four seasons with the Capitals, the 31-year-old has scored 53 points (27 goals, 26 assists) in 185 regular-season games and three goals in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Dowd scored an NHL career-high 11 goals in 56 games last season and ranked 10th in the NHL among players who took at least 500 face-offs with a winning percentage of 56.3 percent.
This season, Dowd is 21st in the NHL among players who have taken at least 100 face-offs with a winning percentage of 56.4 percent.
Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round (No. 197) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Dowd has scored 79 points (36 goals, 42 assists) in 316 games during seven seasons with the Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Capitals.
