Tuesday morning the Capitals announced that they have loaned forward Tyler Graovac to their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears for a long-term conditioning stint. Graovac has been on injured reserve since suffering an upper-body injury during the October 17 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

According to the Washington Post, the stint cannot last longer than six days/three games in the AHL.

My friends @CapFriendly (follow them!) tell me that a long-term conditioning loan can actually last a max of six days/three games in AHL. For players who've missed at least 10 games/24 days. https://t.co/KuWRmek1bE

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) November 14, 2017

The arrangement is made possible due to Article 13.9 in the NHL CBA.

Thanks to RMNB crasher @jester for the screenshot.

When Graovac is done his conditioning stint, he will either be put back on the Capitals roster or waived.

The checking-line forward returned to practice on November 9, skating in a grey non-contact jersey. As the team continues to get healthy, Barry Trotz and Brian MacLellan will have some big lineup decisions to make.

More from the Caps:

The Washington Capitals have assigned center Tyler Graovac to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a long-term conditioning loan, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Graovac, 24, played in three games for the Capitals this season. The 6’5”, 208-pound center suffered an upper body injury on Oct. 17 versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Capitals acquired Graovac in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on June 14, 2017 for a fifth-round draft pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.

As a member of the Wild last season, Graovac registered nine points (7g, 2a) in 52 games. Graovac scored his first NHL goal in his 2016-17 season debut on Oct. 29 against Dallas and recorded his first NHL assist on Feb. 27 against Los Angeles. He made his NHL debut during the 2014-15 season on Dec. 29, 2014 at Winnipeg and has recorded nine points (7g, 2a) in 57 career NHL games with the Wild. Graovac was drafted by Minnesota in the seventh round, 191st overall, in the 2011 NHL Draft.

The Brampton. Ont., native earned 15 points (10g, 5a) in 26 games with the Iowa Wild (AHL) in 2016-17 and has recorded 102 points (49g, 53a) in 202 career AHL games with Iowa. Graovac set AHL career highs in goals (21), assists (25), points (46) and games played (73) during the 2014-15 season and led the Wild in points, goals, power-play goals (9) and game-winning goals (4).