The Washington Capitals announced two more cuts to its Training Camp roster on Sunday.
The team placed forward Garrett Pilon and goaltender Zach Fucale on waivers with the intention of sending them to the AHL Hershey Bears if they clear.
#Caps have assigned forward Garrett Pilon and goaltender Zach Fucale to the Hershey Bears (AHL), pending waiver clearance.
Updated roster: https://t.co/CabZ5exFAQ
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 10, 2021
The moves leave the Capitals with a 24-man roster, meaning there’s one final decision to make: what to do with Nicklas Backstrom.
The Capitals can have a maximum of 23 players on its Opening Night roster. If the team puts Backstrom on long-term injured reserve (he’ll miss 10 games and 24 days at minimum), this is The Team. Backstrom has not taken the ice all of training camp and remains week-to-week.
If Backstrom stays on the roster without the LTIR designation, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan and head coach Peter Laviolette will have a decision to make. They will need to cut one of the team’s extra forwards: Connor McMichael (Hershey/no waivers), Hendrix Lapierre (return to QMJHL), or Beck Malenstyn (Hershey/waivers). They could also choose to put 7D Matt Irwin on waivers and send him to Hershey as well
The Capitals’ opening game of the year is Wednesday, October 13 against the New York Rangers.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
