We know that the Washington Capitals will start the season without two key players due to longterm injuries: Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson. But the future of another player, fourth-line winger Carl Hagelin, is more up in the air.

Hagelin has not played since a February 28 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs due to an errant high stick he took the following day during Capitals practice. A teammate’s stick blade ruptured the choroid in the back of Hagelin’s left eye, forcing him to undergo two surgeries to try and repair the issue. Hagelin said on Breakdown Day in May that his vision will never return to 100 percent.

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan was asked about Hagelin’s offseason progress during a press conference ahead of the NHL Draft and free agency.

“He has more of a later checkup in August for a final determination to see how the surgery has completely healed and how much the surgery has done for his eyesight,” MacLellan said of the veteran forward. “So we’ll have to wait until that appointment to get a better indication of where he’s at.”

Hagelin returned to the team and began skating again during the Capitals’ first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers in May. The Swedish forward worked individually with strength and conditioning coach Mark Nemish and wore a bubble to protect his damaged eye.

“Status is still that the eye is healing,” Hagelin said in his final press availability. “I’m doing everything I can to be back next year…I’m optimistic that I’m gonna come back next year. It’ll be a grind of course and I’ll do everything I can this summer to be ready for camp.

“It feels better every day,” he added. “Still some depth perception stuff. Looking down and then looking up it’s sometimes hard to get the focus in right away. That’s still a work in progress. It’ll be a lot of eye training this summer. I’m up for the challenge.”

Other NHL players in the past have suffered severe eye injuries and continued their careers afterward. Hagelin’s goal is to do the same.

“I played with Marc Staal in New York,” Hagelin said. “He’s been a great resource through all of this. Every time after I talk to him, it’s been great for the mental aspect of it. It’s always put me in a good mood and it’s always been positive. He said it too, it’s all about patience, it takes time. At the end of the day, you have that one good eye that’s gonna carry you.”