The Washington Capitals returned to the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Tuesday after having a day off following their first action of the preseason. But one player did not come out of Sunday’s action unscathed and it’s not one who played against the Buffalo Sabres.

According to TNT’s Tarik El-Bashir, veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson suffered an upper-body injury in the scrimmage held for players not on that gameday roster. The newly acquired blueliner is still being evaluated to determine the severity of that injury.

The Caps dealt a third and seventh round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to acquire Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens on the first day of free agency this past offseason. Edmundson, 30, played the last three seasons in Montreal after starting his career with the St. Louis Blues.

Over the past couple years he has been hampered by recurring back issues that have kept him out of the lineup for extended periods of time. He has played just 85 games in the last two seasons combined. In that regard, Edmundson sounded confident this summer about his 2023-24 prospects.

“Body is feeling really good,” Edmundson said back in July. “This summer I just want to have a full, healthy summer of training and coming to camp strong. The last two seasons I got injured right before camp so I think that just put me behind the eight ball right away and got my season off to a slow start when everyone was already buzzing. Just looking forward to a healthy start to the season.”

At the beginning of this year’s Training Camp, new head coach Spencer Carbery had Edmundson skating with former Carolina Hurricanes teammate Trevor van Riemsdyk. When Edmundson did his first post-trade media availability with the Caps, he was excited about the potential of reuniting on the ice with TVR this season.

“Me and Riemer had a full season together in Carolina,” Edmundson said. “We became really good friends. We’ve been chatting the past couple days and very excited to reconnect. Hopefully, we can bring a good connection on the ice and if we’re paired up together that’d be great. Close friends. Looking forward to being back on his team.”

TVR had his own injury scare on Sunday, leaving the game against the Sabres early after blocking a shot with his right hand/arm. Carbery said he was a “concern” after the game but TVR was a full participant at Tuesday’s skate.

“Maybe a little worried at first,” TVR said Tuesday. “All good, obviously here practicing today. Nothing too bad, just being overly cautious in a preseason game.”

The Caps do have depth on the left side of their defense should Edmundson be out for any long period of time. Rasmus Sandin and Martin Fehervary lead the way there while both Alex Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen have also played NHL games in the last two seasons.

Defenseman Hardy Haman Aktell, signed out of the SHL last April, also plays on the left.

Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB