The Washington Capitals announced that they have placed veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson on the long-term injured reserve, Monday. Edmundson has been out of the lineup to start the season after fracturing his hand during a Training Camp scrimmage.
Edmundson stayed off of LTIR when the Capitals revealed their Opening Night roster but the team found a need for salary cap space when backup netminder Charlie Lindgren went down with an injury at Monday’s morning skate. Goaltender Clay Stevenson was brought up for Hershey in the corresponding move.
NEWS | The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Clay Stevenson from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). In addition, the Capitals have placed defenseman Joel Edmundson on LTI. https://t.co/I6cSxvtsd8
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 16, 2023
Edmundson has been out of action since suffering the injury before the team’s first preseason game at the end of September. The rugged rearguard did take the ice in a non-contact jersey soon after but has not been publicly seen getting back up to speed since that October 7 skate.
The Capitals placing him on LTIR means that the Capitals expect Edmundson to miss at least 10 NHL Games and 24 days of the NHL season. It’s unknown at this point, but if the Capitals placed Edmundson on LTIR retroactive to the first game of the season, he’ll be eligible to return — at the soonest — on November 8 at home against the Florida Panthers.
The Edmundson transaction allows the Capitals to exceed the salary cap and frees up a roster spot. That means that no additional move will need to be made to get Stevenson on the bench for Monday’s game against Calgary. For example, the Capitals needed to demote Aliaksei Protas for their Opening Night goaltending woes as Edmundson was on regular IR and not LTIR.
Edmundson, 30, is no stranger to the LTIR as he has spent the previous few seasons dealing with an unrelated back injury. Over the past two years, he has played in only 85 games.
Edmundson was acquired by the Caps this past summer from the Montreal Canadiens (50% salary retained) in exchange for a 2024 third round draft pick and a 2024 seventh round draft pick.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
