The Washington Capitals have officially signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a two-year, $4.125 million contract which will carry a $2.0625 million cap hit per season.
The right-handed shooting defenseman was originally reported to have chosen the Capitals by hockey insider Chris Johnston on December 12. Bear has since joined the team for multiple practices and met with DC media multiple times without making his new deal official until Thursday.
OFFICIAL: The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a two-year, $4.125 million contract. Bear’s contract will carry an average annual value of $2.0625 million.#ALLCAPS
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 28, 2023
Bear’s signing fills up the last currently available slot on the Capitals’ 23-man roster. If the team were to make an additional move, such as activating Max Pacioretty off of long-term injured reserve, they will need to send down or waive someone else in an accompanying move.
The 26-year-old Bear has not played in an NHL game since April 13th of last season due to shoulder surgery. The Regina-native re-aggravated a nagging shoulder injury with Team Canada at the World Championships last summer and has been out for the entirety of the 2023-24 season rehabbing.
While Bear only posted 16 points (3g, 13a) in 61 games for the Canucks last year, he was a major positive when he was on the ice. Bear’s relative stats — think the percentage point difference with Bear on the ice and off — shows that the rearguard was +3.4 percent in shot attempts, +5.1 percent in expected goals, +2.1 percent in scoring chances, and +6.7 percent in high-danger chances.
At Thursday’s practice, Bear skated on the team’s second pairing next to Rasmus Sandin. His inclusion in the lineup has forced Trevor van Riemsdyk out of the picture and onto an extra defense pairing with Alex Alexeyev.
Bear’s salary will cut into the $8.1 million in cap space the Capitals currently have due to Nicklas Backstrom and Max Pacioretty being on long-term injured reserve. While Pacioretty and his $2 million cap hit will return as soon as Friday, the team will still have plenty of room to add pieces, if they so choose, as Backstrom is not expected to play again.
Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:
Capitals Sign Ethan Bear
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Ethan Bear to a two-year, $4.125 million contract, president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. Bear’s contract will carry an average annual value of $2.0625 million.
Bear, 26, has recorded 63 points (16g, 47a) in 251 career games with the Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers. The 5’11, 197-pound defenseman spent last season with Vancouver, where he registered 16 points (3g, 13a) in 61 games. Among Canucks defensemen with at least 20 games played, Bear ranked third in plus/minus (+6), blocked shots (82) and shorthanded ice time per game (1:47). In addition, Bear’s 0.26 points-per-game in 2022-23 marked the second-highest rate of his career (2019-20: 0.30 P/GP).
Bear appeared in 58 games with Carolina during the 2021-22 season, recording 14 points (5g, 9a). Bear matched his single-season career high in goals with five, two of which were game-winners.
Originally drafted by Edmonton in the fifth round (124th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Bearrecorded a career-high 21 points (5g, 16a) during the shortened 2019-20 season, appearing in all 71 of the Oilers’ games. Bear also averaged 21:58 of ice time in 2019-20, which ranked third among Oilers defensemen. Bear appeared in 132 games with Edmonton in parts of three seasons, as well as eight Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Bear registered 192 points (66g, 126a) in 264 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2013-17, where he was twice named to the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team (2015-16, 2016-17). During the 2016-17 season, Bear was awarded the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s top defenseman and helped lead Seattle to the WHL championship.
Internationally, the Regina, Saskatchewan native has earned gold medals with Canada at the 2023 World Championship and the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Bear also represented Canada at the 2015 Under-18 World Championship, winning a bronze medal.
