The Washington Capitals are days away from having their full-strength defense corps at Training Camp for the first time.
Rasmus Sandin, a regular top-four defender last season, is finally making his way to DC from his native Sweden after visa-related issues delayed the start of his season. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery revealed the news during his pregame press conference on Tuesday.
“I’ve heard he is en route,” Carbery said.
Sandin played in 68 games for Washington last season, recording 23 points (3g, 20a), a step back from the 35 points (7g, 28a) he posted with the Capitals and Maple Leafs during the 2022-23 campaign. The team’s acquisition of Jakob Chychrun will relieve some of his pressure to produce, bolstering a left side on defense that also includes Martin Fehervary.
Carbery previously stated he wanted to look at Sandin on a pair with free agent addition Matt Roy this fall but has been unable to do so due to Sandin’s absence. Instead, Fehervary has been skating with Roy and will do so again in the club’s preseason matchup with the Boston Bruins.
“We’ll get a look at [Fehervary-Roy] while Sandy still works his way to DC,” Carbery said.
Sandin ate up a lot of minutes under Carbery and assistant coach Mitch Love’s direction last year, taking the ice for 21:07 of ice time per game, second on the team behind only John Carlson (21:07). The 24-year-old defender also signed a five-year extension with the Capitals last March.
Washington will have four more preseason games after Tuesday night’s matchup to work Sandin back into game shape. The regular season gets underway against the New Jersey Devils on October 12.
