Sonny Milano skated on Thursday — the first day of Capitals Training Camp — in an attempt to reclaim what he lost.
After posting a career-high 15 goals the year before, Milano missed nearly the entire 2024-25 season due to an upper-body injury. Formerly a fixture in the Capitals’ top nine, the Massapequa, New York native played only three games last season before being sidelined for good in early November.
Milano, who has one year remaining on his contract worth $1.9 million, ambled onto the ice at 9 am with Group A, the first set of players to take the ice at camp. The 29-year-old winger was paired with other forwards battling for roster spots on the Capitals, including Ethen Frank, Hendrix Lapierre, Ryan Leonard, Justin Souridf, Henrik Rybinski, and Bogdan Trineyev.
Just being on the ice should be considered a major success after Milano’s future in the NHL was seemingly in doubt during the spring. While rehabbing, the crafty forward suffered a “fairly significant” setback in March as he attempted to be available for the Caps in the playoffs, necessitating the team and player going back “to the drawing board.”
“I think he’s still kind of in that process of trying to see if he can get himself healthy, and I think that’s going to go into the summer, and we’re just going to have to see where he is as the summer goes on,” Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said during the team’s Breakdown Day interviews. “We’re going to have to give him some time and space to figure out where he is and how his injuries are holding up, and go from there.”
Milano’s injury, however, improved enough in the summer that he could restart his training fully.
“I actually talked to Sonny a few weeks ago and he feels good,” Patrick said in July. “He was doing some offseason traveling, and he’s going to get back and then get skating a little earlier than he normally does, and he was excited. He’s ready to go.”
Milano returned to DC in late August and participated in the team’s informal skates. What’s next is a bit of a mystery.
If Milano can re-find his past form after the nearly year-long layoff, he could be a boon for the Capitals’ third line, which is expected to see Connor McMichael skate at center and potentially showcase Ryan Leonard on the right wing.
If things go poorly, he could be cut from the team’s training camp roster and put on waivers. Were Milano to go unclaimed, the Capitals could option him to the Hershey Bears, where they could recoup $1.15 million in salary cap space.
