Sonny Milano was not on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for practice at Washington Capitals Training Camp on Monday.
According to the team, the 29-year-old suffered an upper-body injury and is not cleared to skate. The Capitals also clarified that Milano’s ailment is a new one, unrelated to a separate upper-body injury that had kept him out for the vast majority of last season.
Milano played in the Capitals’ first two preseason games, recording a league-high six points (4g, 2a). The veteran winger is in an intense competition for a forward spot on the Capitals’ eventual final 23-man roster, fighting with players like Hendrix Lapierre, who also has six points in two preseason games, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Andrew Cristall, and Ethen Frank.
Head coach Spencer Carbery was largely unconcerned with Milano’s absence, hinting that whatever kept him out of action is minor. “It shouldn’t be too long…I would bet he’s probably back skating by tomorrow,” Carbery said.
Milano played in just three games during the 2024-25 season, healthy-scratched for much of the early fall, and then moved to long-term injured reserve in late November. He has said that he was feeling like himself again at the end of the campaign after suffering a bad setback, but the Capitals were too deep into the final stages of the season for him to attempt a comeback.
The 2025-26 season is the final year of Milano’s contract with the Capitals, and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He has been with the Caps for three prior seasons, starting with the 2022-23 campaign, during which he recorded 33 points (11g, 22a) in 64 games. In the 2023-24 season, Milano posted 23 points (15g, 8a) in 49 games.
Milano’s first chance to get back on the ice will come Tuesday morning, when the Capitals prepare to play the Columbus Blue Jackets, the team that originally drafted him, later that night. The Capitals are then taking Wednesday off before hosting the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on Thursday night.
