The Washington Capitals placed goaltender Clay Stevenson and forward Ethen Frank on waivers, Sunday afternoon.
Stevenson and Frank can be claimed by any of the 31 other NHL teams over the next 24 hours. If they are passed over, they will be free to be assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
With the moves, the Capitals have 25 players remaining at training camp, with their 23-man roster due for submission on Monday by 5 pm.
Stevenson, 26, made his NHL debut in the Capitals’ final 2024-25 regular-season game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He spent the vast majority of the season in the AHL with the Bears, posting an 18-8-4 record with a 2.94 goals-against average, an .888 save percentage, and two shutouts in 33 appearances.
The Alberta native is set to become Hershey’s number-one goaltender this season if he does clear waivers. However, multiple NHL insiders, including Elliotte Friedman and Kevin Weekes, have reported that teams around the league may have interest in claiming the young backstop for their NHL squads.
Another goaltender, Brandon Bussi, was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes from the Florida Panthers after being waived on Saturday.
Frank, 27, got into his first 24 NHL games last year after being recalled from Hershey in January. The speedy winger posted seven points (4g, 3a) in his first-ever stint with the Capitals after spending parts of four seasons with the Bears.
The former Western Michigan University standout won back-to-back Calder Cups with Hershey in 2023 and 2024. He has 125 career AHL points (80g, 45a) in 161 games.
Notably absent from waivers are Sonny Milano, Hendrix Lapierre, and Vincent Iorio. The lack of news on the three means that they will all be included on the team’s roster to begin the season, which indicates that Ivan Miroshnichenko, who is waivers-exempt, could be sent to the Bears at some point over the next day.
Iorio’s inclusion also means that one or both of Matt Roy and Dylan McIlrath are headed for injured reserve after suffering injuries in the Capitals’ preseason finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed postgame that their respective ailments could keep them out “maybe a week, two weeks.”
The Capitals took Sunday off after their win over Columbus, but will be back at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for two full days of practice on Monday and Tuesday. They open their regular season against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday at Capital One Arena.
