The Washington Capitals are facing some bad news with defenseman Rasmus Sandin.
General manager Chris Patrick revealed that Sandin is expected to miss the start of next year due to the significant knee injury he suffered in the final week of the 2025-26 regular season. Patrick shared the news as he and Capitals president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan met with the media for their annual end-of-season availability.
“There’ll be more of an update later this week, but he’s going to miss a decent amount of time,” Patrick said.
Sandin suffered the injury in the third period of Washington’s 6-3 win over the Penguins on April 11. As the Swedish defender tried to make his way through a faceoff scrum, he was clipped by a hip check from Penguins forward Justin Brazeau, and his leg got caught underneath him as he fell to the ice.
During his own Breakdown Day meeting with the media, Sandin seemed to know that early indications were that he had not escaped with just a minor injury. Instead, he relayed that he expected an extensive healing and recovery process to occupy his offseason.
“Yeah, I think it’ll be quite a bit of rehab over the summer,” Sandin said.
Sandin’s unfortunate injury comes just as he had assumed a much larger role with the Capitals after franchise stalwart John Carlson was traded to the Anaheim Ducks at the deadline. Sandin had taken up a spot on the right side of the club’s top defense pairing next to Martin Fehervary.
The 2025-26 campaign was the second year of Sandin’s five-year deal with the Capitals. He finished the season playing in 73 games, recording 29 points (5g, 24a) and averaging 19:12 of time on ice per game.
Patrick admitted that Sandin’s expected absence has changed how the team will approach their roster construction plans this summer. The 26-year-old rearguard averaged the third most time on ice per game on the team, 19:53, in the 17 games he played post-deadline.
Part of those plans could include Sandin’s former Toronto Maple Leafs teammate and Capitals trade-deadline acquisition, Timothy Liljegren. While Liljegren played just four games with the Caps and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, he and the team reportedly have mutual interest in a contract extension.
Liljegren and fellow right-handed blueliner Trevor van Riemsdyk are the lone free agents the Capitals will have from their backend.
