Eight games into their NHL season, neither of the Washington Capitals’ major offseason roster additions have suited up in a game. Defenseman Joel Edmundson has been sidelined with a fractured hand he suffered during Training Camp and Max Pacioretty is still recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon.
Head coach Spencer Carbery was asked after the team’s morning skate on Thursday if he had any updates on Edmundson, Pacioretty, and Nic Dowd’s timetables for return. While he skipped over specific news on Pacioretty and Dowd, he did fill in some blanks on Edmundson.
“Edmundson has skated,” Carbery said. “So, he’s returned to the ice but because those players have missed so much time, they’re going to need significant amounts of practice time to get back in the lineup.”
Edmundson was initially injured in late September during an intrasquad scrimmage. After having a procedure done to stabilize the fracture in his hand, the Capitals announced that their rugged rearguard would be out for the next 4-6 weeks.
While Edmundson stayed off of long-term injured reserve when the Capitals revealed their Opening Night roster, the team eventually found a need for more salary cap space when backup netminder Charlie Lindgren went down with an injury. To make room for Hershey Bears netminder Clay Stevenson’s recall, Edmundson was transferred off of regular IR and placed on LTIR.
The Capitals placing him on LTIR meant that the team expected the veteran blueliner to miss at least 10 NHL Games and 24 days of the regular season. Retroactive to the first game of the season, Edmundson will be eligible to return — at the soonest — on November 8 at home against the Florida Panthers.
Edmundson, 30, is no stranger to the LTIR as he has spent the previous few seasons dealing with an unrelated back injury. Over the past two years, he has played in only 85 games. Thursday’s news that he has returned to the ice is the first time since October 7 that we’ve gotten any news on him skating.
Edmundson was acquired by the Caps this past summer from the Montreal Canadiens (50% salary retained) in exchange for a 2024 third round draft pick and a 2024 seventh round draft pick. In his absence, the ice time on the left side of the club’s third defense pairing has been split between young defenders Alex Alexeyev, Lucas Johansen, and Hardy Haman Aktell.
In further injury update news, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Wednesday that Pacioretty has started skating in his torn Achilles tendon rehab process. Carbery also shared on Wednesday that Dowd has not started skating yet with his upper-body injury.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
