The Washington Capitals returned Hendrix Lapierre, Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Hunter Shepard to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Friday in what turned out to be paper moves.
All three players were required to be on Hershey’s roster by the 3 pm trade deadline so that they could be eligible for this year’s AHL playoff run. They were subsequently recalled back up to the Capitals just four minutes after the deadline passed.
#Caps have recalled Ivan Miroshnichenko, Hendrix Lapierre and Hunter Shepard from Hershey (AHL) after loaning them earlier today for roster flexibility purposes.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 8, 2024
Lapierre has been up with the big club since February 23 after the Capitals placed Nic Dowd on injured reserve. He recently earned a promotion to the team’s top line where he has been regularly skating with Alex Ovechkin.
In his last six NHL games, Lapierre has recorded seven points (4g, 3a). The 22-year-old pivot won the Calder Cup with Hershey last season and is expected to to play a big role in their upcoming postseason run with Mike Sgarbossa sticking with the Capitals.
Miroshnichenko was recalled by the Capitals on February 26 after Anthony Mantha was injured in a game against the Florida Panthers. The young Russian scored his first NHL goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night in his fifth career NHL game.
In Hershey this season, Miroshnichenko has recorded 25 points (9g, 16a) in 47 games. This is his first season as a pro in North America.
Shepard was summoned from the Bears on Thursday morning after Darcy Kuemper came down with an illness that made him unavailable to dress in Pittsburgh. He was an unused backup in the game as Charlie Lindgren pitched a 39-save shutout.
The 2023 AHL playoff MVP has a sparkling 21-3-2 record for the Bears this season with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Per CapFriendly, Shepard was with the Capitals on just an emergency loan basis.
