The Washington Capitals made a trio of roster moves on Monday, formally moving two injured defensemen off their active roster and bringing in a reinforcement from Hershey.
The Capitals placed Rasmus Sandin on long-term injured reserve and Matt Roy on injured reserve, while recalling veteran defenseman Justin Holl from the AHL’s Bears.
Both Sandin and Roy were already sidelined, so the transactions don’t reflect new or worsening injuries. Instead, the moves gave the Capitals roster flexibility ahead of a back-to-back on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens while their blue line remains shorthanded and opened the door for Holl to join the NHL club at practice on Monday.
Sandin has not yet played this season due to an ACL tear in his right knee that he had surgically repaired in April. At that time, the Capitals estimated a six-to-nine-month recovery timeline, placing his return between late October and late January. He’s been skating with the team off and on in a non-contact jersey.
The Swedish rearguard opened the season with an injured non-roster status. LTIR requires a player to miss at least 10 games and 24 days, but teams can apply the designation retroactively.
Roy was injured in the Capitals’ second game of the season, suffering a lower-body injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 3. Roy’s placement on injured reserve can be retroactive to that date, meaning he has already satisfied the NHL’s seven-day minimum stay on IR and can return as soon as he is medically cleared.
Holl re-joins the NHL roster after clearing waivers at the end of Capitals training camp. The 34-year-old defenseman appeared in three games for the Bears, going without a point and posting a minus-2 rating.
The 34-year-old defender has appeared in 405 NHL games over parts of nine seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, recording 87 points (14g, 73a). He was also part of the Toronto Marlies’ 2018 Calder Cup championship team.
Dylan McIlrath was benched and played just 5:04 of ice time in the Capitals’ 5-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. Timothy Liljegren was also on the ice for three Kraken five-on-five goals.
