Capitals Notes: Oshie, Backstrom, Extensions, Bear
Veteran forward T.J. Oshie told the media on Tuesday that he’ll need reassurance that injuries won’t be an issue before he decides on if he’ll play next season, shares Monumental Sports’ Tarik El-Bashir in a video of the press scrum (Twitter link). Oshie has one season remaining on the eight-year contract he signed with the Capitals in 2017. He was limited to just 56 games this season, bearing with a nagging back issue that ended his season a few weeks early last year. Oshie also shared that he broke his left hand on a hit from New York Ranger Matt Rempe in Game 3 and played through the injury in Game 4.
Back injuries late in a career always deserve extra care, as most veterans can attest to. So it makes sense that the 37-year-old Oshie could hesitate to push himself much more. He’s done it all throughout his 16-year NHL career, winning the 2018 Stanley Cup and representing America at one Olympic Games and three World Championships or World Cups. He polished off his résumé by reaching the 1,000-game mark this season, a feat he was eager to achieve. Oshie seems open to working his way back to full health, though Caps fans will have to hope he’s able to overcome his long battle with his back injury.
Other notes out of D.C.:
- Oshie’s fellow assistant captain Nicklas Backstrom is also facing injury questions next season, with general manager Brian MacLellan saying he expects Backstrom to remain on LTIR, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). Backstrom attempted to come back from back from hip resurfacing surgery this past season, but only managed eight games before his hip issues flared back up. The hip injury has forced Backstrom out of 152 games over the last three seasons, including ending his 2022-23 season in January. The Capitals will continue to receive $9.2MM in LTIR relief with Backstrom remaining sidelined.
- MacLellan also shared that the team has engaged forwards Beck Malenstyn and Connor McMichael in extension conversations, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Both McMichael and Malenstyn carved out daily roles this season, playing in 80 and 81 games and scoring 33 and 21 points respectively. While they rotated around the lineup, especially in response to Washington’s injury bug, both players found a home on the team’s third line. They’re each set to become restricted free agents on July 1st, coming off deals that paid them just above the league minimum. They’re not likely to cost too much more on new deals, though the Capitals will still have to be careful with the money they hand out, with just $6.685MM in projected cap space this summer.
- Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear has exited the NHLPA Player’s Assistance Program, per Silber (Twitter link). Bear entered the program in late March, missing out on Washington’s last 11 regular-season games. After recovering from shoulder surgery, Bear signed a two-year contract with Washington in late December. He’ll look to vindicate that deal and its $2.0625MM price tag with a strong return next season.
Metro Notes: Bowers, Clarke, Malenstyn
The New Jersey Devils announced that they’ve assigned forward Shane Bowers to the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 24-year-old was recalled by the Devils a little over a week ago and went scoreless in five games to finish out the NHL season. The native of Halifax, Nova Scotia appeared in eight games this season, tallying no points, while averaging 9:27 of ice time per game.
A former first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2017 (28th overall), Bowers hasn’t developed into the power forward many thought he could be back when he played for Boston University. He was part of the package that Ottawa traded to the Colorado Avalanche for Matt Duchene but has never been able to find his scoring touch at the AHL level and has bounced around to two more organizations since then. With Utica this season, Bowers has just nine goals and four assists in 40 games and is -11.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- The Devils also assigned forward Graeme Clarke to Utica of the AHL. Clarke appeared in two games during his most recent recall and three NHL games this season. He has yet to register an NHL point, but the 22-year-old has been a solid AHL scoring option in his four-year professional career. The Ottawa, Ontario native has posted 24 goals and 23 assists in 64 AHL games this season and 147 points in 215 career games at the AHL level.
- Washington Capitals writer Stephen Whyno is reporting that Capitals forward Beck Malenstyn left last night’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old was skating through the neutral zone with the puck when he sent a pass and was hit late by Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic. Malenstyn remained on the ice briefly before getting back to his feet and skating to the bench. He immediately walked to the dressing room while receiving assistance from the medical staff. No word yet on the severity of the injury. Malenstyn has dressed in 80 games this season, posting six goals and 15 assists while dishing out 237 hits.
Evening Snapshots: Wild, Capitals, Drysdale
Earlier today, the Minnesota Wild announced that defenseman Jared Spurgeon would be missing the rest of the season due to back and hip surgery, and Joe Smith of The Athletic speculates that the organization may use their newfound cap space to improve their situation. Only two days ago, General Manager Bill Guerin publicly stated that he is unwilling to give up on the 2023-24 season, and fully expects this team to compete for a playoff spot over the next couple of months.
If Minnesota is going to operate as a buyer come trade deadline time, there are a few options at defense they could look to acquire. Assuming the team looks for a right-handed defenseman to replace the lost minutes left by Spurgeon, they could become a dark horse contender for a defenseman such as Chris Tanev from the Calgary Flames, or even look to acquire Tyson Barrie from their division rivals, the Nashville Predators.
In the next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline, the status of the Wild’s playoff chances should come into much clearer view for Guerin, which should help him steer the ship in a more concrete direction. Whatever the case may be, if Minnesota decides to make a major move to replace Spurgeon for the rest of the season, they will have approximately $5.1MM in cap flexibility to do so.
Other snapshots:
- In tonight’s game for the Washington Capitals, they saw the return of their captain, Alex Ovechkin, who had missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. Unfortunately, the team will be without a few players, as Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reported that defenseman Joel Edmundson would not play in tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, and forward Beck Malenstyn is out due to personal reasons.
- Moving on to another team in the Metropolitan Division, even though Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported earlier that newly-acquired defenseman Jamie Drysdale was not seen at practice today, he was able to draw into the lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers this evening. Suiting up for the team in two games, Drysdale came down with an illness shortly after arriving in Philadelphia and subsequently missed the next two contests for the team. Drawing back in the lineup against the Dallas Stars, Drysdale has already skated in over 14 minutes of the game and has put two shots on the net.
Capitals Notes: Malenstyn, Gibson, Persson
The Capitals announced that they’ve recalled winger Beck Malenstyn from AHL Hershey. The 25-year-old comes up a day after winger Anthony Mantha was a late scratch against Montreal due to a lower-body injury, giving them 12 healthy forwards on the roster once again. Malenstyn has played in five games with Washington so far this season, picking up a goal and an assist despite averaging just 8:34 per night of playing time. He hasn’t been much more productive in the minors either, collecting just seven goals and three assists in 39 contests. Malenstyn has one more year left on his deal after this season with it converting from a two-way pact to a one-way agreement for 2023-24.
More from Washington:
- Mitchell Gibson’s previously reported deal with the Caps is now official, per a team release. He receives a one-year, entry-level contract for next season which carries a cap hit of $867,500. The 23-year-old posted a 2.25 GAA and a .919 SV% with Harvard in 27 games this season, earning him a spot on the All-ECAC Hockey Second Team. Gibson is expected to sign a tryout agreement with AHL Hershey to finish the season with the Bears.
- The Capitals also announced that they’ve re-assigned forward Ludwig Persson to Hershey. The 19-year-old was a third-round pick last summer and is already signed to his entry-level deal. Persson spent this season playing at home in the second-tier Allsvenskan, recording four goals and 11 assists in 45 games with BIK Karlskoga. He also made one appearance at the SHL level, extending his streak to four straight seasons with at least one game played in Sweden’s top division.
Beck Malenstyn Loaned To AHL
After explaining that Beck Malenstyn is close to a return yesterday, the Washington Capitals have loaned the young forward to the AHL today. Malenstyn will join the Hershey Bears, now that he has recovered from a finger injury.
Selected 145th overall in 2016, few would have been surprised if Malenstyn never made it to the NHL. After all, he wasn’t a dynamic offensive player in junior, reaching a career-high of 56 points. But the 6’3″ forward did make it, debuting for the Capitals in the 2019-20 season thanks to a hard-working, physical playstyle.
Now a few years later and the 24-year-old has 20 games under his belt, including five this season with the Capitals. He had two points in those five, before leaving a game at the beginning of November and sitting out ever since. He’ll now have to get back up to speed in the minor leagues but could be a potential call-up down the road for the Capitals.
With Tom Wilson nearing a return, Washington is starting to get healthy again and is already one of the hottest teams in the league. The club has won five straight and nine of ten as they climb up the Metropolitan Division standings.
Injury Notes: Avalanche, Gallagher, Moore, Malenstyn
Although the Colorado Avalanche are comfortably in the Western Conference’s playoff picture at this point in the season, their 2022-23 campaign has been far from easy. Ravaged by a flood of injuries, we have rarely gotten to see an Avalanche squad hit the ice that closely resembles the team that won the Stanley Cup in the summer. Today, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued some injury updates on players to the media, including Altitude Sports’ Marc Moser.
According to Bednar, Gabriel Landeskog, Bowen Byram, and Josh Manson are unfortunately not close to returning from their injuries. He did deliver some good news as well, though, noting that franchise center Nathan MacKinnon is nearing a return, and that penalty-killing specialist Andrew Cogliano would be returning to the lineup. While the Avalanche still won’t be near 100% anytime soon, the positive developments regarding a few players are certainly encouraging.
Some other injury news:
- The Montreal Canadiens are dealing with their own rash of injuries, currently missing veterans such as Brendan Gallagher, Mike Matheson, Sean Monahan, and David Savard. The Canadiens have said, via Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, that Gallagher is the only one of that group that will be joining the team for their trip to Florida, meaning Montreal could be getting a crucial veteran leader back in their lineup in the near future.
- Trevor Moore will be out for tonight’s game as his Los Angeles Kings take on the Vegas Golden Knights, per LA Kings Insider’s Zach Dooley. Dooley also notes that Moore, who has 19 points in 37 games this season, could be out for the team’s game against Colorado as well.
- Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters, including The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, that forward Beck Malenstyn is “close” to a return from his finger injury. The 24-year-old 2016 fifth-rounder has played in five NHL games so far this year and could be in a position to pass his career-high of 12 NHL games played in a season, a high he set last year.
Beck Malenstyn Undergoes Hand Surgery
Washington Capitals forward Beck Malenstyn underwent surgery to stabilize a left-hand finger fracture, the team announced Friday afternoon. Malenstyn will be out of the lineup for six to eight weeks
Malenstyn sustained the injury three days ago in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. The team placed him on injured reserve the following day, clearing some room for a group of AHL recalls. At this juncture, Malenstyn is eligible to be placed on long-term injured reserve if the team needs some additional salary cap wiggle room.
Projected to be a regular in AHL Hershey this season, Malenstyn got the call-up to the NHL in mid-October when forward Connor Brown suffered a potential season-ending ACL injury. A Capitals fifth-round draft selection in 2016, Malenstyn signed a two-year extension with the team this past offseason.
In five games up with Washington his season, Malenstyn registered a goal (his second in the NHL) and an assist. The 24-year-old has defied a good amount of adversity to even make it to the NHL as a semi-regular after missing the entire 2020-21 campaign due to injury.
Malenstyn is one of six Capitals forwards currently on IR or LTIR.
Washington Capitals Recall Sonny Milano, Place Three On Injured Reserve
As announced in a team release today, the Washington Capitals have recalled forward Sonny Milano, forward Garrett Pilon, and defenseman Lucas Johansen from the Hershey Bears of the AHL. All three players will travel with the team to Detroit for the team’s game tomorrow against the Red Wings.
In a corresponding move, the team has also placed forward T.J. Oshie, defenseman John Carlson, and forward Beck Malenstyn on injured reserve. Forward Connor Brown was also moved to long-term injured reserve (LTIR) after undergoing potentially season-ending ACL surgery earlier this week.
Oshie is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury suffered last Saturday. He is technically eligible to return for Saturday’s home game against Arizona, but without a timeline, there’s no telling when he’ll be back. The fact that he was not moved to LTIR along with Brown is somewhat promising, suggesting that he may not be out for more than a few weeks.
Carlson also left the same game Saturday with a lower-body injury, although his status remains day-to-day. Assuming his injured reserve placement is retroactive, he could return Saturday against Arizona, but the IR placement is confirmation that he’ll miss his third straight game tomorrow against Detroit.
Malenstyn left last night’s overtime loss against Vegas with an upper-body injury. He was recalled to the team in mid-October in the absence of Brown.
After notching 34 points in 66 games last year as a member of the Anaheim Ducks, it was rather shocking that no team signed Milano before training camps started, and it was nearly as surprising when he cleared waivers when Washington signed him. In five games in the AHL, Milano’s notched two goals, an assist, and three points. He could potentially draw into the lineup in Malenstyn’s absence, although the team also had Connor McMichael as a healthy extra.
Pilon, 24, has five points in seven games to start the AHL season, his fifth with Hershey. Johansen, the 28th overall selection in 2016, missed the majority of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons due to injury and has a goal in six games with Hershey in 2022-23. The team had no extra healthy defensemen with Carlson out.
Connor Brown Out Long-Term; Washington Capitals Recall Beck Malenstyn
With Evgeny Kuznetsov serving a suspension and Connor Brown unavailable due to injury, the Washington Capitals were forced to recall a forward. They have chosen Beck Malenstyn, who played 12 games for the team last season.
It is not clear yet how long Brown will be out, but the team told reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that it will be long-term. That isn’t an ideal situation for the team to be in, especially after losing Axel Jonsson Fjallby and Brett Leason to a roster crunch just a few days ago. That was a lot of the team’s depth, though they did add Sonny Milano on a one-year deal to help fill the cupboard back up.
Malenstyn, 24, has just 15 NHL appearances to his name and isn’t exactly an offensive force. The fifth-round pick scored just ten goals and 16 points in 65 games with the Hershey Bears last season but does offer a big body for the bottom-six. As everyone slides up, the Capitals have inserted Connor McMichael into the third-line center role for tomorrow’s game, while Conor Sheary jumps up to the top unit across from Alex Ovechkin and beside Lars Eller.
The team knows Kuznetsov will be back after his one-game suspension, but Brown’s absence will be noticeable. The versatile winger had averaged over 18 minutes through his first three games, most importantly as the team’s top penalty-killing forward. In fact, Kuznetsov was second on that list, meaning others will have to pick up the slack tomorrow night.
Washington Capitals Extend Beck Malenstyn
A few minutes after announcing a contract for Brett Leason, the Washington Capitals have wrapped up another negotiation. This time it’s Beck Malenstyn signing a two-year extension. His deal will come in at a slightly lower average annual value of $762.5K, as Malenstyn will receive $750K in 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24 at the NHL level. The other difference is that the first year of this contract is a two-way deal, which carries an AHL salary of $110K.
Malenstyn, 24, played 12 games for the Capitals this season, scoring his first NHL goal in the process. The 2016 fifth-round pick has 15 games total at that level and has spent the majority of his pro career to this point with the Hershey Bears. In 65 games there this season, he had ten goals and 16 points.
With a new contract in hand, Malenstyn will be another young forward fighting for minutes at training camp, while the Capitals try to sort out their lineup without Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom. The 6’3″ winger represents a big, physical presence for the bottom six but lacks much offensive upside, meaning his role with Washington will likely remain as a depth option.
Still, Capitals’ general manager Brian MacLellan is getting some offseason work done ahead of time and now has just five pending restricted free agents in the whole organization. Malenstyn would not have been eligible for arbitration and had basically no leverage, though landing some security in a two-year deal is a nice reward for the Hershey favorite.