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Garrett Pilon

Capitals Claim Nicolas Aube-Kubel Off Waivers From Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 6 Comments

With Connor Brown done for the season due to ACL surgery, the Capitals have his $3.6MM cap hit to work with for LTIR space.  They used a chunk of that today as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Washington has claimed winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel off waivers from Toronto.

It’s the second straight season that the 26-year-old has been plucked off the waiver wire in November as a year ago, Colorado scooped him up from Philadelphia.  He went on to have a strong finish to his season with 11 goals and 11 assists in 67 games with the Avs while suiting up 14 times in their Stanley Cup run, leading to him signing a one-year, $1MM contract with the Maple Leafs on the opening day of free agency last summer.

However, things didn’t go particularly well for Aube-Kubel with Toronto as he was a healthy scratch in five of their first 11 games this season while he was held off the scoresheet in six games while logging just over nine minutes per game and with a need for some roster flexibility, they decided that Aube-Kubel was the one to part with.  Notably, on top of the cap savings and roster spot being opened, this also frees up a contract slot for Toronto who was at the maximum of 50 prior to this claim.

Meanwhile, for Washington, it’s a low-risk move to bring in a bottom-six forward with some NHL experience as Aube-Kubel has 175 career NHL appearances under his belt which will give Peter Laviolette another option as he looks to find the right combination on the fourth line.  With the Caps having a full roster, they’ve assigned Garrett Pilon to AHL Hershey to open up a spot on their 23-man roster.  Pilon has five points in seven games with the Bears so far this season.

Washington Capitals Recall Sonny Milano, Place Three On Injured Reserve

at CDT | by 3 Comments

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.

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