Wilson Scratched Due To Illness
- The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that Tom Wilson’s absence from tonight’s game against Philadelphia was due to illness. Wilson had a fairly successful run at the Olympics for Canada with four points in six games while also finishing second in the event in penalty minutes with 29. The winger leads Washington in scoring this season with 23 goals and 26 assists in 50 games.
Capitals Place Sonny Milano On Waivers
The Capitals will place Sonny Milano on waivers today at 1:00 pm Central, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports. Until he’s assigned to AHL Hershey tomorrow or is claimed by another team, he’s been designated as a non-roster player to afford Washington the open spot to activate Connor McMichael from injured reserve as expected.
Milano, 29, initially signed a league-minimum deal with the Caps at the beginning of the 2022-23 season after being non-tendered by the Ducks. He had so much success in a depth role, notching 11 goals and 33 points in 64 games, that Washington quickly moved to get him locked into a three-year, $5.7MM extension with a $1.9MM cap hit. He’s now in the final year of that deal, during which he’s been decimated by injuries. After scoring a career-high 15 goals in 49 games in 2023-24, Milano suited up just three times last season before sustaining a season-ending concussion in November.
Back healthy this year, he’s not the same player. Part of that is simply how little he’s been used. With names like Anthony Beauvillier, Ethen Frank, and Justin Sourdif surpassing him on the depth chart, he’s essentially now the Caps’ 14th forward. He’s been scratched for long stretches and, when dressed, has only averaged 8:53 of ice time per game in 31 showings. Considering that usage, his four goals and eight points aren’t too bad.
He’ll now get his first AHL usage since a brief stint with Hershey after signing with the Caps in 2022. He had two goals and an assist in five games that time around and has 118 points in 171 minor-league games for his career.
Milano is at his best when he’s given top-nine deployment and trusted to do little else but score. With no real fit for him to fill that role in D.C. anymore, he may ride out the last few months of his deal in the minors before reaching free agency this summer. If he goes unclaimed on waivers and remains in the Caps’ system, they’ll be left with a $750K cap charge.
Capitals Activate Charlie Lindgren From Injured Reserve
The Capitals announced Monday that they’ve activated goaltender Charlie Lindgren from injured reserve. Washington loaned goaltender Garin Bjorklund to AHL Hershey in the corresponding move, keeping their active roster at the 23-player limit.
After injury troubles derailed both Lindgren and starter Logan Thompson before the Olympic break, the Caps will have both of their NHL options on hand coming out of it. Lindgren was banged up in a Jan. 29 win over the Red Wings and sat out the following four games with a lower-body injury.
His play has experienced a steep decline since making a career-high 50 starts in 2023-24, leading Washington to an unexpected playoff berth. He was still used virtually in tandem with Thompson last season, even as his save percentage fell to a .896 mark. Further decline here in 2025-26 has bumped him back into a traditional backup role behind a Vezina Trophy candidate in Thompson, though. He’s made 17 starts compared to Thompson’s 39 while churning out a career-worst .884 SV% and 3.37 GAA. While he’s faced a more difficult workload than Thompson in terms of expected goals against, his GSAx is still in the red at -2.0, per MoneyPuck.
With two more years left on a still pretty fresh extension at a $3MM cap hit, though, the Caps are committed. That’s especially considering the lack of inspiring minor-league options or prospects waiting to take a job from him. That includes Bjorklund, who sits fourth on Washington’s depth chart behind Thompson, Lindgren, and veteran AHL starter Clay Stevenson. Bjorklund, 23, was a sixth-round pick by the Caps in 2020 and has put up great ECHL numbers the past two years, but has struggled up a level in Hershey. In 12 games this season, he’s put up a 3.47 GAA, .881 SV%, and a 4-5-3 record with one shutout.
Alex Ovechkin Undecided On Playing Future Beyond This Season
With this being the final season of Alex Ovechkin’s contract, there has been plenty of speculation as to whether the future Hall of Famer would be hanging up his skates, returning to play in Russia, or staying in the NHL. At various times, it has been speculated that this would be it for him in the NHL while at others, some have suggested that an extension could be coming.
Now several months into the 2025-26 campaign, it doesn’t seem as if Ovechkin is any closer to making a decision on what comes next. Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti earlier this week, the 40-year-old indicated that he doesn’t know what comes next. He added that his family and the Capitals organization would be part of the decision-making process, with a final decision unlikely to come until after the season.
Ovechkin has spent his entire 21-year NHL career with Washington after the Caps drafted him first overall back in 2004. He has set multiple league records along the way. On top of taking over the all-time goal record last season (he’s up to 919), he’s also the record-holder for power play goals (330), game-winning goals (140), and shots on goal (7,028). Clearly, there’s nothing left to prove but he can certainly keep adding to his records.
While Ovechkin clearly isn’t the elite winger he was for many years, he’s still a very capable contributor. He has 22 goals and 26 assists this season in 59 games while still logging nearly 18 minutes per night of playing time. His 48 points are one behind Tom Wilson for the team lead. While a decline is likely to come given his age, Ovechkin could certainly contribute for another year.
If Ovechkin decides to re-sign with the Capitals, it’s fair to say that the AAV of the deal wouldn’t check in at the $9.5MM that it’s currently at. However, if he were to re-sign on a one-year pact, he’d become eligible for performance bonuses, which would give Washington some extra flexibility and also give Ovechkin a chance to maximize his earnings.
While the Capitals would undoubtedly like some certainty with Ovechkin’s situation heading into the trade deadline to know if this is his final run or not, it appears that they’ll have to wait a while yet to see what the captain plans to do.
Capitals’ John Carlson Day-To-Day With Injury
The Washington Capitals could be missing a major piece when they return to NHL action on Wednesday. Top defenseman John Carlson sat out of the team’s Sunday practice, instead doing individual drills in a no-contact jersey, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Head coach Spencer Carbery later designated Carlson as out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, adds Silber.
Carlson sustained his injury in Washington’s February 5th win over the Nashville Predators. He left that match late in the first period, after getting tangled up with Predators’ forward Cole Smith. The Capitals had hoped that an extended break would help Carlson heal up from the injury, though it will now follow the club through their return to action.
Carlson has continue to serve as a key offensive-defenseman for the Capitals. He has scored 17 points in his last 17 games, dating back to Washington’s highest-scoring game of the season on January 5th. That streak includes the game that Carlson was injured in, thanks to a secondary assist he earned on Washington’s second goal of the game. It was Carlson’s ninth power-play assist of the season, the most of any Capitals defenseman.
In total, the 36-year-old Carlson has posted 10 goals and 36 points in 55 games this season. He is on pace for 69 points in 82 games, closer to his scoring heights from a few years back after he stuck closer to 50 points in the last two seasons. Part of that is thanks to fellow offensive-defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who has taken the weight of a number-one role off of Carlson’s shoulders. Chychrun will carry the brunt of the load in Carlson’s absence, while Declan Chisholm and Dylan McIlrath vye for the open spot at right-defense.
Capitals To Activate Connor McMichael From Injured Reserve
Capitals forward Connor McMichael told reporters today, including Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network, that he’ll come off injured reserve and return to Washington’s lineup when their schedule resumes next Wednesday against the Flyers. The Caps still have nearly a week to make the formal roster move, which will require a corresponding transaction.
McMichael has been out of commission since sustaining an undisclosed injury against the Red Wings three weeks ago. Thanks to the timing of the injury, he only missed the final four games before the Olympic break.
The 25-year-old has bounced around Washington’s top nine quite a bit this season, and he’ll face some increased competition for ice time coming out of the break after Pierre-Luc Dubois returned from abdominal surgery in the Caps’ last appearance. McMichael spent most of last season on the left wing on a line with Dubois and Tom Wilson. Aliaksei Protas has been in that slot when Dubois has been healthy this year, so it stands to reason McMichael could re-enter the picture on the right side of Washington’s top line with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. Those two have seen a rotating cast of wingers, including Anthony Beauvillier and Ethen Frank, while Dubois was out.
While McMichael’s ice time has increased to a career-high 17:03 per game this season, his production has cooled off after a breakout 2024-25 campaign. A lot of that has to do with his shooting percentage nearly halving, dropping from 14.7% last year to 7.6%. He’s only lit the lamp eight times through 55 games as a result, but has added 23 assists for 31 points, ranking seventh on the team in scoring.
After a wild 111-point regular season, the Capitals have received inverse puck luck in 2025-26. They’re shooting just around league average and, despite having above-average offense and defense with a +12 goal differential, entered the break with the 12th-best record in the Eastern Conference based on points percentage. They have a four-point gap to make up with negative games in hand to get back into the playoff picture, something MoneyPuck only gives them a 34.6% chance of being able to pull off.
Capitals Sign Mitch Gibson To Two-Way Deal
The Capitals announced they’ve signed goaltender Mitch Gibson to a two-year, two-way contract that starts this season. He’ll be placed on waivers today for the purpose of returning him to AHL Hershey, where he’s spent a good portion of the season.
It’s the third straight contract Gibson has signed with the Caps, but it’s his first multi-year deal. The 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Washington in 2018 but didn’t sign until five years later after he’d wrapped up a four-year collegiate run with Harvard. He spent most of the last two seasons in the No. 5 spot on Washington’s depth chart, serving as the starter in ECHL South Carolina, before being non-tendered last summer.
While the Caps no longer wanted to use an NHL contract slot on Gibson, they still wanted to keep him in the organization. He agreed to a one-year AHL contract with Hershey in June, but started the year back on assignment to South Carolina. The Capitals have been dealing with injury troubles between the pipes as of late, though, with both Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson missing time before the Olympic break. That’s led to Gibson getting more AHL reps lately, with 12 appearances already a new career high.
The Pennsylvania native has impressed. His .918 SV% and 2.48 GAA outpace both of Washington’s NHL-contracted mainstays in Hershey, Garin Bjorklund and Clay Stevenson. With the former struggling to the tune of a .881 mark in the same amount of workload as Gibson, it’s fair to assume he’s worked his way up to fourth-string status behind Thompson, Lindgren, and Stevenson.
With Washington’s recent injury troubles, they were likely becoming uncomfortable with the prospect of only having two call-up options available if needed – especially if Stevenson needs to go through waivers at some point down the stretch for any reason. They still have three contract slots available after inking Gibson, so they’re not in a huge crunch in that regard.
It’s worth noting Bjorklund is a pending restricted free agent. Signing Gibson through next season could indicate they aren’t planning on qualifying Bjorklund.
Canada’s Tom Wilson Will Not Face Suspension For Olympic Fight
There will be no supplemental discipline for the fight between Team Canada’s Tom Wilson and Team France’s Pierre Crinon at the end of Canada’s 10-2 win on Sunday per Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Olympic rulebook has long been strict about fighting, even calling it out as “not part of international hockey’s DNA”. Fighting majors result in automatic match penalties and are reviewed for supplemental discipline after the game. In this case, neither player will face a suspension for their actions, keeping two of the top enforcers in the tournament on the ice.
Wilson has been strategically rotated onto Canada’s top line for much of the tournament. His intense physicality has filled a gap next to superstar Connor McDavid and Canada’s youngest player, Macklin Celebrini. Wilson has earned three points in three games in that role, though he’s averaged less than 12 minutes of ice time a game – partially thanks to an ejection in the third period on Sunday.
Crinon has long been known as a bruiser. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenseman currently has 66 penalty minutes in 29 games in France’s Ligue Magnus, the country’s top league. He served a seven-game suspension earlier in the league’s season for knocking out an opposing goalie with a punch during a scrum. Cronin racked up 95 penalty minutes in only 36 games of the 2023-24 Ligue Magnus season.
This decision will allow Wilson to stick with Canada as they head into the quarterfinals. At their current pace, Canada seems likely to face one of Germany, Latvia, or Czechia. Crinon will bring his enforcer presence to the qualifying rounds against Italy and Denmark.
Capitals Recall Garin Bjorklund, Reassign Clay Stevenson
The Capitals announced they’ve recalled goaltender Garin Bjorklund from AHL Hershey and returned fellow netminder Clay Stevenson to Hershey in the corresponding move.
While trades aren’t permitted during the ongoing Olympic roster freeze, most simple reassignments are allowed. Teams also must continue carrying two goalies on their active roster during the break. With Charlie Lindgren on injured reserve, that means Washington has to stash a netminder they’d normally prefer to have playing in the minors on the NHL roster.
Today’s swap serves to let Stevenson get some reps in Hershey over the next couple of weeks as the AHL schedule continues rolling through the Olympic break. With injuries to both Lindgren and Logan Thompson, the 26-year-old Stevenson has been on Washington’s roster since Jan. 29. He made three consecutive starts with Washington’s regular duo sidelined, compiling an impressive .904 SV% and 2.33 GAA with a 2-1-0 record. That’s a particularly strong stat line considering he had to start both halves of a back-to-back to close a stretch of three games in four nights.
The Alberta native is in his fourth season in the organization after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Dartmouth in 2022. He replaced Hunter Shepard as the Caps’ third-stringer for this season after Shepard left for the Senators in free agency. In 24 starts for Hershey, he’s put up a .912 SV%, 2.57 GAA, and an 11-8-4 record.
Bjorklund, 23, comes up to fill the two-goalie requirement but will presumably be returned to Hershey at the end of the Olympic break, either to swap places with Stevenson or to make way for Lindgren’s IR activation if he’s ready to return. A sixth-round pick in 2020, he’s starting to make the jump from the ECHL level to the AHL this season and has served as Stevenson’s backup for a good portion of the campaign. He has a .881 SV% in 12 showings for Hershey and a .929 mark in seven games for ECHL South Carolina.
Bjorklund Sent To Hershey
- The Washington Capitals joined the goalie run, assigning Garin Bjorklund to the AHL in a corresponding move to Logan Thompson‘s activation from injured reserve. Bjorklund has only played in the minors this season, recording four wins and a .879 SV% in 11 AHL games and four wins and a .929 SV% in seven ECHL games. This move will allow him to continue carving out an AHL role after spending the last three seasons in the ECHL.