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Capitals Place Pierre-Luc Dubois On IR

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Oct. 19: The Capitals have now placed Dubois on IR to activate defenseman Dylan McIlrath in his place, as expected, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Dubois has already missed seven days due to his injury, so he can be activated at any time. He remains in a non-contact jersey but is practicing with the club.

Oct. 14: Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois will not play tonight against the Lightning due to a lower-body injury, head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed (via Sammi Silber of The Hockey News). He’s listed as day-to-day and has not landed on injured reserve.

If he does, the Caps will be able to backdate his placement to Oct. 12. He left Sunday’s 1-0 win over the Rangers late in the third period for something that required additional evaluation, Carbery said, but it’s not clear when he sustained the injury. If the Caps create a roster spot by placing him on IR, he would be ruled out for Washington’s next two games, including tonight’s, before being eligible for activation against the Canucks on Oct. 19. They have ample cap space to make a recall if they do so, a likely scenario given they don’t have an extra healthy forward with him sidelined.

Dubois began the season in the spot where he enjoyed much success last year – anchoring the Caps’ second line between Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. In their three-game sample size, though, their two-way play has trailed off a bit from 2024-25. While the trio has outscored opponents 3-0 at even strength and won the Corsi battle 31-29, they’ve only controlled 41.9% of expected goals – the lowest quality share among Washington’s forward lines so far, according to MoneyPuck. As for Dubois individually, he’s still looking for his first point of the year but has a +1 rating while averaging 17:22 per game and going 15-for-41 on faceoffs for a 36.6% win rate. Last year, he had two points through his first three games en route to his career-high 46 assists and 66 points.

Connor McMichael is a natural choice to step down and shift back to center after spending time as their top-line right wing with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome to begin the year. That’s exactly what the Caps will go with, at least for tonight, according to Silber. Hendrix Lapierre, who was scratched Sunday after appearing in Washington’s first two games, will re-enter the lineup as the Caps’ lone healthy extra and will do so as the third-line anchor between Ryan Leonard and Sonny Milano. The latter practiced in Dubois’ spot on Washington’s top power play unit this morning as well.

Evening Notes: Dubois, Marchessault, Lowry

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Washington Capitals centerman Pierre-Luc Dubois donned a non-contact jersey for a second-straight practice on Friday. He won’t be ready for Washington’s Sunday matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, but could return on Tuesday, head coach Spencer Carbery told Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson. Dubois has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury for much of the last week.

Dubois appeared in three games before sustaining his injury. His only notable stat changes came in the form of five shots on net, two hits, and a plus-one. He continued to serve as a top-six center for the Capitals, centering Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. Washington has turned towards Connor McMichael to fill that role in Dubois’ absence. McMichael has one point – his first of the year – and a plus-one in the relief role. That scoring surely won’t be enough to command Dubois’ spot once he’s back to full health. Dubois should be expected to return in the coming week, and continue his hunt for his first score of the year.

Other notes from around the NHL:

  • Winger Jonathan Marchessault sat out of the Nashville Predators’ Saturday matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. He is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, per a team announcement. Nashville opted to ice seven defensemen in the matchup – pulling defender Nick Blackenburg into the lineup. They went on to lose by a score of 1-4. Marchessault is tied for the Predators’ lead in scoring with four points through five games this season. He finished second on the team in scoring last season, with 56 points in 78 game placing him behind only Filip Forsberg, who scored 76 points in 82 games. That standing will make Marchessault’s absence quickly felt, even if he’s only out for the short term.
  • On the other side of that matchup, Winnipeg received a bit of positive injury news when captain Adam Lowry returned to practice in a no-contact jersey on Saturday, per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton. Lowry has been recovering from hip surgery he underwent in late May. He is still working back to full health this season, but did manage 13 appearances and scored four goals in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs. He also scored 34 points in 73 regular season games. Lowry is a core piece of Winnipeg’s lineup when healthy, offering stout two-way play from a middle-six center role. He will be slotted back into a busy role as soon as he’s ready to make his season debut.

Carlson Would Prefer Early Extension, Doesn't Plan To Retire After Season

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Veteran defenseman John Carlson is in his 17th NHL season, all with the Capitals.  He’s in the final year of his contract, making him extension-eligible but the team informed him early that they didn’t want to engage in extension talks but rather want to see how the year plays out first.  Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti earlier this week, the 35-year-old acknowledged that he’d much rather prefer to have the security of a new contract in place but understands the business side of why they want to wait as well.  Carlson is making $8MM per season on this contract and with the likelihood of his role starting to decrease over the next few years, his next deal should come in at least a little below that price tag.  But if Washington decides not to bring him back, Carlson is already ruling out retiring and in that scenario, he’d be looking elsewhere in free agency next summer.

Capitals Recall Ethen Frank

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The Capitals have announced the recall of winger Ethen Frank from AHL Hershey. Frank will likely be Washington’s scratch at forward for its game against the Wild tonight, but will be on hand to enter the lineup in case of a last-minute injury. Since a roster spot opened up yesterday when Vincent Iorio was claimed off waivers by the Sharks, no corresponding transaction is required.

Frank, 27, returns to Washington’s NHL roster after making his big league debut last season. Undrafted, Frank has worked his way up the depth chart from AHL signing to reliable call-up option in just a few years. He made his pro debut for Hershey late in the 2021-22 season after a five-year run at Western Michigan and ended up signing his first NHL contract late the following season.

Over 163 career games in the minors, Frank has 82 goals, 45 assists, and 127 points. He’s led Hershey in goals twice, including netting 30 as a rookie, and has been named to the AHL All-Star Classic in all three of his full-time pro seasons. After recording a 4-3–7 scoring line in 24 NHL appearances last year, he was expected to get a long look at a top-nine role in training camp, but was boxed out by rookie Ryan Leonard, 2020 first-rounder Hendrix Lapierre, and returning vet Sonny Milano, who spent most of 2024-25 sidelined with a concussion. He was waived at the end of training camp and, despite fears he would be claimed due to his strong minor-league track record, went unclaimed and was assigned to Hershey.

Frank already has two goals through two games for Hershey this year. He’ll be one of Washington’s preferred call-up options throughout the year, but they’ll be careful with his waiver status. He has a 10-game, 30-day clock on the active roster until he needs to pass through them again to return to the minors.

He’s coming up today to ensure the Caps keep an extra healthy forward around. They’re still without Pierre-Luc Dubois, who’s day-to-day with a lower-body issue and will miss his second straight game tonight. He practiced today, but with a non-contact designation, according to The Hockey News.

Sharks Claim Vincent Iorio

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The Sharks have claimed defenseman Vincent Iorio off waivers from the Capitals, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports. They cleared a roster spot just minutes ago by placing Timothy Liljegren on injured reserve.

Drafted 55th overall by the Capitals in 2021, Iorio’s tenure in Washington comes to an early end. Waiver-eligible for the first time this season, Iorio made the Caps’ opening night roster but didn’t get into a game before landing on the wire yesterday to make way for veteran Dylan McIlrath to come off injured reserve. He has just nine NHL games to his name, none of which came last season. The 6’4″ righty had one assist with a +1 rating while averaging 11:20 per game across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

The Caps were in a tough spot with Iorio, who they didn’t feel was ready for full-time NHL minutes on one of the league’s deepest blue lines. Keeping him in the press box over McIlrath would have stunted the 22-year-old’s development. Trading him for an asset wasn’t very feasible, either, as teams knew he would be available for free on the waiver wire anyway. Interest evidently wasn’t strong enough for other parties to try to jump the line ahead of the Sharks, who still have top priority after finishing with the league’s worst record last year.

San Jose hopes to benefit from Washington’s lose-lose situation. The British Columbia native hasn’t shown a ton of forward progress in the minors since turning pro three years ago, but he displayed expert transition skills in junior hockey and boasts a good two-way profile from his experience in the Caps’ system with AHL Hershey. He’s made 190 minor-league appearances, posting an 11-45–56 scoring line for an average of 0.29 points per game. He carries a career +39 rating to boot, although that’s somewhat inflated by him logging significant minutes on one of the AHL’s best teams of that period.

Iorio’s claim doesn’t bode well for top prospect Sam Dickinson to stick on San Jose’s roster for the rest of the season. Liljegren’s absence isn’t expected to be long-term, and the Sharks don’t have any other waiver-exempt defenders on their roster aside from Dickinson. The 2024 No. 11 overall pick was a scratch for the season opener and has averaged under 12 minutes per game through two appearances with the Sharks, posting a -2 rating with no shot attempts and one block. Returning him to OHL London before he reaches the 10-game mark will slide the beginning of his entry-level contract to 2026-27 and remove him from their 50-contract limit for the remainder of the season.

If San Jose opts to keep Dickinson when Liljegren returns and waives Iorio again instead, the Capitals have the option to reclaim him. If they’re the only team to submit a claim, they can send him directly to AHL Hershey and bypass waiving him a second time.

Capitals Place Vincent Iorio On Waivers

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The Capitals have placed defenseman Vincent Iorio on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to AHL Hershey, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet relays Wednesday afternoon. Iorio’s active roster spot will likely go to fellow rearguard Dylan McIlrath, who’s expected to come off injured reserve later this week, head coach Spencer Carbery said (via Katie Adler of Russian Machine Never Breaks).

Iorio, 23 next month, was a second-round pick by the Capitals in 2021 and made his NHL debut with Washington in 2022-23. He’s only made nine NHL appearances in the years since, none of which came last season. In those nine games, the 6’4″ righty has managed an assist with a +1 rating while recording six blocks and five hits. He averaged just 11:20 per game but was looking to advance the puck, posting 18 shot attempts and getting half of them through on goal. His raw possession metrics weren’t promising, only controlling 41.8% of shot attempts at even strength despite seeing advantageous offensive zone deployment.

Waiver-eligible for the first time this year, Iorio brings an intriguing profile to the wire. He made Washington’s opening night roster as a healthy extra – and presumably the Caps felt they had a greater chance of sneaking him through if they avoided waiving him during the late-preseason rush. His recent minor-league performance, though, offers insight into why they’re comfortable taking the chance of losing him. His offense hasn’t developed since turning pro three years ago, recording around 20 points in 65 appearances each year. He had a 5-15–20 scoring line in 67 games in 2024-25 with a career-worst -4 rating. Should he clear successfully, he’ll be looking to build on those numbers in Year 4 in Hershey.

He’ll make way for McIlrath, who continues to stick around on Washington’s NHL roster. The past couple of years have been a rebirth for the former top-10 pick, who spent the bulk of his prime in the minors and was even Hershey’s captain from 2022-24 but stuck with the Caps’ top group all of last season. He was used sparingly as a No. 7/8 rearguard, recording two assists in 17 appearances, but that was still the most time at the top level he’d seen since making a career-high 34 appearances for the Rangers way back in 2015-16. The 33-year-old is effectively Washington’s enforcer and has 161 career penalty minutes in 92 games since making his NHL debut in 2013-14.

Dubois Suffered Undisclosed Injury Sunday, Update Expected Tuesday

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  • Capitals forward Pierre-Luc Dubois left Sunday’s game with an undisclosed injury, notes Bailey Johnson of the Washington Post (Twitter link). An update on his status is expected on Tuesday.  The 27-year-old had a career year last season in his first year with Washington, notching 20 goals and 46 assists in 82 games during the regular season.  He was off to a slower start before this injury though, being held off the scoresheet in his first three appearances in 2025-26.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Capitals, Rangers

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The New Jersey Devils have announced that Evgenii Dadonov has been placed on injured reserve, and in a corresponding move, they have recalled Brian Halonen from AHL Utica. 

Given Dadonov’s fractured hand, there was some speculation earlier today as to what the Devils would do. Rather than turn to a younger prospect, New Jersey has called upon Halonen, 26. Undrafted out of Michigan Tech University, Halonen has spent the past four seasons with the Utica Comets, including a 27-goal breakout last year. His efforts have led to two brief call-ups in the past, two games apiece in the last two years, where the Minnesota native has not yet recorded a point. 

In place of Dadonov, the team could turn to fellow Russian Arseny Gritsyuk for a larger role, having already impressed as a 24-year-old rookie out of the KHL, with two assists in as many games. Meanwhile, Halonen will provide depth and hope to slot into the team’s bottom six. Dadonov, 36, was brought in last summer on a one year, $1MM deal, however, he has been a steady offensive presence in 617 NHL games, and was a candidate to outperform the contract. The injury in his Devils’ debut is undoubtedly a set-back, but unfortunately New Jersey is no stranger to such adversity, especially after last season. 

Elsewhere across the Metropolitan Division:

  • Chris Cerullo of Russian Machine Never Breaks outlined an interesting draft story from Washington last June. As seen in a behind-the-scenes video posted by the team, the Capitals aggressively tried to move up ten spots or more to select Lynden Lakovic, the talented Moose Jaw Warriors winger. Such efforts proved futile, however, the Caps’ brass watched on the edge of their seats as Lakovic remained on the board. Finally, after Nashville selected Ryker Lee at 26, Washington jumped to snag the 6’4” forward. Lakovic remains in the WHL this season, but forecasts as a big part of the Capitals’ future, as another forward with imposing size. As time goes on, it will be fascinating to see how Lakovic, along with each forward taken before him, pans out; especially given the hypotheticals. As also mentioned in the article, the Capitals were thrilled again when Milton Gastrin, their second-round selection, also fell into their laps.
  • Rangers Head Coach Mike Sullivan told Colin Stephenson of Newsday Sports that Jonathan Quick will handle starting duty for the Blueshirts tonight as they host the Capitals. The news is not surprising, given Igor Shesterkin’s usage last night in Pittsburgh. However, it will be interesting to see how much the 39-year-old Quick is deployed this season, and what he still has to offer. Stephenson also mentioned that young defenseman Matthew Robertson will slot into the lineup for Carson Soucy, who was placed on IR earlier today. 

Declan Chisholm, Matt Roy Cleared To Play

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Capitals Reassign Ivan Miroshnichenko, Place Dylan McIlrath On IR

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The Washington Capitals have their opening 23-man roster in place. Following the clearance of their waiver placements yesterday, the team announced that they have reassigned forward Ivan Miroshnichenko and placed defenseman Dylan McIlrath on injured reserve.

The former 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is entering his third season without a full-time role carved out on the Capitals. Despite possessing raw talent in size, speed, and shooting ability, Miroshnichenko has yet to fully realize his potential at the NHL level.

Since transitioning to North America for the 2023-24 campaign, Miroshnichenko has scored three goals and 10 points in 39 games with Washington, averaging 10:51 of ice time per game. He leaves something to be desired in his possession quality, but has been an unexpectedly positive addition on the defensive side of the puck.

He’s been expectedly better in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, scoring 32 goals and 67 points in 100 games, with another 10 goals and 17 points in 28 postseason contests. Although the team failed to win their third consecutive Calder Cup last year, Miroshnichenko was on the roster when they won the second half of their back-to-back in 2024. He’ll likely feature with the Capitals at some point during the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the Capitals’ preseason contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets. During that game, although he assisted on the breakout that led to a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, McIlrath left the game after the play and did not appear at practice the following day.

Initial reports suggested McIlrath would be out for about a week, and today’s designation appears to support that notion. He spent much of last season as Washington’s seventh defenseman, tallying two assists in 17 games with 28 PIMs.

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