ARLINGTON, Va. -- Joel Edmundson is expected to be out 4-6 weeks for the Washington Capitals after fracturing his hand in a training camp scrimmage Sunday. The 30-year-old defenseman had surgery Tuesday to stabilize the fracture.
“It’s not ideal, definitely, team-wise and for him individually, personally,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “Just the timing of it, new organization and right away just (getting injured). But on the bright side, it’s an opportunity for some young guys and it could have been worse.
“[He] was just engaged in a battle and just sort of jamming it is the way I saw it and was told. ... It’s tough because he’s battled some stuff over the last couple of years and this is kind of a little bit of a fresh start for him. I felt like he was in a really good place, getting here a little bit early, starting to integrate himself with the group.”
Edmundson was acquired by Washington in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1 for a third- and seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Edmundson has one season remaining on a four-year, $14 million contract (average annual value $3.5 million) he signed with the Canadiens on Sept. 16, 2020, and can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Edmundson was hampered by a back injury last season but played in Montreal’s final 22 games and finished with 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) and averaged 19:33 in ice time in 61 games. He was slated to begin the season playing on the Capitals' third defense pair and provide a physical presence with his 6-foot-5, 221-pound frame.
“Even in the scrimmage, there was a couple plays that stood out to me,” Carbery said. “When I think of Joel Edmundson, I think of that series because I watched [in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs] when they played Toronto in the first round and upset Toronto in seven. And Joel played with Ben Chiarot, they were like the shutdown pair, and, man, did they make life difficult on Toronto’s best players for seven straight games, and it was mean, and hard and physical.
“In the scrimmage, and a scrimmage is your own players against your own players, but I saw a few instances where I was like, ‘There it is.’ That’s that hard, mean, physical, really difficult to get to the net defenseman, who as everybody here knows, is a real luxury and it makes it really, really difficult on the opposing forwards especially.”
Alexander Alexeyev, Vincent Iorio, Hardy Haman Aktell and Lucas Johansen will compete for the lineup spot Edmundson was expected to fill; each is expected to be in the lineup when the Capitals host the Detroit Red Wings in a preseason game at Capital One Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, MNMT).
“As I always look at things, it’s a great opportunity for someone to step in and potentially take off, whether that’s Haman Aktell, whether it’s Lucas Johansen snag a spot potentially on the opening night roster,” Carbery said. “It’s what these guys want. They want to prove that they’re an every-day NHL player on a good team. So it’s right there. I love that, not for Joel’s case, but guys that are just waiting for that one break to be able to get into the lineup and sometimes it comes in another person’s misfortune.”
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the second round (No. 46) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Edmundson has 104 points (28 goals, 76 assists) in 477 NHL games with the Blues, Carolina Hurricanes and Canadiens and 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 75 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including seven points (one goal, six assists) in 22 games to help the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019.
