The other day the Washington Capitals did their first round of roster cuts. Ahead of the third preseason game tonight against the Detroit Red Wings, they made even more cuts. They cut a total of 22 players, trimming the roster down from 62 to 40.
You can view the updated Capitals roster here.
The Capitals loaned the following waiver exempt players to the AHL’s Hershey Bears: Goaltender Garin Bjorklund and forward Henrik Rybinski.
The Capitals also sent the following players to Hershey’s training camp: Forward Sam Anas, defenseman Logan Day, forward Ethen Frank, forward Shane Gersich, defenseman Martin Has, forward Bear Hughes, forward Kyle Kessy, forward Peter Laviolette III, defenseman Benton Maass, defenseman Jake Massie, forward Mason Morelli, forward Julian Napravnik, defenseman Aaron Ness, and forward Matthew Strome.
The Capitals also loaned defenseman Alexander Alexeyev to Hershey to continue his rehabilitation and Ludwig Persson to BIK Karlskoga of the Hockey Allsvenskan.
Additionally, the Capitals placed the following players on waivers for the purpose of loaning to Hershey: Forward Michael Sgarbossa, goaltender Hunter Shepard, forward Riley Sutter, and forward Mike Vecchione.
These roster cuts aren’t very surprising. The Hershey Bears are set to begin training camp soon and they need guys. And all these prospects that have been sent back to their respective teams aren’t quite ready yet for the NHL.
In turn you’re going to start to see more regulars in the lineup for the final four preseason games beginning tonight. Tonight we’ll have Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, and Darcy Kuemper among others making their preseason debuts.
You’ll also see Hendrix Lapierre tonight as he vies for one of the final opening night roster spots. It is likely we will see more roster cuts over the weekend as teams are figuring out who will occupy the 23 required spots for opening night. Stay tuned.