On the eve of the first regular season game, the Washington Capitals provided injury updates on both Carl Hagelin and prospect Kody Clark.
Hagelin underwent an arthroscopic surgical procedure to address his chronic left hip on Monday morning and will be out indefinitely.
Clark underwent surgery to address a chronic condition with his left quad tendon. He will transition to Hershey to continue his recovery and is expected to miss 6-8 months.
Not having Hagelin will be a big blow to both the penalty kill and the fourth line. Say what you want about Hagelin being slow and old, he can still provide speed and good puck handling. And he’s one of the most important defensive forwards in the lineup.
The fourth line was one of, if not the, most effective lines of the Caps the last two years. Now they have just Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway and there will be big shoes to fill with Hagelin’s absence. During practice today, Conor Sheary filled in the left wing position on the fourth line, per Samantha Pell of The Washington Post.
Clark would’ve entered his third season with the Hershey Bears. If they’re lucky maybe he’s back during a Calder Cup run but it looks more likely he could miss the entire season.
In his first season with the Bears he recorded three goal sand six assists for nine points. In the 2021 COVID shortened season he recorded another nine points with seven goals and two assists. Last season he had 19 points with 11 goals and eight assists.
Hagelin scored three goals and added 11 assists for 14 points. The numbers were low but Hagelin isn’t really known for goal scoring. Killing penalties is the biggest strength of Hagelin and there will definitely be a void there.
The Capitals open the season tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins at 7 p.m.