The Caps announced that Rasmus Sandin will need surgery on his right knee, which he injured on April 11th in Pittsburgh, and his rehabilitation will stretch into next season. Sandin had seen an increase ice time after the trade of John Carlson to Anaheim at the trade deadline in March. The injury to one of their promising young defensemen makes it imperative the Capitals improve their depth at the position, or the team could suffer on the back end next season.
Sandin was acquired back in February of 2023 for Erik Gustafsson and a first-round pick to Toronto. Sandin is a great skater and has shown he can score, with 30 points in 82 games last year, and 29 points in 73 games in 2025-26. Sandin blocked 127 shots also played over 100 minutes on the penalty kill, which started the season terrible in Washington, but improved as the season went on. While Rasmus only had one assist on the powerplay in the 2025-26, it seemed likely that he would be taking on more of a role next year. Now, that will have to wait.
The Capitals needed to address their blueline in the offseason before Sandin was injured, and now the situation is more urgent. They don’t have a stud blueliner anywhere in their system. Cole Hutson could be considered a prospect, but after what he showed at the end of the season, I imagine he makes the team in Fall. The Capitals have prospects Ryan Chesley and Leon Muggli in Hershey, who could make the jump. The team may draft one in June with their first rounder, but that player won’t help them next season, unless they get lucky and draft the next Matthew Shaeffer. They will have to sign or trade for someone.
The free agent market has thinned out as many teams have used the increase in salary cap space by resigning their own pending free agents. The Caps were already looking to add a defenseman and are reportedly in talks to extend Timothy Liljegren*. Now, they will likely have to add another veteran defenseman. Perhaps Chesley or Muggli makes the jump, but the move would be risky since neither have played an NHL game.
With next season Alex Ovechkin’s potential swan song, the team would be better off adding experience to fill the gap left by Sandin’s injury. Sandin could surprise everyone and be ready for the season, but it doesn’t seem like that is going to happen. His injury will add a bit more to the Capitals summer to-do list, which was already shaping up to be an interesting one.
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