Capitals Defenseman Out Indefinitely After Scrimmage Injury

 "Probably not good." That's the ominous word from Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery when assessing the injury suffered Sunday by one of the team's new acquisitions this season, defenseman Joel Edmundson. 

Carbery on Edmundson (upper body):

“He is going to see our doctors today and then we’ll have more tomorrow. Probably not good, but we’ll know more tomorrow.”

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) September 26, 2023

Labeled an upper-body injury, the Caps should know more about the severity and the timeline of the veteran's injury on Wednesday. Capitals beat writer Tom Gulitti suggests, however, that the problem could cause the 6'5" physical D-man to miss some time at the start of the season. 

If that happens, notes Gulitti, Carbery is looking on the bright side, and says that will open the door for the likes of Alex Alexeyev, Hardy Häman Aktell, and Lucas Johansen to battle for Edmundson's spot on the left side of the third defense pairing.

 "As I always look at things, some great opportunity for someone to step in and potentially take off," said the Caps new coach. "I love that, not for Joel's case, but for guys that are just waiting for that one break to be able to get into the lineup."

The incident occurred during a scrimmage on Sunday, but Carbery noted that it's not connected to the back issues that have plagued Edmundson over the last couple of years.

The 30-year-old played close to 20 minutes per game for the 3rd straight season with the Montreal Canadiens last year, registering 13 points in 61 games with an out-of-character minus-29 rating. He won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.

Washington traded two 2024 picks (third- and seventh-rounders) to the Habs in exchange for the bruising defenseman. Montreal is retaining 50% of his $3.5M cap hit in this, the final year of his contract.