It’s no secret that the Washington Capitals had their fair share of injury trouble last season, and even found themselves playing with several Hershey Bears making up the lineup. And, looking back at the data, those injuries added up.
Per Betway, the Capitals combined for a total of 1,085 missed days due to injury. They ranked 10th out of all NHL teams. Here’s the entire list:
- Montreal Canadiens: 2755 days
- Arizona Coyotes: 1996 days
- Buffalo Sabres: 1767 days
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 1547 days
- Ottawa Senators: 1335 days
- Philadelphia Flyers: 1246 days
- Vegas Golden Knights: 1197 days
- Pittsburgh Penguins: 1167 days
- Los Angeles Kings: 1143 days
- Washington Capitals: 1085 days
Washington saw several key names out over the course of the 2020-21 campaign. Nicklas Backstrom missed the first part of the campaign with ongoing hip rehabilitation, and Anthony Mantha suffered a devastating shoulder injury that required surgery in November and held him out until March. And in March, Carl Hagelin took a high stick to the left eye that ruptured his choroid and permanently took away part of his vision. TJ Oshie also dealt with a broken foot and other injuries, and Alex Ovechkin missed the final three games of the season with an upper-body injury.
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And of course, in the playoffs, Tom Wilson tore his ACL in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers. Several players also ended up on COVID-19 protocol over the course of the campaign.
The 2022-23 campaign isn’t going to be much easier for the Capitals to start the year, as Backstrom remains out after undergoing career-altering hip resurfacing surgery this offseason that will require months of rehabilitation. Wilson is also making progress and still recovering from his ACL injury, but according to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, Wilson is “ahead of schedule” with his recovery. Hagelin is also working towards his comeback as he gains his depth perception back and engages in contact.