The Washington Capitals announced on Wednesday morning that they have recalled forward Mike Sgarbossa from the AHL-leading Hershey Bears. Sgarbossa, Hershey’s leading point scorer, makes his way to DC ahead of the Capitals’ game against the Florida Panthers after Evgeny Kuznetsov missed a second day of practice on Tuesday with an illness.
Head coach Spencer Carbery hinted after Tuesday’s skate that a recall could be coming when he was asked about Kuznetsov’s status. In addition to Sgarbossa joining the big club’s roster, the Capitals have also made the expected move of placing Nicklas Backstrom on long-term injured reserve.
Backstrom is just days removed from announcing that he’d be taking a leave of absence from the team due to his ongoing hip injury issues. The LTIR designation frees up his roster spot and gives the Capitals a major salary cap break.
Sgarbossa has 12 points (3g, 9a) in 11 AHL games this season. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the 31-year-old veteran has appeared in 17 games for the Capitals, recording six points (2g, 4a). His final game with the team was against the Minnesota Wild on January 8, 2022.
During his media availability on Wednesday, Carbery provided a brief update on Kuznetsov. “(He’s) sick again today,” said Carbery. “So we’ll just have to go by feel and see where he’s at physically.” So there will be no decision tomorrow night.”
Kuznetsov did take the ice before Wednesday’s morning skate but could be deemed not ready enough to go against the Panthers. Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir grabbed video of the Russian centerman taking a twirl in his normal, red practice jersey.
Backstrom heads to LTIR just two days after general manager Brian MacLellan stated that it would be unlikely that the legendary center would play in another game this season. During that same press conference, MacLellan revealed that the team did plan on placing Backstrom on LTIR at some point.
“We haven’t talked about it yet but eventually we’ll get him to LTIR and then go from there,” MacLellan said. “I think we just need a little time to have things sort themselves out here. We’ll make that decision eventually.”
Backstrom remains under contract through the 2024-25 campaign with a $9.2 million annual cap hit. Connor McMichael, the team’s 2019 first-round draft pick, has been moved to his natural center position with Backstrom on the shelf.
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