The Washington Capitals are set to receive some reinforcements this weekend as Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom are set to make their season debuts for the club.
Currently in sole possession of the 1st wildcard spot, and sporting a 22-14-6 record, the Capitals have been succeeding in the early going without two of their key contributors.
Wilson, 28, underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee this summer after suffering an injury vs. Florida on May 3rd.
Backstrom, 35, had hip resurfacing surgery on his left side to correct a nagging injury which had largely sapped him of his speed and acceleration. Usually this type of injury causes players to retire outright, however the Swedish forward is hoping to become just the 2nd NHL player in league history to return from such a procedure.
“I’m not going to put pressure on myself,” Backstrom told reporters this week. “All I can say is I feel great, and the biggest thing for me is I have no pain, that I’m able to skate and move the way I want to. Hopefully that’s enough.”
The veteran forward only managed to suit up for 47 games in 2021-22 registering 31pts (6G, 25A) in the process. Meanwhile Wilson recorded a career high 52pts (24G, 28A) last season to go along with 98 PIMs across 78 contests.
With Columbus coming to town on Sunday, Washington activated the veterans Saturday afternoon. In a corresponding move, the club placed defenseman John Carlson on long term injured reserve to clear cap space for Wilson and Backstrom to return.
Carlson has been out of action since Dec 23rd after taking a puck to the face in a contest vs. the Winnipeg Jets. Initially the team hoped he would miss only a few weeks, however that timeline has since shifted to “multiple months” according to sources.
Still, the club is confident that the blue liner will return ahead of the playoffs this spring.
Washington plays host to Columbus for a 5pm ET puck drop this Sunday.
Photo: Michael Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.