Tom Gulitti reported that Washington Capitals defenseman Joel Edmundson will visit the team doctor on Tuesday. He could miss some time at the start of the season with an upper-body injury, which is different from the back injury that has plagued him in recent years.
“He is going to see our doctors today, and then we’ll have more tomorrow. Probably not good, but we’ll know more tomorrow,” said head coach Spencer Carbery.
The Capitals acquired Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a third and seventh-round draft pick in July. Edmundson, 30, collected two goals and 11 assists for 13 points in 61 games and added 58 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-5 behemoth has spent the last three seasons in Montreal; he helped the Canadiens on their Cinderella run to the 2020-21 Stanley Cup Final, collecting six assists in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He signed a four-year, $14M contract with the Habs after spending the 2019-20 season with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he notched a career-high 20 points in 68 games. Previous to his tenure in Carolina, Edmundson was a member of the St. Louis Blues, where he captured Lord Stanley in the 2018-2019 season. Edmundson has a $3.5M cap hit and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Initially drafted No. 46 overall by the Blues in the 2011 NHL Draft, Edmundson spent four seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Kamloops Blazers; he notched 68 points and 327 penalty minutes in 190 career WHL games. Edmundson made his NHL debut with the Blues in the 2016-16 season, collecting nine points in 67 games.
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