The Washington Capitals are expected to sign free-agent defenseman Ethan Bear, with the defenseman skating with the team in the meantime until a deal is announced.
Bear hasn’t played this season after suffering an injury with Canada at the IIHF men’s World Hockey Championship in the spring.
The 26-year-old spent the 2022-23 campaign with the Vancouver Canucks, signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the team. Bear notched three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 61 games. Bear averaged 18:32 in ice time this year for the Canucks and had a career-high 21:58 in average ice time with the Edmonton Oilers in 2019-20, his first full season with the club.
The Oilers originally selected Bear in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. The Regina, Saskatchewan product made his Oilers debut in 2017–18 and spent parts of three seasons with the team, collecting 21 points in 71 games during the 2018–19 campaign. Bear has tallied 16 goals and 47 assists for 63 points in 251 games over parts of five seasons with the Oilers, Hurricanes and Canucks.
Bear won a Western Hockey League (WHL) championship with the Seattle Thunderbirds in 2016-17 and was named the WHL’s Top Defenseman after tallying 28 goals and 70 points in 67 games, he added a league-leading 20 assists and 26 points in 17 WHL Playoff contests.
The Capitals currently sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 15-9-4 record and 34 points through 28 games. Washington is set to face off against the New York Islanders tonight, with no timetable for Bear to join the team for game action.
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