Capitals Reassign Justin Holl

According to beat reporter Sammi Silber, the Washington Capitals have reassigned defenseman Justin Holl to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. Although they have two days until their next game, the roster move indicates that defenseman Matt Roy is ready to return.

Holl, 34, joined the Capitals this past summer on a one-year, $900K contract after a rocky past few years. The last time he was an unrestricted free agent, Holl signed a three-year, $10.2MM ($3.4MM AAV) contract with the Detroit Red Wings after six years with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That contract proved to be burdensome almost immediately. In his first two years with Detroit, Holl registered two goals and 13 points in 111 games with a +1 rating, averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time per game. His 2024-25 campaign with the Red Wings was marred by an alarming turnover ratio, recording eight takeaways against 66 giveaways.

The Red Wings waived Holl ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, and he spent much of the season with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He fared much better on an impressive Griffins team, scoring two goals and 14 points in 41 games with a +19 rating. Detroit eventually traded Holl to the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline as a salary offset for the Justin Faulk trade.

Although he’s only an injury replacement at this point in his career, Holl performed relatively well in brief action for the Capitals. In three games for Washington, Holl has already matched his goal totals from his entire tenure with the Red Wings.

Meanwhile, Roy is set to return after missing nearly three weeks of action with a lower-body injury. If he returns on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings, he will have missed six games. The nine-year veteran blocked five shots and delivered five hits in two games with the Capitals this year.