Sonny Milano Linked To Swiss League

From a health perspective, this has been a good year for Capitals winger Sonny Milano.  However, he’s currently in the minors playing for Hershey, an outcome he likely wasn’t expecting coming into the season.  The pending UFA appears to be eyeing a change of scenery for 2026-27 as Watson’s Klaus Zaugg reports that Milano is expected to sign with SC Bern in Switzerland.

The 29-year-old missed the majority of last season with an upper-body injury.  He attempted to come back from it but suffered a setback, one that put the beginning of 2025-26 in jeopardy.  However, he was able to play at the start of the year and made Washington’s roster out of training camp.

While Milano played regularly in the first week of the year, playing time started to become more sporadic after that as he spent considerable time as a scratch.  Then, following the Olympic break, he lost his roster spot and cleared waivers, paving the way for him to join Hershey for his first taste of action in the minors since a 2022-23 conditioning stint.

Milano played in 31 games for the Capitals this season, picking up four goals and four assists while playing just 8:53 per night.  He has played almost exclusively in the bottom six over his four years with Washington although he still managed 15 goals in 2023-24 in spite of his limited usage.  Meanwhile, he has been productive with the Bears, tallying 13 points in 16 games.  He’ll still be playing for the time being with Hershey beginning a best-of-three playoff series versus Bridgeport on Tuesday.

Given Milano’s last couple of years and the fact that he had a hard time securing a contract in free agency in 2022, he profiles as more of a PTO candidate if he decides to test the open market this summer.  Instead, it appears he’ll bypass doing that and lock down a top role in the Swiss league to continue his career.