The 30-year-old has yet to play this season after breaking his hand in training camp.
WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals appear set to get their first taste of Joel Edmundson on Saturday, as the blueliner is no longer listed on the long-term injured reserve and looks to be in against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Per the NHL Media website, Edmundson has been activated from LTIR, and Dylan McIlrath is no longer on the roster, indicating he has been returned to the AHL's Hershey Bears.
Edmundson took part in the team's optional morning skate, along with Alex Alexeyev and McIlrath, who both stayed on for extra work.
It would mark Edmundson's first game with the Capitals since being acquired in a trade to open free agency this summer.
The 6-foot-5 blueliner was at 100 percent to open training camp and appeared to put the injury woes that had plagued him over the last couple of seasons, behind him, but just a few days into the camp, he broke his hand in a scrimmage while skating with the non-game group and would require surgery.
Now, Edmundson is healthy and has been getting in full reps and taking part in contact over the last week. He has been skating with Trevor van Riemsdyk on the third pairing. The two had played together with the Carolina Hurricanes, and now, it looks like they'll be put together again as van Riemsdyk makes his own return from a lower-body ailment suffered exactly two weeks ago.
In 61 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season, Edmundson had two goals and 11 assists, along with 112 hits and 149 blocks. He is known for his physicality and for making his opponents pay for crashing the crease and looking for scoring chances in front. Off the ice, he's a leader and well-liked in the dressing room.
"Just being solid in front of the goal... I love to use my stick to my defense with some cross-checks and just make the opposition miserable," Edmundson siad after arriving in D.C. this summer. "I think tha'ts what got me to this point my career, and I want to be a good guy in the locker room."