The Capitals have some more difficult decisions left to make before Monday's 5 p.m. deadline.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — With just over 24 hours before they have to submit their final opening night rosters to the NHL, the Washington Capitals have made one cut, placing goaltender Hunter Shepard on waivers.
Shepard will be assigned to the AHL's Hershey Bears if he clears.
With Shepard heading down to Hershey, Washington's roster sits at 27 skaters, though only 25 are healthy with Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie set to be placed on long-term injured reserve.
Opening night rosters are due Monday by 5 p.m. ET, and there are three extra forwards and two defensemen remaining.
Forwards Andrew Cristall, Jakub Vrana and Ivan Miroshnichenko are still in D.C. ahead of Monday's deadline, while defensemen Dylan McIlrath and Alex Alexeyev are sticking around as well.
With McIlrath and Alexeyev not going on waivers, it appears that both have made the opening night roster and will remain up in Washington as D.C. starts the year with eight defensemen. That leaves space for one extra forward.
It looks like it could be Andrew Cristall, as the 19-year-old stood out through four preseason games and did enough to "remain here right until he bitter end," per head coach Spencer Carbery. He can either make the NHL or head back to juniors, so there is no sending him down to Hershey as an option. Therefore, a nine-game trial would make sense.
There's also no ruling out that Washington could also end up signing 2018 Stanley Cup champion Vrana to a contract off of his professional tryout and returning Cristall if they feel he is not yet ready for the NHL. Miroshnichenko does not need waivers, so he can go back down to Hershey, which seems likely given development is more important.
The Capitals will practice on Monday at Capital One Arena before the final rosters are due later in the afternoon.
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