The 29-year-old is hungry to come back stronger than ever after a torn ACL ended his season after just three and a half games into his tenure with the Capitals.

ARLINGTON, V.A. -- On Oct. 17 against the Vancouver Canucks, Connor Brown was skating hard along the boards, still adjusting to the Washington Capitals systems in just the fourth game of the season. As he was turning in the neutral zone, he took a hit from Noah Juulsen along the boards. And then, a pop unlike anything he'd felt before.

Brown crumbled to the ice in excruciating pain and made his way to the locker room putting no weight on his left leg. RIght then and there, something in his gut told him his season was over.

"Had a feeling," he recalled at breakdown day as he stared out at the rink he'd only gotten to skate on a couple of times. "I'd never really felt anything like that."

He then heard the words no player in his first year with the team -- and final year of his contract -- wants to face: "you need surgery."

Brown went under the knife in October to repair what turned out to be a torn ACL, which put an end to his campaign just three and a half games in.

"Frustration. A disappointment," he reflected, also noting, "Not the way that you drew it up coming in here. I was excited to get going with an experienced group like this. It is what it is."

The feeling was mutual for management, who acquired Brown on the opening day of NHL free agency in exchange for a draft pick. It was a big add for the organization, as they not only got a top-6 winger who could surely provide some secondary scoring but a top penalty killer to help out with Carl Hagelin still out with injury.

And, with Brown joining the likes of additions Darcy Kuemper, Dylan Strome and more offseason additions, hopes were high that the Capitals would put an end to four straight years of first-round exits and make a run.

"Brownie... he was a huge piece for us in the summer," captain Alex Ovechkin said.

However, that wouldn't happen for a variety of reasons. But regarding Brown, he never really got the chance to even be a part of that group. He did find a spark to close out the preseason, but the regular season is a different beast, and Brown was still getting into a rhythm with a new team and new systems. He hadn't even recorded a point yet when everything went down.

"I felt really good about my game coming into this as far as me personally, and it's obviously tough. When you get three games, you don't really have time to find a groove, and then it's cut short."

So, in the end, Brown's year went from a "prove it" 82-game stint to six months of rehabilitation, which included ever-intensifying workouts, doctors appointments and eventually, a couple of skates. There was hope that he could return for the playoffs, but when Washington's playoff hopes dwindled, the 29-year-old's rehab focused on getting ready for next season rather than a comeback.

"I went out one or two times here. It was pretty obvious the way that it was down the stretch there [that] we knew we weren't gonna make the playoffs here," Brown said, adding, "I adjusted course a little bit as far as my rehab. Give the grafts a little bit more time to heal, stay off that as far as the plyometrics, not that hard jumping and stuff like that so I can let the site heal and get back at it."

With the extra time, he got to lean on and spend time with family and maintain a relationship with his teammates, but most importantly, he got to reflect on where he is in his career and who he is as a player and a person. That's when he decided that he wanted to return a new-and-improved version of Connor Brown rather than just getting back at it as the same player he was, and that meant reevaluating his diet, his approach to training and much more.

"I tried to approach this rehab as an opportunity to reinvent my biomechanics and be as efficient as possible when it comes to my rehab and when it comes to the way I move and the speed and everything," Brown said. "So the plan is to get better, the plan isn't to just get back where I want to be. I want to make improvements and you get a full calendar year to just improve on yourself and improve on your strength and your skills. All summer improve on skating. So yeah, that's the expectation for myself."

He was also inspired by childhood friend and teammate Tom Wilson, who went through the same injury last May in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers. After a lengthy rehab, he returned in January and got his game back with a strong showing down the stretch that would have put him on pace for another 50-plus point campaign.

"It's nice to see Tommy Wilson go through the same injury as me and the way he played, especially down the stretch the last 20 games, you can see him get his jump back and playing 20 minutes," Brown said. "So you know, that's inspiring when you see. He's been very helpful and throughout my process, and it's been inspiring to see him play so well."

So, in the end, while the Ontario native said that his torn ACL was devastating, it was a learning experience that, in a strange way, he is happy to have had.

"It's been the biggest test of my career so far, to be honest, to go through this... you gain perspective going through things like this, so at this point, I am grateful for the lessons and looking forward to the future," Brown said.

What does that future consist of, though? He confessed that he's not too sure yet. He and his agents haven't touched base with general manager Brian MacLellan on the potential for another contract or chance to show what he can do, but MacLellan did say that he will reach out and see where No. 28 may fit into the puzzle as the team looks to revamp the top-6 in the summer.

But for now, he's focused on having a full summer of training and will be ready for training camp in September. And, wherever that is, he's hungry to succeed and prove that he can come back even stronger.

"I'm 29 years old. I feel like I'm entering the second half of my career. And you know, it's important to take care of [yourself]," Brown said. "I feel like I have a really good base and really good camp in my corner to kind of help me moving forward. I'm looking forward to it... I'll be ready."