The Washington Capitals have recalled forwards Paul Carey and Jakub Vrana from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and have re-assigned Zach Sanford to Hershey, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Carey, 28, returns to the Capitals for the third time this season. He has appeared in one game with the NHL club, making his 2016-17 season debut with Washington on Nov. 20 against Columbus. The forward has posted 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 16 games this season with Hershey. He has struck for points in 12 straight games for the Bears and has points in all but two contests this season.

Vrana, 20, has registered 16 points (9g, 7a) in 18 games with Hershey this season and ranks tied for third in the AHL in goals. In addition, he ranks tied for first among Bears skaters in goals, third in points and tied for fifth in assists this season. Vrana registered 34 points (16g, 18a) in 36 games as a rookie with Hershey in 2015-16 and ranked fourth among Bears skaters in power-play goals (5), tied for fifth in goals (16) and tied for sixth in points (34). The 6’0”, 195-pound forward tallied eight multi-point games last season and registered a five-game point streak (3g, 2a) from March 19-26, 2016. In addition, he ranked second on the team in points per game (0.94) after missing a majority of the regular season due to injury. Vrana recorded 14 points (8g, 6a) in 21 games with the Bears during the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs, ranking third in the AHL in goals (8) and second on the team in points (14). The Prague, Czech Republic, native was drafted by the Capitals in the first round, 13th overall, in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Sanford, 22, has skated in 19 games with the Capitals this season, registering one assist. The Salem, Massachusetts native was selected in the second round, 61st overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft by Washington and made his NHL debut on Oct. 13, 2016 at Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-4, 203-pound forward turned pro this summer after playing two seasons at Boston College. In 2015-16 as a sophomore, Sanford registered 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) with the Eagles, leading the team in assists, and finishing third in points.

The Capitals are dealing with an extremely tight salary cap, which necessitated the re-assignment of Sanford.

There’s also the slim margin between the #Caps‘ payroll and the salary cap. Getting Vrana up requires Sanford to go down, dollar-wise.

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) November 30, 2016

#Caps still very high on Sanford. He’ll be back. But to me, also need to see Barber, Boyd, Stephenson, Walker as well.

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) November 30, 2016

By Jon Sorensen
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