Following the news that the Washington Capitals traded a third round 2018 entry draft pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for Defensman Mickal Kempny, it was reported that the new blueliner had landed in DC at midnight last night and was in attendance for an optional skate at Kettler this morning. A notable absence from this morning’s skate was fellow Defenseman Taylor Chorney. 

It has now become known that Capitals have placed Chorney on waivers. The belief prior to this breaking news was that Bowey, who is waiver exempt, would return to the Hershey Bears upon Kempny’s arrival. This would leave Chorney as a healthy scratch for the remainder of the season. It would appear that the team took a more economically friendly approach to rearranging the roster, however. Since Chorney has been moved, the team frees up $800,000 nearly in cap space instead of Bowey’s $700,000.

Chorney, who is 30 years old, has played in 24 games this season, the most recent of which was during the dad’s night portion of our most latest road trip. The bulk of his ice time however, came with Matt Niskanen missed more than a dozen games while treating an injury earlier this season. He has 1 goal and 3 assists with Washington so far this season.

Should Chorney clear waivers, he will report to the Capitals AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears where he will reunite with fellow Bears, Nate Walker and Travis Boyd among others, who have spent time Rocking the Red this season in small portions on a needs basis. Chorney has clocked plenty of time in Chocolate Town, having played more than 400 games in AHL.

At this point, it remains uncertain if Chorney will make it to Hershey or if he will be picked up by another team in need of a Defenseman before his waivers can clear. Regardless, we here at NoVaCaps wish Taylor Chorney the best and will keep you up to date with the latest moves in the final days before the trade deadline.

By Chris Laroche