Photo: @RobCarlinNBCS

Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny told reporters at his exit interview on Friday that he will be ready for training camp in mid-September after undergoing hamstring surgery on April 2. He left the second period of the Capitals’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 20 after being on the receiving end of a hit delivered by Lightning forward Cedric Paquette in a scrum.

“Probably next week on Wednesday my recovery should start. I should be good for training camp.,” Kempny said.

He stated that he will start putting his legs to use more in the coming weeks, saying “I’ll start putting weight on it; I’ll start walking by myself. Everything takes time. I have to be careful…I have to take it slow.”

Kempny, who led the team with a +24 rating during the regular season, said that the injury was “really tough” on him and that it took a while to get over the fact that he would miss the entirety of the Capitals’ Stanley Cup Playoff run.

“I’ll do everything I can to go back stronger, faster. I want to be better next season than I was this season.,” he told reporters.

Despite the end result, Kempny was still proud of his team, saying “We have a great team, great players. Everybody believes in each other. I was watching every game and I’m really proud of the guys.”

By Harrison Brown