Photo: Dallas Morning News
According to the Dallas Morning News, Stars goaltender Braden Holtby will not get his storybook return to Washington on Sunday, as he will remain sidelined by a lower-body injury. Saturday was Holtby’s fourth straight missed game due to the lower-body injury, and Stars head coach Rick Bowness said he’s “out for the weekend.”
Holtby, who played for the Washington Capitals from 2010-11 through 2019-20, and left the team in free agency in 2020, was to make his first appearance at Capital One Arena since March 4, 2020 – a span of two years and 16 days.
Holtby signed a 2 year deal for $8.6 Million with the Vancouver Canucks on October 9, 2020. After signing the deal, Holtby spoke with reporters on a video conference.
“That [Washington DC] was home. Just the people there that we’ve met, the team, the organization, the amount of ups and downs we’ve went through — experiences that I will never forget. It is always going to hold that special place in my family’s heart. Tough to leave any situation like it is, but that is life, and you move on and you look at the positives and you really appreciate that experience and use that experience to move forward, too.”
The Capitals released a tribute video for him almost immediately after he left the team which was shown online.
After the 2020-21 season, the Canucks bought out the last year of his contract since Holtby had a weaker than expected season (7-11-3 record with a .889 save percentage). He also dealt with a bout of Covid-19. Holtby was once again a free agent and signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars.
By Jon Sorensen
