The Washington Capitals acquired winger Connor Brown from the Ottawa Senators last summer in an attempt to bolster their forward group and help fill the void left by injured Tom Wilson, who was sidelined after tearing an ACL. Brown’s run in Washington quickly came to an end on October 17 when he sustained a season-ending injury in just the fourth game of the season.
The injury occurred in the third period when Brown slammed awkwardly into the boards in front of the Vancouver bench following a hit from Canucks’ defenseman Noah Juulsen. Brown limped away and headed directly down the Capitals tunnel.
Connor Brown goes into the boards awkwardly after a hit from Noah Juulsen and comes up limping. Elias Pettersson tries to help Brown to the bench but the ref intervenes. Brown immediately heads down the #Caps tunnel. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/XIITGo7vAy
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) October 18, 2022
The Capitals announced on November 1 that Brown underwent a surgical procedure on his right knee to reconstruct his torn ACL and would likely require 6-8 months of recovery and rehabilitation.
#Caps forward Connor Brown, who was injured on October 17 versus Vancouver, underwent a surgical procedure on his right knee to reconstruct his torn ACL. Based on the nature of this procedure, Brown is expected to miss 6-8 months.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 1, 2022
Six-to-eight months later brings us to the April-June, 2023 timeframe. And while there have been reports that Brown has been seen skating at MedStar, the condition of Brown’s right knee going forward is simply an unknown. Some players fully recover from a reconstructed ACL. Some don’t.
Injury aside, arguably the worst part of the injury for Brown is that he is an unrestricted free agent, which means he needs a job starting in the 2023-24 season. He will surely lose money in his next deal simply due to his questionable knee, whether that’s with the Capitals or with another team.
A REMAINING NEED?
The situation in Washington has changed. Wilson has returned and looked solid in his 28 games played this season. But one of the major goals for Capitals GM Brian MacLellan this off-season will be to add scoring to the forward group, and Brown, before his injury, had some scoring on his resume. But is it worth the risk, or would the Capitals be better off finding a scorer with two good knees, as bad as that sounds?
Brown made $3.6 million per season under his last deal. Unfortunately it’s unlikely he will see that high of a salary in his next deal, at least to start. A “prove-it” type deal at a reduced rate is logical for any team and likely for Brown. Other teams might be interested in a “prove it” deal with Brown, so that “prove it” cost could rose a bit.
The quandary, do the Capitals have enough data to continue with Brown, even at a reduced rate, or are there better, safer options?
By Jon Sorensen