The Washington Capitals placed six players on waivers yesterday as part of their training camp cuts as the 5 p.m. Monday’s deadline to submit final rosters is just two days away. All six cleared this afternoon, so they will report to the Hershey Bears. Goaltender Mitchell Gibson was also returned to Hershey.
#Caps loan Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Joe Snively, Michael Sgarbossa, Alex Limoges, Dylan McIlrath, Hunter Shepard and Mitchell Gibson to the Hershey Bears (AHL).
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 7, 2023
On Friday, the Caps placed Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Alex Limoges, Michael Sgarbossa, Dylan McIlrath, Joe Snively and goaltender Hunter Shepard on waivers for purposes of loan to the Hershey Bears.
Aube-Kubel is the most intriguing addition to waivers as he was expected to be a fourth line winger for the Caps. However, it looks like Matthew Phillips has taken his place on the bottom six.
Limoges played in the last preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and was a plus-1. The Winchester, Va., native led the Manitoba Moose with 54 points (20 goals, 34 assists) last season and will be in the top six in Hershey.
It is quite surprising that no one claimed Shepard, as he backstopped the Bears to their 12th Calder Cup. So this is a big sigh of relief for Bears fans.
McIlrath, Snively and Sgarbossa appeared in at least one preseason game with Washington and were critical parts to Hershey’s core.
The Capitals’ first waiver additions came on Oct. 1, where they placed Chase Priskie and Riley Sutter on the waiver wire. Both players cleared and were called back up to play in the preseason tilt against Columbus.
By Jacob Cheris