Goaltender Hunter Shepard cleared waivers on Monday and was assigned to the AHL’s Hershey Bears 24 hours after the Washington Capitals waived the 28-year-old.
Shepard went 27-4-3 with a .929 save percentage, 1.76 goals-against average, and five shutouts in 34 AHL games in addition to 2-1-1 with an .894 save percentage and 3.19 goals-against average in four NHL outings during the 2023-24 regular season.
Shepard backstopped Hershey to back-to-back Calder Cup titles the past two years, going 28-12 with a .912 save percentage, 2.38 goals-against average, and three shutouts in the last two tournaments combined.
NHL teams have until 5 PM ET on Monday to submit their 23-player opening night roster. Washington also assigned left-wings Ivan Miroshnichenko to Hershey and Andrew Cristall to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets on Monday. The team is expected to sign unrestricted free agent left-wing Jakub Vrana to a contract this week after he joined the Capitals’ training camp on a PTO.
Everyone else clears
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 7, 2024
Washington will open the 2024-25 season against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market).
By Harrison Brown