Health issues behind him, Joel Edmundson joins Capitals ready for any role
Health issues behind him, Joel Edmundson joins Capitals ready for any role originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The first move Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan made this past Saturday once free agency opened was not on the open market.
Within the first hour of free agency, the Capitals traded for Montreal veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson in exchange for third- and seventh-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft. The Canadiens will retain half of Edmundson's salary in 2023-24; his cap hit in Washington will be just $1.75 million.
"There's an element we wanted to add to our lineup [and] we got a sense of what free agency [would be like] for that type of player: physical, net-front presence, a good leader, has some good size," MacLellan said this past Saturday. "We looked at the free agent market, saw what the cost was and decided to go that way and spend a pick on it. Plus, the salary retention was appealing to us, too."
Edmundson, who just turned 30 last week, joins a Capitals blue line that features two-time All-Star John Carlson and a handful of younger players, particularly on the left side. Martin Fehervary, Rasmus Sandin and Alex Alexeyev are all 23 years old.
Speaking with reporters via Zoom on Wednesday, Edmundson expressed his excitement to be a mentor for the next wave of Capitals' defensemen.
"I want to be a guy they can lean on," he said. "I've been in the league, going into my ninth year now. I've seen a lot, had a lot of teammates and I've had a lot of good mentors in my career. I just want to be that guy for those guys."
Edmundson has played a variety of roles in his eight-year NHL career. He's been a top-pair defenseman and on the top penalty-kill unit, too. But he's also played as a third-pair blueliner with limited ice time.
Edmundson's role in Washington is not clear yet, but the 30-year-old made it clear he's willing to take on any responsibility the Capitals give him.
"We'll figure that out when the time comes," Edmundson said. "For me, it doesn't matter if I'm first, second or third pair. I just want to be a guy that's reliable."
Additionally, one of the main reasons MacLellan was interested in the veteran was due to his ability to play in different situations.
"There are options," MacLellan said. "I think we'll come in and see how the coaches want to use matchups and who is playing together. He'll get a shot to play with different guys. We'll see how it works out, who has chemistry and then we'll kind of go from there."
It's worth noting that Edmundson was teammates with current Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk for one season in Carolina, so the two players have some chemistry together. Edmundson said the two have spoken since the trade and added "If we're paired up together, that'd be great."
Injuries have plagued the Capitals the past couple of seasons, especially in 2022-23. For Edmundson, it's been no different. But after playing in just 24 games in 2021-22, the defenseman suited up 61 times last season. Most importantly, Edmundson entered the offseason healthy, something he wasn't able to do the previous two years.
"I'm feeling good," he said. "I've been in the gym for two months now, starting to skate. My body is feeling really good. I just want to have a full, healthy summer of training and come into camp strong. The last two seasons I got injured before camp, so that put me behind the 8 ball right away. ... I'm just looking forward to a healthy start to the season and just help the team win."
During the Capitals' locker room cleanout in mid-April, multiple players stressed the extended summer could be a blessing in disguise for an older roster that's been hampered by injuries the past couple of years. Edmundson echoed a similar thought on Wednesday.
"I think this long summer is going to benefit the team in the long run," Edmundson said. "It's going to get everyone healthy and everyone is eager to win again."
Besides van Riemsdyk, a handful of other Capitals players have reached out to Edmundson since the trade, including T.J. Oshie and Darcy Kuemper, who was Edmundson's roommate during IIHF World Championships in 2021. While the Capitals' newest defenseman said he still has 70-plus text messages to respond to since the trade, he's already looking forward to what his new team can potentially accomplish starting this fall.
"Speaking to Oshie the day I got traded, he's like 'you're coming into a good situation. We're going to be healthy and we're hungry.' That got me excited," Edmundson said. "I think we can surprise a lot of teams this year. Obviously, we've got a lot of good leaders in the dressing room and the young guys, they can play too. It's a good combination."
