Overview
- The Capitals announced that Desharnais underwent a successful appendectomy and will be sidelined for roughly four to six weeks while he recovers.
- Given the multi-week timeline, the team is expected to place Desharnais on injured reserve to open a spot on the 23-man active roster.
- Washington has already shifted Timothy Liljegren to play with Martin Fehervary on the right side and inserted veteran Dylan McIlrath onto the third pairing to replace Liljegren’s former role.
- Desharnais, a 6'7", 230-pound right-shot defenseman in his first season on a four-year deal, had been logging top-four minutes and significant penalty-kill time for the Capitals.
- The move changes on-ice roles and style for the top four — swapping a physical, stay-at-home defender for a puck-moving partner beside Fehervary — and could affect Washington’s penalty kill and matchup planning while he is out.