How will the Capitals address blueline with Rasmus Sandin’s injury?

Last week, news broke that Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin was going to be out long-term after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in his ACL. This might not just be “good to go at the start of next season” long-term either, Sandin may find himself missing a good chunk of the 2026-27 season as well.

So with Sandin out long-term, how will the Capitals address their blueline this summer? David Pagnotta joined Daily Faceoff Live to talk about Washington’s desires to improve on defense, and how that may look.

David Pagnotta: It’s gonna enhance their desire to address the blueline. He might be back as soon as the season starts. He might be out as long as January. It’s that six-to-nine month timeline, which adds a little bit of ambiguity and uncertainty. When he does come back, then he’s got to train. So he’s not just going to be thrown into it.

So they’re going to look to address the blueline. Obviously, they moved out John Carlson, and perhaps they approach him again this offseason when he becomes a free agent in July. But in addition to that, they’re going to look to bring in somebody else on that D-core.

Now one guy that they do like and would like to keep, Timothy Liljegren, who just saw a little bit of action after being acquired from San Jose ahead of the trade deadline. They’re going to have a conversation. They haven’t had it yet, but they’re going to reach out to his camp, I would imagine in the next few weeks here to try to get him locked into a new deal. There’s mutual interest on both sides. Those conversations will begin again in the next two or three weeks to see what it’s going to take to potentially keep him in D.C.

But even beyond that, the blueline is going to be an area they’re going to address. And not having Sandin in the mix for the presumably first quarter to half of the season, it’s going to emphasize the need to address the blue line this summer.

You can watch the full episode here…