Washington Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear will be away from the team indefinitely after he entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program on Wednesday.
“The National Hockey League Players’ Association and National Hockey League announced today that defenseman Ethan Bear of the Washington Capitals will be unavailable to his Club for an indefinite period while he receives care from the Player Assistance Program of the NHLPA and NHL,” read the league's official release.
“Under the terms of the joint program, he will return to the Club when cleared for on-ice competition by the program administrators.”
Bear hasn't played since March 13 when the Caps lost 7-2 to the Edmonton Oilers — one of Bear's former teams — at Rogers Place in Alberta. He had been a healthy scratch since, and will now likely be sidelined for at least the rest of the regular-season.
The 26-year-old was in the midst of his first season in the nation's capital after going unsigned in the offseason. He inked a two-year pact on December 28, which carries a $2.062 million cap hit until the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
The Canadian got into 24 games with the Caps this year, chipping in a goal and three assists while averaging just shy of 15 minutes of ice time per game. He registered a minus-5 rating in that span.
Bear began the 2022-23 season with the Vancouver Canucks after being traded from the Carolina Hurricanes, scoring three goals and 16 points over 61 games in British Columbia. Overall, the Saskatchewan native has appeared in 275 NHL games, amassing 17 goals and 50 assists.
Washington is continuing to battle for a postseason berth, surging to the tune of six wins in seven tries since Bear exited the lineup.
Even without Ethan Bear, Capitals continue surging at perfect time
Despite Bear's absence, the Capitals are looking like a rejuvenated club in the back half of the 2023-24 season. Alex Ovechkin is scoring again, Washington is winning prolifically, and the team holds a two point lead on the Detroit Red Wings — with a game in hand — for the final wild card berth in the Eastern Conference.
Ovechkin and co. missed the postseason last year, and it looked for long stretches like that would be the fate of the roster in 2023-24 as well. But the squad has meshed at the perfect time, continuing to string wins together and clearly treating every contest like a postseason game.
And that's something a deeply experienced Capitals roster knows well. The core — featuring Ovechkin, John Carlson, TJ Oshie and Tom Wilson, among others — have all won a Stanley Cup, and spent most of their careers chasing championships in the nation's capital.
Now 36-26-9, there's belief throughout Virginia that Washington will be a playoff team at the end of April, and with just 11 games left, each one is absolutely critical. And the Capitals are acting like it.
They'll be back in action in Toronto to play the Mitch Marner-less Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night. Puck drop is set for just past 7:00 p.m. ET.
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