Washington Capitals place veteran defenseman Ethan Bear on waivers

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Tom Banks
October 4, 2024 (3:45 PM)

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The Washington Capitals have made some solid additions this summer, and with the regular season on the way, they've waived an intriguing veteran in Ethan Bear.

Over the off-season, few teams in the NHL improved as much as the Washington Capitals, with the team adding Andrew Mangiapane, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy just to name a few. While this is good for their Stanley Cup hopes, it meant that a player or two from a year ago would lose their spot, and now that has seemingly been confirmed.

According to reports, the Capitals will now be placing veteran blue liner Ethan Bear on waivers after his one season with the team a season ago, first reported by PuckPedia.

The 27-year old played just 24 games for the Capitals a season ago, and in that time he struggled, tallying just one goal and 4 points while having a -5 differential, and now his NHL future is up in the air. Despite being just 27, Bear has now played for four different teams, with Edmonton, Carolina and Vancouver before arriving in Washington, but with three straight seasons of new teams, his future is certainly not guaranteed.

With the regular season starting in the next few days for most teams, they've likely all got their rosters currently set, so unless he's willing to take an AHL deal and earn his way back into the league, Europe may officially come calling. Bear signed a two-year deal with Washington that carries a cap-hit of $2.062 million in the summer of 2023, but now he's been replaced by some solid Capitals pickups, so keep an eye on the future of Bear as he looks to find his role in the NHL.