The Capitals have recalled winger Brett Leason to begin his second stint in Washington, according to a team announcement.
Leason’s return to the NHL coincides with an injury to Aliaksei Protas, who has missed the last two with a lower-body injury and has now landed on injured reserve as the corresponding move for his recall. He practiced this morning without a non-contact designation, though, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports. The IR placement rules Protas out of tonight’s game against the Stars, but he should be ready to go when he’s eligible to come off IR before Friday against the Blackhawks.
Now 26, Leason began his NHL career with the Caps as a second-round pick in 2019. He made his NHL debut two years later, scoring six points in 36 games, before the Ducks claimed him off waivers in the first few days of the 2022-23 season. Leason spent the following three seasons in Anaheim, emerging as an NHL regular. He put up a 22-26–48 scoring line in 184 games in SoCal, serving as an occasional penalty-killing option, before being non-tendered last offseason.
Somewhat surprisingly, Leason struggled to find an NHL contract. He was on Russia’s radar after sitting unsigned for a few weeks, but was insistent on continuing his career stateside. He eventually landed a professional tryout offer from the Wild but was released with a week left in training camp. He then settled for a minor-league tryout for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers before finally landing a two-way offer from Washington at the end of October.
He immediately cleared waivers and has since been suiting up for AHL Hershey, where the 6’5″ righty has six goals and 14 points in 20 games. With Protas banged up and Tom Wilson dealing with a lower-body injury that kept him out of Monday’s game against the Ducks, Leason projects to make his season debut in fourth-line duties tonight.