The news is in regarding Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny, and it is not good. The team announced today that Kempny will be out for four to six months following surgery to repair a torn left hamstring.
Kempny, 28, was such a stabilizing presence last season for the Capitals and will be missed dearly this time around. The smooth skating defenseman was having a career season with 25 points in 71 games, but will have to wait for next year to make an impact. Luckily this injury happened at a point that should only cost him a few regular season games and one playoff run, but you can bet Kempny will struggle with having to watch his teammates compete without him.
The Capitals did go out at the deadline to improve their depth on defense, acquiring Nick Jensen from the Detroit Red Wings. That should help them deal with this injury, but given he is right-handed it doesn’t completely fill the void left by Kempny. The team has been relying on Christian Djoos once again, and very well could have the 24-year old in their game one line up. Djoos played in 22 games during last year’s playoffs, but averaged fewer than 11 minutes of ice time.
As for Kempny, this may put his 2019-20 training camp in jeopardy but even six months doesn’t project him to miss many regular season games. The veteran signed a four-year $10MM deal last summer and is under contract through 2021-22.