A Lost Season: What's Next For The Capitals & Sonny Milano
The Capitals forward missed nearly all of the 2024-25 season with an upper-body injury, and now, it's uncertain whether or not he'll be back.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — The 2024-25 season wasn't at all how Washington Capitals winger Sonny Milano wrote it up.
In the second year of the three-year extension he signed in 2023, Milano was hoping to keep pushing forward and proving his worth to Washington, while also holding onto his roster spot amid growing competition up front.
However, things didn't go according to plan by any means starting with a rough showing at training camp and in the preseason slate of exhibition games. However, coach Spencer Carbery, who called his showing “just okay,” gave him the benefit of the doubt as a proven veteran, so he started the year with a spot on the third line.
In the season opener, Milano and his linemates struggled, as he was on the ice for three goals against over 5:52 minutes of ice time (14 total shifts) before being benched.
He’d be a healthy scratch until making his long-awaited return to the lineup on Nov. 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes, but in that game, he got just 5:46 minutes to show what he could do. Then, three days later, he got the call again to play against the Nashville Predators, but after 10 minutes of ice time and two shots on goal, he took a big hit and was sidelined with an upper-body injury.
He didn’t record a point in any of his appearances.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months as he was placed on the long-term injured reserve. It’s believed that the injury was a concussion, and after months, Milano had finally worked his way back to the ice.
Following weeks of skating on his own and eventually joining the group in a non-contact jersey, he upgraded to full contact in late February. However, his recovery would be halted by a “significant setback.”
"Tough to see, because he's been working so hard to come back and we see him on the ice, but even away from the ice, he's putting in the time, and he really wanted to come back and be available for the playoffs," general manager Chris Patrick said at the trade deadline. "I think in pushing to do that, he had a fairly significant setback last week.
"It's kind of back to the drawing board a little bit with him, so really hard to see.”
Milano was off the ice for the remainder of the season, though he rehabbed at the facility, spent time with his teammates and remained involved off the ice. Going into the offseason, the team is looking for him to continue working toward getting healthy, but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to play come training camp.
“I think he's still kind of in that process of trying to see if he can get himself healthy, and I think that's going to go into the summer,” Patrick said on breakdown day. "We're just going to have to see where he is as the summer goes on. We're going to have to give him some time and space to figure out where he is and how his injuries are holding up and go from there.”
Milano, if able to play, is certainly a strong option to have on the wing, but the Capitals acknowledged the need to bolster the third line this summer and bring in another skilled winger. Plus, if Anthony Beauvillier re-signs, it’ll mean even more competition for Milano going forward, especially with Ryan Leonard having made the jump at the end of last season and other prospects waiting for their turn at the NHL level.
There’s no doubting the 29-year-old’s ability. Over the last two years in D.C., he’s picked up 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points in 113 games.
He’s a talented stickhandler who can work wonders with the puck, make plays and provide secondary scoring, though consistency, two-way play and, of course, his health, are concerns.
With one year left on Milano’s contract and his well-being being the biggest priority, as well as an influx of competition on the forward lines, the Capitals may have to decide on his future with the team sooner rather than later.
If all is well on the health front, though, there’s no reason not to give him a chance to show what he can do come training camp and go from there.
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