The Washington Capitals have sent defenseman Justin Holl down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, a move that strongly points to Matt Roy being ready to come back, according to beat reporter Sammi Silber. Washington does not play again for two days, but the roster shuffle suggests Roy is close to rejoining the lineup.
Holl, 34, landed in Washington over the summer on a one-year, $900K deal after a stretch of rough years elsewhere. Before that, he had signed a three-year, $10.2MM contract with the Detroit Red Wings following six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That Detroit contract never really got off the ground. Over his first two seasons with the Red Wings, Holl put up two goals and 13 points in 111 games while finishing at plus-1 and averaging nearly 15 minutes a night. His 2024-25 season got even messier, with eight takeaways and 66 giveaways.
Detroit waived Holl before the 2025-26 season, and he ended up spending much of the year with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. There, he looked much more comfortable on a strong Griffins club, posting two goals and 14 points in 41 games with a plus-19 rating.
The Red Wings later dealt him to the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline as part of a salary offset for the Justin Faulk trade.
Even if Holl is now only filling in as injury depth, he gave Washington a useful short stint. In three games with the Capitals, he already matched the goal total he produced during his entire run in Detroit.
Roy appears next in line to return after sitting out nearly three weeks with a lower-body injury. If he’s back Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings, it will mean a six-game absence. In his two games with Washington this season, the nine-year veteran blocked five shots and added five hits.