Defenseman Joel Edmundson, recently acquired by the Capitals, is not at all surprised by his departure from Montreal and has been looking at a new job for several weeks, he admitted on Wednesday.
The former Canadian spoke to the media in a virtual press conference about his visit to the American capital, which he hopes will be beneficial for the rest of his career. The past few months have not been easy for the 30-year-old ice hockey player as he has been struggling with particularly stubborn back pain. And that wasn’t counting the Habs’ saw-toothed performances, which quickly fell back in the overall standings.
“I had a feeling something like this was going to happen. I’ve seen Montreal upgrade their training to rejuvenate it. “Obviously the opening up of the free agent market was getting closer and I thought an opportunity might be created by then,” said the man who had a valid contract on another campaign. Now me and my fiancee are very much looking forward to meeting up in Washington.
Additionally, the Manitoban returned to one of his last conversations with his former general manager, Kent Hughes, and had good words for him.
“Kent did a good job. In his office, he said that it was certainly impossible for me in Montreal to ignore what was being written on Twitter. He told me the truth and admitted that he wanted to trade me but the compensation had to be acceptable. He would have liked to keep me, but if there was an opportunity to trade, he would move,” he specified, adding that the Canadian’s CEO often updated him on developments before the exchange ended on Saturday.
Ready to help Alexander Ovechkin’s band
Edmundson is limited to 61 games due to his issues that forced him to start the regular season late, but is optimistic of playing more games in 2023–2024. Physically and mentally, his mercury seems to be rising.
“I’m fine, I’ve been working in the gym for two months and I’m starting to skate. My body is great and I’m going to have a whole summer full of health before training camp. For the last several years, I got hurt before I showed up to camp and got into trouble right away. “I’ve had slow starts while the rest of the league has been flat out,” said the man who will receive $3.5 million over the course of the season. I want to stay 100% and help the team win.”
Edmundson now wants to “make life difficult for the opponent” while also taking on a mentoring role with the Capitals.
“I like to use the racquet to check and damage players in the opposing formation. That got me into the National League,” he recalls.