Ryan Leonard’s Injury Sparks Uncertainty: How Long Will the Star Be Out?

The Washington Capitals are bracing for a tough stretch without rookie sensation Ryan Leonard, who suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s clash with the Anaheim Ducks. This setback comes amid what was shaping up to be Leonard’s breakout season, leaving fans and the team in a holding pattern as his recovery timeline remains uncertain. Head coach Spencer Carbery stressed the reality of the grind in pro hockey—adversity is part of the journey, whether it’s battling injuries or overcoming slumps—and expressed confidence that Leonard will rebound stronger. Before this unfortunate incident, Leonard was lighting it up on the ice, posting career-best numbers and earning weekday watercooler buzz for his electrifying play. Despite the blow, teammates note his upbeat spirit hasn’t waned, hinting at a resilient road back to form once he’s cleared to skate again. For now, the Capitals and their fans watch and wait, knowing this young player’s potential is just getting started. LEARN MORE

ARLINGTON, VA — The Capitals will go without rookie Ryan Leonard for the foreseeable future after he sustained an upper-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.

Head coach Spencer Carbery offered an update on Leonard’s status on Sunday morning, though he noted the team doesn’t have a full sense of his timeline just yet.

“Ryan will see the doctors today,” Carbery said. “He’s going to miss an extended period of time.”

Leonard took a blindside hit up high from Ducks forward Jacob Trouba late in the first period of Friday’s game and immediately went down the tunnel. Despite protests from the Capitals both during and after the game, Trouba did not receive a penalty on the play, and the NHL Department of Player Safety declined to level supplemental discipline.

After a series of happier rookie-year milestones, Leonard now faces the first injury of his NHL career, and Carbery compared it to the many other challenge young players face.

“Yeah, no doubt (it’s frustrating), but it’s just — part of playing in the National Hockey League is dealing with adversity, whether it’s through injuries, or going through slumps, or losing hockey games,” Carbery said. “There’s all sorts of things that you’re going to go through in your career, and injuries are one of them. And so having it happen at this point in his career, early on, when he was having some success, is no doubt unfortunate and probably frustrating. But also it’s part of it, and he’ll come out of it. I have no doubt that he’ll be back and ready to go when he is and get right back after him.”

Before getting hurt, Leonard had been on the hottest stretch of his career so far. He recorded a four-point (2g, 2a) night in his final healthy game against the San Jose Sharks — becoming the first rookie to do so this season — and had eight points (2g, 6a) in his last seven games.

“I think his game is at the best it’s ever been,” Tom Wilson said of Leonard late last month. “He looks so good with the puck. He’s skating well. I think there’s flashes of potential of how good this kid’s going to be.”

Leonard has a total of 18 points (7g, 11a) in 29 games this season. He told reporters in mid-November that he felt more comfortable with his play “each and every game,” and that growth was visible on the ice. Not only was he scoring more, but Carbery also trusted him to play a bigger role on the team: Leonard averaged more than 15 minutes a night in the 10 games before facing the Ducks and had earned a promotion to the first power-play unit. The abrupt end to that success made an already-frustrating injury even harder to stomach.

“He was playing at a high level,” Nic Dowd said Sunday. “He was playing really well, finding his game…I think he was starting to really figure his game out, have some confidence, and it’s tough to get to that level. It takes time: your conditioning, your confidence with the puck, playing time, everything. So it sucks to be injured.”

Still, Dowd noted, Leonard had held onto his happy-go-lucky attitude even amid such a major setback to his rookie year. And once he’s ready to lace up his skates, the Capitals have no doubt he’ll be able to finish the hot streak he started.

“He looks like he’s doing pretty well this morning,” Dowd said. “Like I said, he’s a young kid, so he’s always got a smile on his face. He’s always been in a good mood. I have no doubt that that will stay the same, regardless of being injured or not.

“I think for him, the injury is probably pretty straightforward. I think he’ll do his best to get better and get better for our team. And then he’ll be back in the lineup, and I have no doubt that he’ll be able to continue to get back to that level that he was playing at and maintain that when he’s back.”