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Reports: Capitals D Tom Poti fails physical, will likely be placed on long-term injured reserve

Tom Poti

This photo taken Jan. 8, 2010 shows Washington Capitals defenseman Tom Poti skating on the ice during an NHL game against the Florida Panthers in Washington. Severe food allergies sometimes keep Poti away from the dinner table, but they haven’t prevented him from becoming an established NHL veteran. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

AP

As many probably expected, it appears that Washington Capitals defenseman Tom Poti’s health status remains an issue. Various sources report that Capitals GM George McPhee revealed that Poti failed a physical today, which means the team is likely to place him on the long-term injured reserve as he tries to fight back through injuries stemming from the 2010-11 season. Poti didn’t appear on the ice during training camp today.

It’s sad to look on the bright side of a troubling injury situation, but the Capitals should get some salary cap relief from Poti going on the LTIR. CapGeek lists them as a bit more than $890K above the salary cap ceiling at this moment, but with Poti’s $2.875 million cap hit (temporarily?) off the books, the team should have wiggle room for injury and prospect-related roster moves. Poti will continue to try to work his way through his injury issues.

Poti played parts of the last four seasons with the Capitals, although he missed a significant amount of games. He missed 114 games during that span, with the 2010-11 season being the most troubled yet. Poti played in just 21 games last season, scoring two goals and five assists for seven points and a -4 rating.

When healthy, Poti can be an effective (if occasionally error prone) offensive defenseman. He logged at least 21 minutes per game for Washington in the three seasons before 10-11. Poti’s contract expires after the 2012-13 season, so the Capitals must continue to watch his progress.

A healthy return might cause some questions for the Caps’ brass - much like Sami Salo’s situation did for a while with the Vancouver Canucks last season - but here’s hoping that Poti can get his career back together soon.