ARLINGTON, Va. -- Michal Kempny has cleared waivers and has been officially reassigned to the Hershey Bears. In addition, the Capitals placed forward Garrett Pilon and goalie Zach Fucale on waivers Sunday as they look to finalize their season-opening roster by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline.

Kempny was placed on waivers Saturday by the team after struggling in the preseason. He missed all of the 2021 season with an Achilles injury and a knee injury. Though his play seemed to be improving overall based on how his preseason began, it was clear he was not up to the level needed yet for the Caps to keep him on the roster.

"This is a guy that's had a good career and has been dealt a couple of tough injuries, and he's missed a lot of time," Laviolette said. "As he comes back through our camp, we've got to evaluate things and put pieces in place. We really feel like it's important that he plays and that he finds his game and gets his game back where he can become a really effective player in the NHL. Right now, if he's not in our top six, that means he's not playing, and I just don't feel like that does him any good."

By rule, only $1.125 million of Kepmny's $2.5 million cap hit will come off the books for Washington, meaning the remaining $1.375 million will continue to count against the cap.

They will be reassigned to Hershey should they clear waivers by 2 p.m. on Monday.

All NHL rosters must be cap compliant and within the 23-man maximum by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline. Washington currently has 24 players, but Hendrix Lapierre, Connor McMichael and Martin Fehervary are the three players remaining who do not need to clear waivers and could be reassigned prior to Monday's deadline. The roster also includes Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin who are both injured and whom the team could possibly place on long-term injured reserve in order to clear a roster spot, if needed.