“They’re kind of getting the band back together,” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. “Obviously, a close friend and teammate, [we’ve] been through a lot together here and it’s always exciting when you can kind of reconnect down the line in hockey. He’s obviously a bit of a legend here, and it’s going to be fun to have him back in the mix.
“I think when you go through so much as a teammate with somebody and then you see him in another uniform, it’s always strange. It just doesn’t look right. So, I think he’ll look better in a Caps uniform. It will be fun to have him back. … It’s like seeing a friend you haven’t seen in a few years. You go through a lot together as a teammate, as a team. You win a championship, and that’s a bond you’ll always have. So, when someone like that comes back to what feels like where they belong, it’s always exciting.”
Eller knows the team has changed since he was traded to the Avalanche on March 1, 2023, and said he likes the mix of old and new players.
“I think it’s a bit of both,” he said. “It’s still some of the guys that were successful during I think the best days of the Caps if you look back, but there’s some new, young energy, too, and quality. And I think to have a successful team, you need the right mix of both, and right now, so far they’re on the path and I just hope to be able to contribute to that.”
Eller did not play Wednesday when the Capitals lost 4-3 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Washington (10-4-1) is in third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Pittsburgh (6-9-3), which lost 3-2 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday, is seventh.
“It’s just going to provide opportunities for other guys to step up and play a more significant role, so we’ll try to put guys in positions where we think we can set them up for success,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ll go from there. We have some center depth where we can move guys in, and we’ll do that along the way.
“Inevitably, as I always tell you guys, performance will ultimately be the dictator. So, it’s going to provide opportunities for others for sure.”
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti and independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report
