Over the last month, the Washington Capitals loaned five prospects overseas as the NHL continues to grapple with how to conduct and start its 2020-21 season. Other NHL teams have followed suit.

Damien Riat and Tobias Geisser were loaned to Swiss National League teams; Axel Jonsson-Fjallby was returned to his native Sweden to play in the HockeyAllsvenskan; and Alex Alexeyev and Aliaksei Protas are playing in Russia’s KHL. All five are expected to be called back for Capitals’ training camp.

The tradeoff of the loans is simple: Caps prospects continue playing hockey, but they also assume varying degrees of risk of contracting the coronavirus outside a bubble system. The latter has become a concern as the KHL is suddenly enduring a COVID-19 outbreak.

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