Capitals sign defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to two-year contract extension

Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk signed a two-year extension Sunday. (Nick Wass/AP)

The Washington Capitals re-signed depth defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to a two-year, $1.9 million contract extension Sunday.

The 29-year-old has played in nine games for the Capitals this season. Washington signed him to a one-year, $800,000 deal in October.

Van Riemsdyk, a right-handed defenseman, played in 49 games for the Carolina Hurricanes last season and tallied eight points (one goal, seven assists). He also has a Stanley Cup on his résumé from his rookie season of 2014-15 with the Chicago Blackhawks.

He has one goal this season and is one of the two extra defensemen on the Capitals’ active roster, joining Jonas Siegenthaler. Van Riemsdyk dressed for three straight games last week, when the Capitals used a seventh defenseman because of a shortage of available forwards. Siegenthaler dressed for one but played only 28 seconds.

Capitals Coach Peter Laviolette has expressed confidence in the six defensemen getting consistent minutes this season: John Carlson, Brenden Dillon, Dmitry Orlov, Justin Schultz, Zdeno Chara and Nick Jensen.

Schultz and Chara were offseason signings, with Chara signing for one-year, $795,000 and Schultz for two years, $8 million. Dillon also re-signed for four years and $15.6 million in October.

Carlson, Orlov and Jensen are also on longer-term deals. Jensen is on the second year of his four-year, $10 million deal; Carlson is on the third year of his eight-year, $64 million contract; and Orlov is on the fourth year of his six-year, $30.6 million deal.

Michal Kempny, who is on long-term injured reserve after he had surgery for a torn Achilles’ tendon in October, is on the second-to-last season of his four-year, $10 million deal. Kempny has been seen skating by himself on the ice at the Capitals’ practice facility in the past month. After surgery, the timetable for his return was six to eight months.