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The Washington Capitals - An Underachiever No Longer?

OHLAC | Apr 25, 2011 |

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Is 2011 The Year of the Capitals?

It all began for the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals during the 1974-75 season. The Capitals joined the league along with the Kansas City Scouts. The Scouts didn’t last long in Kansas City before moving to Denver where they were known as the Colorado Rockies. Soon after that, the Rockies moved to New Jersey where they are still known as the Devils. Washington remains in their original location and have been one of the NHL’s top teams for the past half decade.

Since joining the NHL, the Capitals have reached or surpassed the 50 win plateau on three occasions. The latest was during the 2009-10 season when Washington won a team record 54 games and were awarded the President’s Trophy as the team with the best record over the regular season.

Unfortunately, the Capitals succumbed to what has come to be known as the ‘Curse of the President’s Trophy’. On a regular basis, the team that finishes first during the regular season exits the Stanley Cup playoffs early. In the case of the 2009-10 Capitals, the team lost in the first round to the Montreal Canadiens.

To date, Washington has retired four jersey numbers. Two of those honoured have also been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rod Langway was a long time defenseman with the Capitals that was twice awarded the Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s top defenseman. Langway’s number 5 was retired by Washington in 1997 and he entered the Hall of Fame in 2002. Mike Gartner’s number 11 was raised to the rafters in 2008, seven years after being inducted into the Hall.

The other two retired numbers belong to Yvon Labre and Dale Hunter. Labre wore number 7 for the original 1974-75 Capitals and retired in that jersey at the start of the 1980-81 season. Dale Hunter played many years with Washington in the 1980’s and 1990’s and was a long time team captain. Hunter’s number 32 is among the four retired jerseys.

The other members of the Hockey Hall of Fame that have worn a Capitals jersey at some point during their careers include Larry Murphy, Scott Stevens and Dino Ciccarelli.

Three times since 1974, the Capitals have chosen the first overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft. In their first draft, they chose Greg Joly. Joly played parts of two seasons with the Capitals and a total of 370 games during his career that saw him mostly play with the Detroit Red Wings.

Rick Green was chosen first overall by the Capitals in the 1976 NHL Entry Draft. Rick went on to play six seasons in Washington and retired after the 1991-92 season, having played 945 NHL games with the Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders.

The most recent Capitals first overall pick is none other than Alexander Ovechkin. Alex was taken in the 2004 draft and has been one of the league’s most recognizable players since.

The current edition of the Washington Capitals is predominantly Canadian. 15 of 27 players during the 2010-11 season were born in Canada. The Canadians are followed by the Americans with five players. Russia, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic combine for the remaining seven players.

Having not won the President’s Trophy in 2010-11, perhaps a Stanley Cup victory is within reach for the Washington Capitals. The closest the team has come to this honour is a finals loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 1998.