Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by Ted Leonsis, through Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and initially played its home games at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, before moving to Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., in 1997.
The franchise was founded in 1974 as an expansion team, alongside the Kansas City Scouts, and struggled throughout its first eight years of existence. Beginning in 1982, with a core of players such as Mike Gartner, Rod Langway, Larry Murphy, and Scott Stevens, they became a regular playoff contender for the next 14 seasons. After purchasing the team in 1999, Leonsis revitalized the franchise by drafting star players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Braden Holtby, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson. In the 2009–10 season, the Capitals won the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. They won it a second time in 2015–16, and for a third time the following season in 2016–17. In addition to 14 division titles and three Presidents' Trophies, the Capitals have reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1998 and 2018, winning the latter in five games against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Capitals have retired the use of four numbers in honor of four players. In addition, the team holds an association with a number of individuals inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Capitals are affiliated with two minor league teams: the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League and the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.
History
Early years (1974–1982)
The NHL awarded an expansion franchise to the city of Washington on June 8, 1972, and the Capitals joined the NHL as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season along with the Kansas City Scouts. The Capitals were owned by Abe Pollin. Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager. The team name was decided via a contest in which 12,000 entries were given to Pollin. Other names included the Comets, Cyclones, Streaks, and Domes. Jim Anderson was hired as head coach prior to the inaugural season.With a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the World Hockey Association, the available talent was stretched thin. The Capitals had few players with professional experience and were at a disadvantage against the long-standing teams that were stocked with veteran players.
File:Defenseman Ray Bourque 1979.jpg|thumb|Capitals defenseman Darren Veitch chasing Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque in 1980|alt=Two hockey players in full pads and helmets on the ice, both in motion, with two others further behind them.
The Capitals' inaugural season in 1974–75 set records for the NHL. They finished with the worst record in the league at 8–67–5; their 21 points were half that of their expansion brethren, the Scouts. The eight wins are the fewest for an NHL team playing at least 70 games, and the.131 winning percentage is still the worst in NHL history. They also set records for most road losses, most consecutive road losses, and most consecutive losses. Head coach Jim Anderson said, "I'd rather find out my wife was cheating on me than keep losing like this. At least I could tell my wife to cut it out." Anderson was fired 54 games into the season and replaced by head scout Red Sullivan. Sullivan, after a 14-game losing streak, resigned citing stomach issues. Schmidt had to take over the coaching reins for the remainder of the season.
In 1975–76, Washington went 25 straight games without a win and allowed 394 goals en route to another horrendous record: 11–59–10. In the middle of the season, Schmidt resigned and was replaced as general manager by Max McNab and as head coach by Tom McVie. After the season, along with the Scouts, both teams would travel to Tokyo and Sapporo, Japan for four exhibition games for the NHL's first games in an Asian country. For the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Capitals alternated between dreadful seasons and finishing only a few points out of the Stanley Cup playoffs; in 1980, for instance, they were in playoff contention until the last day of the season. In 1978, the Capitals made a trade to acquire Dennis Maruk who would score 50 goals during the 1980–81 season and 60 goals in the 1981–82 season. Thanks to the subpar seasons, the Capitals were able to draft players Mike Gartner and Bobby Carpenter. However, McNab and coach Gary Green were fired in November 1981. Roger Crozier took over as GM for the remainder of the season, but he too was fired in August 1982. One of Crozier's decisions included the hiring of Bryan Murray.
By the summer of 1982, there was serious talk of the team moving out of the U.S. capital due to an amusement tax that affected their rink. The fans started the "Save the Caps" campaign and on November 4, 1982, the tax measure was defeated.
Postseason inconsistencies (1982–1996)
In August 1982, the team hired David Poile as general manager. As his first move, Poile pulled off one of the largest trades in franchise history on September 9, 1982, when he dealt captain Ryan Walter and Rick Green to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Rod Langway, Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin. Another significant move was the drafting of defenseman Scott Stevens during the 1982 NHL entry draft. The result of both acquisitions helped the team get a third-place finish in the Patrick Division, which resulted in their first playoff appearance. Although they were eliminated by the three-time defending Stanley Cup champion Islanders three games to one, the Caps' dramatic turnaround ended any talk of the club leaving Washington.In the 1983–84 offseason, the Capitals traded a first round draft pick for Dave Christian. They also traded Dennis Maruk to the Minnesota North Stars for a second round draft pick. The regular season had the Capitals gain over 100 points for the first time in their history. The Capitals also made a trade with the Los Angeles Kings sending Engblom and Ken Houston for Larry Murphy. They also made it to the second round of the playoffs, after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in a three-game sweep. However, they were defeated by the Islanders in the second round. The Capitals matched their point total the following season, but had a two-game series lead in the first round disappear against the Islanders as Washington lost the next three games to lose the series. In 1985–86, the team had their best record yet, winning 50 games and earning 107 points. After defeating the Islanders in a three-game sweep, the Capitals were defeated by the New York Rangers in six games.
File:Just Say No. National Hockey League.jpg|thumb|First Lady Nancy Reagan shooting a puck against Washington goaltender Pete Peeters while attending a Capitals–Flyers game in 1988
The 1986–87 season saw the team trade Bobby Carpenter and a second round draft pick for Bob Crawford, Kelly Miller, and Mike Ridley. However, the season ended with a loss to the Islanders in the division semifinals. The Capitals had a 3–1 series lead, but the Islanders came back to force game seven which would be known as the Easter Epic. In the fourth overtime, at 1:56 am on Easter Sunday 1987, Pat LaFontaine scored, giving the Islanders a 2–1 victory, ending the Capitals season.
At the 1987 NHL entry draft, the Capitals traded Gaetan Duchesne, Alan Haworth, and first round pick for Dale Hunter and Clint Malarchuk. The Capitals were unable to move past the second round for another season in 1988, losing the division finals against the New Jersey Devils. For the 1989 playoffs push, Gartner and Murphy were traded to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for Dino Ciccarelli and defenseman Bob Rouse. However, they were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the 1989–90 season, Bryan Murray was fired and replaced by his brother, the assistant coach, Terry Murray. As they approached the deadline, the Capitals acquired goaltender Mike Liut who assisted in their playoff push. The Capitals finally made the conference finals in 1990, but went down in a four-game sweep at the hands of the first-place Boston Bruins. The next two seasons were undone by the Pittsburgh Penguins who defeated Washington both seasons in the playoffs. It included a series where the Capitals had a 3–1 series lead in 1992 only to lose the next three games and the series. Their final season with Langway did not end well for himself nor the Capitals. He was limited to 21 games in the 1992–93 season due to a torn cartilage injury. In the playoffs, they lost in six games to the Islanders in the division semifinals. In game six of the series, Dale Hunter hit Pierre Turgeon after Turgeon scored the 6–1 goal for the Islanders. Hunter was given a 21-game suspension as a result.
At the 1993 draft, Craig Berube was acquired from the Calgary Flames in return for a fifth round draft pick. In 1993–94, the Capitals struggled throughout the first half of the season which culminated in Terry Murray's dismissal as head coach and Jim Schoenfeld announced as his replacement. Approaching the trade deadline, the Capitals acquired Joe Juneau. Although the Capitals defeated the Penguins in the conference quarterfinals, they were defeated in five games by the Rangers in the conference semifinals. At the 1994 NHL entry draft, Mike Ridley was traded along with a first round pick for Rob Pearson and the tenth overall pick, which was used to select Nolan Baumgartner. However, their rival, the Penguins, would defeat them in the first round of both the 1995 and 1996 playoffs. Both series had the Capitals leading the series, including a 3–1 series lead in 1995—the 1996 series ended with a game six fourth overtime goal by Pittsburgh forward Petr Nedved. In the 1996–97 season, David Poile completed a blockbuster trade with the Bruins to acquire forwards Adam Oates and Rick Tocchet along with goaltender Bill Ranford for Jason Allison, Jim Carey, Anson Carter, and two draft picks. However, the team was unable to make the 1997 playoffs, and as a result, Poile was fired along with Schoenfeld.