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Who are the top Washington Capitals of all time? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Kevin Hatcher: a steady presence on the Capitals blue line for the first decade of his NHL career, Hatcher tallied 400+ points in Washington and had three straight seasons of top-10 Norris finishes in his prime.
9. Sergei Gonchar: an offensive-minded blueliner, Gonchar racked up 400+ points in nearly a decade as a Capital, including five consecutive seasons with 50+ points and top-10 Norris Trophy showings.
8. Olaf Kolzig: the winningest goalie in the team’s history (301 wins), Kolzig spent all but his final NHL season with the Capitals (16 of 17 years), though did not become a full-time starter until age 27; most notably, he won the Vezina Trophy in 1999-2000 and the Clancy Trophy in 2005-2006.
7. Mike Gartner: one of the most underrated goal-scorers in NHL history (708 career goals), Gartner played nearly a decade in Washington and had 30+ goals every season, including 5x with 40+ goals, for 397 goals and 789 points with the Capitals.
6. Braden Holtby: the 2015-2016 Vezina Trophy winner and 2016-2017 Jennings Trophy winner, Holtby tallied 282 wins (with three straight 40-win seasons) across a decade in Washington, including backstopping the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup title.
5. John Carlson: the most prolific defenseman in Capitals history, Carlson has spent his entire career with Washington and tallied 600+ points with five top-10 Norris Trophy finishes while leading the team to its first Stanley Cup.
4. Peter Bondra: one of the elite goal-scorers of the 1990s, Bondra played his first 13+ seasons with Washington and had nine 30-goal campaigns, including a pair of 50-goal seasons and twice leading the league in goals scored.
3. Nicklas Backstrom: the franchise career leader in assists (many of them on Alex Ovechkin goals), Backstrom has spent his entire NHL career (16+ seasons and counting) with the Capitals and tallied 1,000+ career points, including leading the league in assists in 2014-2015 and helping the team win its first Stanley Cup in 2017-2018.
2. Rod Langway: a back-to-back Norris Trophy winner in the early 1980s, Langway patrolled the Washington blueline for 11 seasons and finished top-five for the Norris on two other occasions with three top-five Hart Trophy showings.
1. Alex Ovechkin: the greatest goal-scorer of this generation and the owner of most of the team’s career scoring records, Ovechkin has won the Richard Trophy 9x and has scored 30+ goals in every full season of his career thus far, including 50+ 8x; moreover, his trophy case includes three Hart Trophies, a Ross Trophy, and three Pearson Awards, as well as a Conn Smythe Trophy in leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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