All-Time Team: Washington Capitals (1974-present)

  It's that time of year again: hockey season! And once again it's time to look at the very best of what a particular team's history has to offer in roster form. As with last year we're taking a look at the most recent Stanley Cup champion team, the Washington Capitals.

  As always let's start with an abbreviated history. The Capitals entered the NHL along with fellow expansion team the Kansas City Scouts. This was a time when professional hockey teams were sprouting up everywhere and the talent was spread thin. The Caps finished their inaugural season with a pathetic record – even by the standards of expansion teams – winning a lowly eight games out of eighty and setting a league record for worst ever winning percentage. Their second season was only slightly better (I mean it couldn't have gotten much worse!) earning 32 points against the previous year's 21. Although the next few years saw Washington languish and barely survive they took advantage of some great draft choices (Scott Stevens, Ryan Walter, Bengt Gustafsson, Mike Gartner) who would go on to strengthen the team's lineup for the next decade... or at least would fetch some decent trades (Craig Laughlin, Doug Jarvis, Rod Langway).

  By the time the 1982-83 season came around the Caps had assembled a solid defensive corps and some robust goal-scoring capability. The team earned its first ever playoff spot that year, finally quelling the persistent rumours of relocation. The Washington Capitals were a pretty competitive team throughout the 1980's and early 1990's. They made the playoffs an impressive 14 years in a row (1983-96) and even recorded 50 wins in the 1985-86 season. Unfortunately their regular season success didn't exactly carry over into the postseason, where the farthest they ever made it was the conference finals in 1990.

  After missing the playoffs in 1997, the Caps came back with a vengeance in 1998. They beat out the Bruins, the Senators, and the Sabres to make it to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time ever only to get swept by the defending champions, the Detroit Red Wings. During the next five years Washington would attempt to find success by acquiring notable high-priced veterans such as Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang. In those five years from 1998 to 2003 they made three postseason appearances, losing in the first round every time.

  During 2003 Washington unloaded its old talent and committed to rebuilding itself, missing the playoffs three years in a row from 2004 to 2007. But everything changed in 2004 when the Caps won the draft lottery and drafted the much anticipated Alexander Ovechkin who would go on to become one of the 21^st century's dominant scorers. Soon thereafter additional young talents like Alexander Semin, Mike Green, and Nicklas Backstrom developed into high-scoring phenoms, turning the team into regular season leaders and serious Cup contenders. The Capitals returned to the playoffs in 2008 and since then have only missed out once.

  During this period the Ovechkin-led squad developed a legendary rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins led by Sydney Crosby, the other point-scoring machine of this era. Since 2009 the Capitals and the Penguins have squared off in the postseason four times, with the Pens winning the first three series. Washington finally managed to defeat Pittsburgh in 2018 en route to their first ever Stanley Cup victory.

  Since their inception in 1974 (that's 44 seasons), the Washington Capitals have won 11 division championships and three President's Trophies (for best regular season record). They've made the playoffs 31 times, advanced to the finals twice, and won the Stanley Cup once.

  Today we'll take a look at the best players the team has ever had and see what the ideal fantasy lineup would look like. As always, only these players' achievements with Washington will be counted and I've tried only including players who wore the Caps' uniform for at least 250 games. Let's check it out!

Forwards

L-R: Maruk, Bondra, Konowalchuk

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Alex Ovechkin (2005-present)	Dennis Maruk (1978-83)	Mike Gartner (1979-89)
Greg Adams (1983-88)	Nicklas Backstrom (2007-present)	Peter Bondra (1990-2004)
Steve Konowalchuk (1992-2003)	Dale Hunter (1987-99)	Craig Laughlin (1982-88)
Craig Berube (1993-99)	Brooks Laich (2003-16)	Alan May (1989-94)

Unsurprisingly, this team's first line is all about goals. As such I've selected five-time 40 goal scorer Mike Gartner, 130 point producer Dennis Maruk, and the franchise all-time leading scorer Ovechkin. On the second line we've got sharpshooter Peter Bondra, playmaker Nicklas Backstrom, and tough guy Greg Adams. The third line adds a bit of versatility with two-way winger Steve Konowalchuk, power forward Dale Hunter, and forechecker Craig Laughlin. The fourth line is all about wearing out the opponents with the enforcer Alan May, grinder Craig Berube, and solid defensive play from Brooks Laich.

Honourable mentions: Mike Eagles, Lou Franceschetti, Bob Gould, Adam Oates, Michal Pivonka

Defencemen

L-R: Johansson, Langway

Calle Johansson (1989-2003)	Sergei Gonchar (1994-2004)
Scott Stevens (1982-90)	Kevin Hatcher (1984-94)
Rod Langway (1982-93)	Yvon Labre (1974-81)

Washington has been gifted with some very talented defencemen over the years. Picking just six wasn't easy but I think I've found the right ones. Our first pair has two blueliners that served for a long time and put up a good deal of points: Calle Johansson and Sergei Gonchar (who was also one of my picks for Pittsburgh's all-time team). The second pairing adds some excitement with the physical, high-scoring duo of Scott Stevens and Kevin Hatcher. The third pairing grants the team some good old fashioned stay at-home defence from the dedicated all-star Rod Langway and the hard-nosed Yvon Labre.

Honourable mentions: Sylvain Cote, Mike Green, Brendan Witt

Goaltenders

Holtby

Braden Holtby (2010-present)

Olaf Kolzig (1989-2008)

It came down to the two most tenured of Capitals netminders and while Olaf Kolzig was pretty great in his time I believe that he's since been overshadowed by Braden Holtby. Since taking over starting goaltender duties in the 2012-13 season he's put up some impressive numbers:three 40-win seasons, no save percentage lower than .915, and some superb playoff performances. He'll likely go down in history as the best Caps goalie ever... you know, until the next best one comes along. There really is no such thing as a final victory in hockey.

That's it for this week's all-time team. Check back newt time when we cobble together a winning team from a franchise of yore: the Minnesota North Stars.