For this edition of NHL Saturday, we move forward from the third Expansion era wave to the fourth: bring on the Washington Capitals! They started play in 1974, and the franchise finally won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018 after several years of knocking on the door to Lord Stanley’s exclusive inner circle. At the start, though, it was rough for the Caps, as it took them nine seasons to make their first postseason. Ouch!

No. 10: Kevin Hatcher, D—67 PS (1985-1994)

The No. 17 overall pick, he never made an All-Star team in his career, and the Caps traded him away eventually. His best year in Washington—10.6 Point Shares in 1992-1993—resulted in a first-round playoff loss, so why not move him? He did finish in the Top 7 Norris vote three straights years (1991-1993), but his postseason numbers (48 points in 83 games) weren’t as good as his regular-season ones (426p in 685g).

No. 9: Mike Gartner, RW—68 PS (1979-1989)

He played the final year in the WHA before being “drafted” by the Caps at No. 4 overall in 1979. He is in the Hall of Fame, too, despite never making an All-Star team. Go figure. So, why is he in the Hall? His best season with Washington came in 1984-1985 with 9.1 Point Shares, and he did post 789 points in just 758 regular-season games with the organization. He only tallied 43 points in 47 playoff contests, however.

No. 8: Sergei Gonchar, D—80 PS (1994-2004)

He made two All-Star teams (2002-2003) while in Washington, and he helped the team reach the Cup Finals in 1998, as well. For five straight years, too, he was a Top 10 finalist in the Norris vote (2000-2004), so he acquitted himself well as the No. 14 pick in the draft. In fact, we gave him our Norris hardware in 2001; he was that valuable. In four consecutive seasons, he posted double-digit PS marks (2000-2003), as well.

No. 7: Braden Holtby, G—84 PS (2010-2020)

For ten seasons, this fourth rounder manned the pipes for the Caps, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 2019. He made two All-Star teams (2016-2017) while winning the most games in each season, and he won the Vezina vote in 2016, as well. In 2017, he also topped his peers in shutouts (9). Overall, he was 282-122-46 in the regular season—but just 50-47 in the postseason as Washington often struggled to win in the spring.

No. 6: Calle Johansson, D—86 PS (1989-2003)

He was the No. 14 pick in the draft by Buffalo, and the Caps traded for him in his second season. There’s not a lot to distinguish him in his career, in truth, although he was a member of the team that reached the Cup Finals in 1998. He topped 8.0-plus Point Shares twice (1991, 1996), and he compiled 5.0-plus Defensive Point Shares twice as well (1996, 2000). He ended up posting a plus-47 rating in 983 regular-season games here.

No. 5: Peter Bondra, RW—98 PS (1990-2004)

Two things stand out here: he was just an eight-round draft pick in 1990, and he never made an All-Star team. But in addition to being a member of the Cup Finals squad in 1998, he also topped the NHL in goals scored twice (1995, 1998), while leading the league in short-handed goals once (1995), game-winning goals once (13), and power-play goals twice (2001-2002). Clearly, the dude could put it in the net. Where’s the love?

No. 4: Nicklas Bäckström, C—105 PS (2007-present)

He may never play again due to injury, but technically he has not retired yet after winning our Calder in 2008 and topping the NHL in assists once (2015), too. He won the Cup in 2018 with the Caps, and overall, he has posted 1,033 points in 1,105 regular-season games, to go with 114 points in 139 playoff games. He put up 23 points in 20 games during the NHL championship run, and he will go down as a legend in team history.

No. 3: John Carlson, D—111 PS (2009-present)

The No. 27 pick in the draft, he’s made two All-Star teams in his career (2019-2020), while finishing in the Top 10 Norris vote five times, too (2015, 2018-2020, 2022). He was a key member of the 2018 NHL champions, and he has spent 23:38 ATOI in his regular-season career (1,009 games) with the Caps. That number jumps up almost a full minute (24:35) in the postseason (127g). He’s been pretty special here.

No. 2: Olaf Kölzig, G—121 PS (1989-2008)

The first truly great goaltender in team history, he won the Vezina in 2000 after backstopping the team to the Cup Finals in 1998. He was an All Star for the only time in his career when he won that Vezina, too, and overall, he won 301 games for the Capitals. We’d say that’s a good return on investment for the No. 19 overall pick in the draft. We’re going to be you didn’t know he was born in South Africa, either. Pretty interesting.

No. 1: Alex Ovechkin, LW—204 PS (2005-present)

The No. 1 overall pick in 2004 certainly has been a revelation for the Caps: 12-time All Star (2006-2011, 2013-2016, 2019); nine-time goals king (2008-2009, 2013-2016, 2018-2020); three-time Hart vote winner (2008–2009, 2013); and a lot of other accolades too numerous to itemize here. Oh, and he won the Calder vote in 2006, as well. We also gave him the Hart in 2015, too. There is the Cup title itself in 2018, of course.