As the Washington Capitals enter their first playoff run ever as defending Stanley Cup champions, let’s look back on what it took to get to this point they’re at today.
Back in 2003-04, the Washington Capitals had the worst record in the NHL and were set to have the top pick in the draft that summer. Everyone knows the team drafted Alex Ovechkin but what followed the draft was a long road. This town, area, and region all had a liking to the Redskins and with the impending NHL lockout presented the challenge of attracting fans. Of course that lockout was a challenge not just for the Capitals but every team in the league, but Washington was just starting a rebuild.
A good rookie year and Nicklas Backstrom getting drafted helped set the stage for an epic comeback season in 2007-08. After then-head coach Glen Hanlon was fired, Bruce Boudreau was brought on board and helped lead the Capitals from the bottom of the pack to the Southeast Division crown. The Capitals came up short that season, bowing out to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 but Caps hockey in the city of Washington just started to get won over.
Attendance started spiking and turned into a sellout streak still intact to this day. Walk to the grocery store or a bar around D.C, Maryland, or Virginia and you’ll see someone sporting a Capitals hat or shirt nine times out of ten. The people of the region love their Capitals hockey.
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Flashback one second to last year before all of us knew the team was going to win the Cup. At that point in time, the Capitals won their third straight Metropolitan Division title, their eighth total division championship in the Alex Ovechkin-era. Including this season, that’s a whopping nine times.
The Capitals also had three Presidents’ Trophies in that span, including two consecutive seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17. Yet all of these accolades that were mentioned above aren’t as grand as winning the Stanley Cup. In turn, when you don’t reach the goal, it’s dubbed a failure.
Now looking back at it, maybe those seasons prior to winning the Stanley Cup, those seasons that ended in the second round, first round, or no playoffs weren’t necessarily a failure. Maybe it was all a part of the process. Maybe it was just a journey this team took us on, a journey we were fortunate to ride along with every step of the way and not abandon the team or jump ship.
On June 7, 2018 in the heat of the moment, it was an emotional time for Capitals fans around the world. As these last final weeks of the regular season carried on, I was thinking to myself, “We are so lucky as Capitals fans to have the core of the team that we had for the last several years. We’re lucky that we get to witness this winning culture night in and night out.”
There are some fans that would love to have the care and the drive that the Capitals organization as a whole has from the owners to the players. Owner Ted Leonsis cares about the fans. General Manager Brian MacLellan has the brains to make the right decisions about the roster. Alex Ovechkin loves this city and his loyalty to his team and the fans have had D.C. love him right back.
This will be the 11th time in the Ovechkin-era we will see playoff hockey in the District. But sadly all things don’t last forever. Players retire, come and go. As the old saying goes though, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift which is why it’s called the present.”
Right now is the best gift of all. It’s the present and the Washington Capitals are Stanley Cup champions about to embark on the path to defend their title. On Thursday night at Capital One Arnea, the players and the fans will be ready to go to war. Enjoy the ride the Capitals fans. You’ve earned it.