Washington Capitals Top Ten Defensemen: #5
Number five on our list of best Washington Capitals defensemen is Kevin Hatcher. Hatcher was a huge part of the Capitals from the mid 1980’s to the early 1990’s.
"Kevin Hatcher was Washington’s first pick in the 1984 Entry Draft. Although he played most of the 1984-85 season with the North Bay Centennials, he did don a Capitols’ sweater twice during that season. The full time job started the next year, when Hatcher played in 79 games, totaling 19 points and 119 penalty minutes. The following year saw Hatcher tally a career high 144 penalty minutes in 78 games. In 1987-88 Hatcher logged plenty of ice time with the Caps and also appeared with Team USA in the Canada Cup. Although he missed 15 games with two broken bones in his foot the following season, he bounced back in 1989-90 and was the only Washington defenseman to appear in all 80 games. He made NHL All-Star debut in 1990 as well. Steady work apparently agreed with Hatcher, who missed only one game the following season and led his team in points with 74. He also made his second All-Star appearance. In 1991-92, he again represented Team USA in the Canada Cup. He also scored his 300th NHL point and appeared in his third consecutive All-Star game. In 1992-93, he scored a career-high 34 goals and became only the seventh defenseman in league history score thirty goals in a single season. He ended the season with a career high 79 points. – Washington Capitals"
Hatcher played 10 seasons with the Capitals from 1983-1984 to 1993-1994. Here’s how he compares to the other defensemen who qualified:
- 426 points (third out of 34)
- 149 goals (first out of 34)
- 277 assists (third out of 34)
- -10 plus minus rating (24th out of 34)
Hatcher was an extremely good defenseman. He was an important part of the Caps and their teams in the 80’s and 90’s. Like Gonchar, one has to imagine how much better Hatcher could have done had he had better talent around him during his career with the Washington Capitals.
Next: Number Four... The Original Enforcer and Captain