Washington Capitals: Top 30 Players In Franchise History

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Alan Haworth

Coming in at number 21 on our countdown of the greatest Washington Capitals players in team history is a center who was excellent defensively: Alan Haworth. Haworth’s time in DC was a very short one, spending just five seasons with the team. His career was short as well because it was cut short due to multiple injuries and his desire to play in Switzerland. He was extremely tough to play against and put up some impressive numbers during his tenure in DC.

Haworth began his career with the Buffalo Sabres. The Caps saw something in his game that they liked so they traded for him during the 1982 offseason. He played in 346 games with the Caps in five seasons. He scored 129 goals and added 139 assists for a total of 268 points.

Points don’t begin to tell how great of a player Haworth is. He was mostly a checking line center for the Caps. He was asked to take on his opponents’ top lines and was usually asked to do so while in his own zone. Despite that, he finished his Caps career with a plus-minus of +67. That puts him in the top ten for best plus-minus in franchise history.

After his NHL career was over (one year after being traded from the Caps), Haworth played in Switzerland for four years before retiring from hockey.

Next: #20