Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Capitals have participated in numerous NHL expansion drafts over the years.
NHL expansion drafts are nothing new for the Washington Capitals. They even went through one in 1974. But chances are, when the Caps see the Vegas Golden Knights roster, they’ll be a bit jealous. Expansion drafts have been a unique part of the Caps history. There have been controversial picks, a near fight between two teams and some shady under the table deals.
It’s amazing how much the league has changed their expansion draft process. Looking at some of the expansion teams, they were awful. Some of the worst teams of all-time are first-year teams. Vegas should feel lucky because the expansion draft didn’t always guarantee good, or even competent, players. Let’s take a look at each draft the Caps have been a part of. Unless otherwise stated, all information is courtesy of Wikipedia.
This was the Capitals’ expansion draft. It shouldn’t be confused with the 1974 Amateur Draft. The Caps joined the NHL along with the Kansas City Scouts, who are known today as the New Jersey Devils. Both teams got to pick from the 16 active teams.
The 1979 draft nearly ended terribly for the Capitals. Bengt-Ake Gustafsson is one of the best forwards in Caps history despite suffering knee injuries which eventually prematurely ended his career. Initially, he played for the Edmonton Oilers in the WHA. However, he was ruled ineligible because of league rules. The Oilers tried to protect him, but the Caps argued he was their property, as they selected him in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft.
Eventually, the NHL ruled in favor of the Capitals. In the 1979 expansion draft, the Caps lost forward Doug Patey to the Oilers, forward Blair Stewart to the Quebec Nordiques, and Gord Smith (who they got in the 1974 expansion draft) and Bill Riley to the Winnipeg Jets. Despite playing for the Jets in the WHA, Winnipeg had to select Hall of Fame forward Bobby Hull from the Chicago Blackhawks, who technically owned his NHL rights.
The 1990s saw a huge era of expansion, with the NHL holding drafts in three consecutive years on two separate occasions. 1991 saw the league add the San Jose Sharks. The Minnesota North Stars participated in it as well because their owners (the Gund brothers) wanted to move to the Bay Area. In a compromise, the NHL awarded them the Sharks and allowed them to sell the North Stars to an approved buyer. Minnesota participated in the expansion draft to replenish their roster.
There were two parts to this draft – the dispersal draft and the expansion draft. In the former, the North Stars selected 14 skaters and two goalies (1990 draft picks were exempt) to be protected from the Sharks. The Sharks got to pick 14 skaters and two goalies from Minnesota.
In the expansion draft process, the Washington Capitals lost center Rob Murray to the North Stars. Gustafsson, whose rights were held by the Detroit Red Wings, went to the Sharks. This expansion draft saw yet another Hockey Hall of Fame forward get selected, this time by the North Stars – Guy Lafleur. Eventually, he got traded back to the Quebec Nordiques, who held his rights, before retiring prior to the start of the 1991-92 season. Those are the weird facts that help you win trivia at the bar.
The 1992 expansion draft were for the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. Every team had to participate in it except for the Sharks, who were exempt since they just went through one the year before.
In the 1992 draft, the Washington Capitals lost defenseman Shawn Chambers to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He only played in two games with the Caps before taking his talents to Florida. Chambers wound up having a pretty decent NHL career, finishing with 625 games played and 235 points. He won two Stanley Cups, one with the New Jersey Devils and the second with the Dallas Stars.
The Capitals also lost Tim Bergland to the Lightning. He didn’t have much of a career, playing in 78 games with Tampa Bay before eventually getting traded back to the Capitals. Altogether, Bergland played in 182 games with 43 points.
This saw the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim join the NHL. Unlike the Sharks the year before, the Senators and Lightning had to expose players. However, the three teams were allowed to select players from both teams after the initial expansion draft.
The Washington Capitals lost forward Mike Hough to the Panthers and forward Trevor Halverson to the Ducks. Hough’s a bit of an interesting story. The Capitals traded for the then Quebec Nordiques forward, but left him unprotected in the expansion draft. He went on to have a decent NHL career with 256 points in 707 games. Hough is perhaps best known for his heroics while helping the Panthers advance to the 1995-96 Stanley Cup Finals.
Halverson had a Disney-esque career. After being selected by the Ducks, he never played for them, toiling around in the minors. However, Halverson found his way back to the Capitals organization in 1998 and finally made his NHL debut during the 1998-99 season, picking up four assists in 17 games.
The most notable player selected in the 1993 expansion draft is goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. Not only was he a nightmare for play by play announcers, but for his opponents as well. Vanbiesbrouck played a huge role in the Panthers making the Stanley Cup Finals in 1995-96 and is generally regarded as one of the top American born goalies of all-time.
1998 saw the NHL continue to expand to the southern United States, adding the Nashville Predators. The Washington Capitals are eternally tied with them, and it goes much deeper than the Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat and Michael Latta trade. David Poile joined the Predators as their general manager after spending the previous 15 seasons with the Caps. To this day, Poile is the only GM Nashville has ever had.
Washington Capitals /
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals lost forward Andrew Brunette to the Predators. While he only played in 62 regular season games for the Capitals, it’s clear Poile knew what he was doing. Brunette wound up being a journeyman, playing for Nashville, the Minnesota Wild, Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche. However, he’s also a journeyman who played in over 1,000 NHL games, putting up 733 points in the process.
This expansion draft was a bit interesting because of free agent compensation picks. Back in 1998, teams got a compensatory draft pick if they lost a free agent. Being the sly devil that Poile is, he deliberately selected several players who were set to become free agents in days. Once they signed elsewhere, the Predators got draft picks. Not a bad idea. Some of the names selected might ring a bell, such as Washington Capitals alumni Tomas Vokoun and Al Iafrate. Also drafted was Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.
1999 saw the NHL boldly make its return to Atlanta for the first time since the 1970’s. The Atlanta Thrashers are presently known are the Winnipeg Jets. This experiment obviously didn’t work for the NHL, as the league probably got a bit too eager after seeing success from the Panthers.
The first pick of the draft was Trevor Kidd. He’s best known as the guy who the Calgary Flames traded up to get instead of Martin Brodeur. The Washington Capitals lost Mark Tinordi in the draft, but he refused to play for the Thrashers, choosing to retire instead. In 663 career regular season games, he put up 200 points.
2000 Expansion Draft
In 2000, the NHL added the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets. Of the 28 teams, 26 of them participated. The league made the Predators and Thrashers exempt since they had just gotten teams. This was the first expansion draft to feature options for teams. They could protect a goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards. Their second option was to protect two goaltenders, three defensemen, and seven forwards.
In this draft, the Washington Capitals lost defenseman Oleg Orekhovsky to the Minnesota Wild, though he would never play in the NHL. Forward Barrie Moore got picked by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Much like Orekhovsky, Moore never played in the NHL.
