Washington Capitals: Expansion draft history
1993 Expansion Draft
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.