2017-18 Washington Capitals were the Team of This Century in D.C Sports

On Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park, the 2017-18 Washington Capitals were inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame as the first-ever Team of Distinction recipient. A great honor in itself but that team was more.

The Washington Capitals were also nominated for the Sports Team of the Year by the Sports Business Journal but came up short when Atlanta United of MLS took home the crown. Despite falling to this national nomination, Capitals fans and Washington sports fans who support each team know very well how “distinct” this 2017-18 team was.

That’s why this honor for the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame speaks volumes. Team owner Ted Leonsis, also the founder, chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports and Entertainment, was present at the ballpark to accept the award.

“The D.C. Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to introduce a new designation for recognition, Team of Distinction, and to recognize the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals as the first to be honored,” noted Bobby Goldwater, the Chairman of the selection committee, in a press release.

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They could’ve gone individual and put Alex Ovechkin on a pedestal since fans pretty much did that when he led the charge with viral pics and videos from taking the city by storm the weekend after capturing the Stanley Cup. And there will one day be a statue. But it took everybody from the main guys in the lineup, to various scratches filling their roles when adversity hit.

Even putting together the inseparable pair of Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, who overcame a hand injury mid-second round to get back with the team, on a separate pedestal doesn’t do it justice either.

Sports are weird, droughts are weird, and that whole Washington “Big Four” (Redskins, Capitals, Wizards, and Nationals) drought was very silly now looking back on that. Nobody really knew why a team of those four couldn’t get past the semifinal round or if we’re talking baseball, so close to sniffing a League Championship series only to fall short.

But it seemed like the 2017-18 Capitals didn’t care about the past. They didn’t let a controversial three-game suspension to Tom Wilson affect them in their second round against the Pittsburgh Penguins, despite dropping a tough Game 4 that evened the series and knowing they wouldn’t have Willy for the remainder.

Instead guys like Shane Gersich, Nathan Walker, Travis Boyd and even Alex Chiasson filled their role. The first three were Hershey Bears standouts as recent as the 2018-19 season (except for Boyd who has a roster spot here in Washington for at least one more season) and Chiasson made the team right out of training camp prior to the season.

Everyone remembers Evgeny Kuznetsov winning in overtime of Game 6 and rightfully so, but that may not happen had not Walker won that puck battle and gave a quick pass to Chiasson to get Washington on the board.

We also got to see the evolution of stardom from the likes of Jakub Vrana and Christian Djoos who were once previous standouts from Hershey in their run to the 2016 Calder Cup. We even witnessed the playoff resurgence of Devante Smith-Pelly, a success story in itself after joining the Capitals when the New Jersey Devils bought out his contract.

Oh yes and we can’t forget about Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer. When Holtby had his midseason struggle, Grubauer’s “hot hand” ensured the Capitals were set up with winning the Metropolitan Division and getting back to the April dance.

Holtby then found his game which began in Game 3 of the first round against Columbus with Washington down 2-0 and rode it all the way to the Stanley Cup. He even made the save of his life which evened that series at a game apiece and the Caps never looked back.

It takes a complete team to win a championship and Capitals teams of the future will continue to look at how complete that 2017-18 team is as a springboard to more success in the future.

But not just the Capitals can draw from this success from last year either. Those NFL, NBA and MLB teams can draw inspiration themselves.

Wayne Rooney and D.C. United could benefit as well. After all, they’re currently third in the competitive MLS Eastern Conference after an improbable run to the playoffs a season ago and have a state-of-the-art new home to continue their winning tradition.

The WNBA’s Washington Mystics have benefitted from the Cup success already when they advanced to the WNBA Finals last year but fell to a strong team in the Seattle Storm. Even though they fell short, they have a strong team looking to get back and finish the job. They’re currently second in the Eastern Conference with plenty of season ahead.

The 2017-18 Capitals laid the foundation for winning in Washington and that doesn’t happen overnight or with “star players”. It’s all about TEAM.