Washington Capitals: Top 10 right wings of all-time

#3 Mike Gartner

Mike Gartner was drafted by the Capitals in the first round at fourth overall in the 1979 NHL Draft. He is also the most recent Capital to have his number retired.

His first season saw him score 36 goals and add 32 assists for 68 points and there wasn’t a time he didn’t score less than 30 goals during his time in Washington. Gartner won the team’s rookie and MVP awards at the end of the season. The next year in 1980-81 saw him score 48 goals and add 46 assists for 94 points. Gartner added 35 goals and 45 assists for 80 points the next season then went on to score 38 and 40 goals, respectively.

In the 1984-85 season, Gartner scored 50 goals. He added 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 points in 1985-86. In 1987-88, after a 41 goal season the previous year, Gartner scored 48 goals and added 33 assists for 81 points. The next year, Gartner had 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points before he was traded midseason in March of 1989 to the Minnesota North Stars.

Gartner had his jersey number retired on Dec. 28, 2008. He is the last player that has had his number retired by the Capitals. In 2001 Gartner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Gartner holds the NHL record for most consecutive 30 goal seasons with 15 which is tied by Jaromir Jagr and Alex Ovechkin. Talk about Capitals connections.