Washington Capitals: Top 10 left wings of all-time
The top left wings in Washington Capitals history.
The Washington Capitals have been in existence for over four decades. In those four decades that included a Stanley Cup there have been many great players that have suited up for the red, white and blue.
Recently we’ve broken down the top 10 by position. We’ve done forwards, goalies, defense, and right wings so far and we’ve still got the top 10 centers of all-time remaining after this one.
To be eligible for selection they had to have played a good number of games with the Washington Capitals. We chose 10 of the best that represent the past and the present of the Washington Capitals with a hint of the future.
Under those categories we picked 10 of the best that represented that trio and we also looked at the teams that they played on. It’s always fun to guess which player is included in a list such as this and the goal of these posts is to encourage healthy debate and discussion on who deserves a spot on the top 10 all-time lists and who doesn’t.
Without further ado, here are our top 10 greatest left wings to wear a Capitals uniform. Enjoy and debate kindly Caps fans!
#10 Donald Brashear
Donald Brashear speant three seasons with the Capitals. He was signed on as a free agent in the summer of 2006 to be the team’s enforcer to protect a young Alex Ovechkin.
His first season in 2006-07 he scored four goals and added nine assists for 13 points. His next season in 2007-08 saw him score five goals and three assists for eight points. He also added 133 hits that season. Brashear’s final season saw him score one goal and add three assists for four points. He laid out 119 hits.
Prior to his signing with the Capitals, Brashear played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, and Montreal Canadiens. He was known as an enforcer as soon as he entered the league and that would become his trademark style of play. He became a fan favorite in D.C. the moment he dropped his gloves for his first fight.
Brashear ranks 15th on the all-time penalty minutes list with 2,634 penalty minutes. Although he provided little offense he was a protector and even served as an alternate captain during his tenure in D.C.
Brashear also scored a playoff goal that was memorable in Game 1 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Flyers where he rebounded a shot past Martin Biron.
#9 Jason Chimera
Jason Chimera was traded to the Capitals on Dec. 28, 2009 from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Chris Clark and Milan Jurcina. He finished the rest of the season with seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points. His next season saw him score 10 goals and add 16 assists for 26 points.
His third season in 2011-12 was an impact season with 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points. In the 2013 lockout shortened season his numbers took a dip with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points. He rebounded the next season with 16 goals and 27 assists for 42 points. The next season saw him score seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points.
His final season in D.C. was the 2015-16 season and he left his mark with 20 goals and 20 assists for 40 points. He signed with the New York Islanders as a free agent before finishing his career with the Anaheim Ducks. He is now retired.
Jason Chimera played in 1,107 career NHL games for five different NHL teams with stops with the Edmonton Oilers as well. He got a standing ovation in his first game as a visitor since leaving the Caps when the Islanders visited the next season and called Caps fans “first class” and “knowledgeable”. We miss his veteran presence.
#8 Jakub Vrana
We went younger here on this list as Jakub Vrana is a promising left winger with a bright future ahead of him. He’s been an impact player the last three seasons and enjoyed a breakout season the last two years. Vrana made his debut in the 2016-17 season and had three goals and three assists for six points as he split time between Washington and Hershey. He played in 21 games that season.
The next year was his rookie season and he scored 13 goals and added 14 assists for 27 points. He also had some clutch goals in the playoffs. He had one in Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round that put the Caps one win closer to eliminating their enemies. He took a pass from Alex Ovechkin and we all know the rest.
He also scored the game opening goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final helping the Caps win their first ever Stanley Cup championship.
The next season he scored 24 goals and added 23 assists for 47 points. Later in the summer he was signed to a two year bridge deal to stay in D.C. He showed this past season that he is well worth the money as he scored 25 goals and added 27 assists for 52 points.
We can’t wait to see V have an even better season next year in hopes that he earns an even bigger raise.
#7 Geoff Courtnall
Geoff Courtnall only spent two seasons with the Washington Capitals but he was an impact player in the 1980s. In the summer of 1988 he had his rights traded to the Capitals by the Edmonton Oilers for Greg C. Adams.
Courtnall’s first season was in 1988-89 and he scored 42 goals and added 38 assists for 80 points. The next season he scored 35 goals and added 39 assists for 74 points. During his two years with the Caps he scored 77 goals and 77 assists for 154 points.
Courtnall spent 17 seasons in the NHL with five different teams. He had stops with the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, and Edmonton Oilers. He was traded to the Blues in 1990.
While in Edmonton, he helped the Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 1988. He got traded to Washington a few months later. After two seasons in Washington he requested a trade. Aside from the NHL he also spent time with two minor league hockey clubs including the Hershey Bears.
Courtnall played in the 90s before he suffered a concussion in 1998 that potentially ended his career. He announced retirement nearly a year later.
We have looked back on the career of four different players. We got six more to look at.
#6 Ryan Walter
Ryan Walter was drafted in the first round at second overall in the 1978 NHL Draft. He finished second in the Calder Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year for a solid first season in the league scoring 28 goals and 28 assists for 56 points.
The next season he scored 24 goals and added 42 assists for 66 points. He added 24 goals the next season as well with 44 assists for 68 points. He was even better in the 1981-82 season with 38 goals and 49 assists for 87 points.
The unfortunate part for Walter is that he played on some bad Capitals teams and was on the other end of the Save the Caps campaign. He was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in 1982 with Rick Green in exchange for Rod Langway, Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin.
Walter’s 28 goal rookie season placed him fifth on the team in scoring and won him the Capitals Rookie of the Year award. He made such an impact on the coaching staff that them and his teammates named him team captain the next season. He was the youngest team captain in NHL history. He continued to impress during his sophomore season and was the team’s top goal scorer during the first half of the season.
#5 Alexander Semin
Alexander Semin was drafted by the Capitals in the first round at 13th overall in the 2002 NHL Draft. His first season saw him score 10 goals and add 12 assists for 22 points in 2003-04.
His next season would be in 2006-07 and he would score 38 goals and 35 assists for 73 points. The next season he scored 26 goals and added 16 assists for 42 points. His fourth season saw him score 34 goals and add 45 assists for 79 points. In 2009-10, Semin had a breakout season with a career high 40 goals and 44 assists for 84 points.
He spent two more seasons in Washington after that. He had 28 goals and 26 assists for 54 points in 2010-11 and had another 54 point season in 2011-12 with 21 goals and 33 assists. Semin spent seven seasons in Washington and scored 197 goals and added 211 assists for 408 points.
Semin didn’t play in the 2005-06 season due to military obligations in Russia. The wait for Semin was worth it in Ovechkin’s second season and he was a worthy sidekick in the Alex’s. Semin was on some good playoff teams and in his career scored 15 playoff goals and 19 assists for 34 points. He had three goals and five assists for eight points in 2008 against the Philadelphia Flyers and five goals and nine assists in the 2009 playoff run that spanned two rounds.
#4 Dmitri Khristich
Dmitri Khrisitich was selected in the sixth round at 120th overall in 1988. His first season saw him score 13 goals and add 14 assists for 27 points in 1990-91. His second season was his best season where he scored 36 goals and added 37 assists for 73 points.
In 1992-93 his season began with a broken foot injury. Despite this, he scored 31 goals and added 35 assists for 66 points. He added two goals and five assists in the playoffs.
The next year he added 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points and added two goals and two assists when the Capitals finally took down the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs. He followed that up with 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in what turned out to be his final season in Washington.
In July of 1995, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, officially ending his time in D.C Before there was Ovechkin, Khristich was the Russian goal scorer and he just so happened to wear the number eight. He played in 811 games for the Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Khristich finished his Capitals career playing in 419 games over seven seasons scoring 140 goals and adding 160 assists for 300 points. He was fun to watch just like Ovechkin.
#3 Steve Konowalchuk
Steve Konowalchuk was drafted by the Caps in the third round at 58th overall in 1991. He spent 13 seasons with the Capitals having a pretty solid career. He became a fan favorite in D.C. for his two way game and offensive firepower. After appearing in one game in the 1991-92 season he played in 36 games the next season scoring four goals and adding seven assists for 11 points. He scored his first NHL goal on Halloween night in 1992 in Edmonton. His 1992-93 season was split between NHL and AHL action.
The next two seasons saw Konowalchuk score 12 and 11 goals, respectively, before posting a then career high 23 goals in 1995-96 in 70 games. In 1996, Konowalchuk helped lead Team USA to a title in the first ever World Cup of Hockey.
Konowalchuk added double digit goals and assists the next four seasons including a career high 24 goals and 23 assists in the 2000-01 season. The next year he was named a co-captain with defenseman Brendan Witt before being promoted to sole team captain in 2002-03. He added 15 goals and 15 assists in 77 games.
The 2003-04 season was a horrible one right from the beginning with the Caps going winless in five of their first six games. This prompted a change and the Caps responded by trading Konowalchuk, the first of a big fire sale that included shipping Peter Bondra. It was the beginning of a rebuild.
#2 Kelly Miller
Kelly Miller spent 13 seasons with the Capitals after being traded to them from the New York Rangers in 1987. It was a trade that paid dividends. Miller scored 10 goals and added 12 assists for 22 points in his remaining first season in Washington. In 1987-88 Miller scored nine goals and added 23 assists for 32 points. The next year saw him score 19 goals and add 21 assists for 40 points.
His third season in 1989-90 saw him score 18 goals and add 22 assists for 40 points. In 1990-91, Miller posted a career high 24 goals and added 26 assists for 50 points. Miller added 14 goals and 38 assists for 52 points in 1991-92, 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points in 1992-93, 14 goals and 25 assists for 39 points in 1993-94, 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 1994-95, seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 1995-96, 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points in 1996-97, seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 1997-98 and two goals and five assists for seven points in 1998-99.
Miller was traded with Mike Ridley and Bob Crawford in exchange for Bobby Carpenter and the trade wound up to be one of the best in Capitals history. Miller didn’t have the offensive touch like an Ovechkin but nonetheless was still a fan favorite. Only once was Miller able to surpass the 20 goal mark in D.C. as he was more of a defensive specialist.
#1 Alex Ovechkin
#1 on our list is a no doubter. Alex Ovechkin helped turn the franchise around and is a naturally gifted goal scorer. Youth participation in hockey has gone way up since Ovechkin entered the league in the DMV. He has shattered several franchise records and is hoping to one day break the ultimate record of all.
In the 2019-20 season before the pause, Ovechkin showed zero signs of slowing down with a league leading 48 goals to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Last season he scored 51 goals. The year before that he had 49.
This year Ovechkin scored his 700th career goal, achieving the feat in New Jersey and so far he has 706 goals in 15 seasons. It’s a shame his career has been slowed down by lockouts and a pandemic but he’s done his best to make up for it.
Ovechkin has led the league in goals nine times throughout his NHL career. His rookie season saw him win a Calder Trophy with 52 goals and his third season saw him score 65 on his way to his first career Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. Don’t expect him to slow down anytime soon.
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That will do it for our top 10 left wings in franchise history. Who did we miss? Who are your top 10? Let us know in the comments!