Washington Capitals: Top 5 greatest coaches of all-time

The Washington Capitals had plenty of interesting coaches over the years.

The Washington Capitals are currently in search of a new coach after Todd Reirden failed to deliver the Caps out of the first round in back to back seasons. There are three names that emerged as legitimate candidates and each one hopes to one day make a list such as this.

Those candidates are Peter Laviolette, Mike Babcock, and Gerard Gallant and one of those names could get hired in the next few weeks as the Caps look to go on with their offseason.

But this post isn’t about the three names mentioned above. One of those three will face the pressure that comes with the job of coaching the Capitals.

Who we’ll talk about next celebrates those who have helped the Caps achieve new heights, who helped motivate their players and helped make the culture good.

It’s always fun guessing who would make a list such as this and the goal of this is to encourage healthy debate. We’ve already looked at the greatest players, the best of the best, by position at forwards, defense, centers, left wings, right wings, and goalies.

Now it’s time to look at the best coaches in Capitals history.

#5 Jim Schoenfeld

Jim Schoenfeld took over for Terry Murray with 37 games left in the 1993-94 season and the team with an under .500 record. They finished with a 39-35-10 record for 88 points and a third place finish. Schoenfeld went 19-12-6. That spring he helped coach the Caps to achieve team history of defeating their bitter rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history. There’s nothing better than beating the Penguins and only Barry Trotz is the other coach who can say that.

The next season he went 22-18-8 for another third place finish in a 48 game season. The next year he went 39-32-11. In his final season in D.C. he went 33-40-9. Overall he spent four years with the Caps coaching in 249 games going 113-102-34. The Caps fired him in 1997 as part of a house cleaning.

Prior to coaching he worked at ESPN as a color commentator with play by play guy Gary Thorne. He also coached with the New Jersey Devils, Phoenix Coyotes, and Buffalo Sabres. His record overall was 256-246-78 in 580 career NHL games.

Schoenfeld makes this list for the simple fact of being the first Caps coach to crack the playoff code of the Penguins. That qualifies him simply enough.

#4 Bryan Murray

Bryan Murray helped put the Capitals on the map and give them respectability across the entire NHL. He helped guide the Caps to their first 100 point season and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year during that historic 1983-84 season.

Murray also helped coach the Caps to their first playoff series victory in 1984 as well as their first Game 7 victory in 1988 over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Murray went 25-28-13 for 63 points in 66 games in 1981-82. The next year he went 39-25-16 for 94 points. In 1983-84 and 1984-85, Murray had back to back 101 point seasons with a 48-27-5 and 46-25-9 records, respectively. In 1985-86, Murray was even better with a 50-23-7 record with 107 points.

In 1986-87, Murray went 38-32-10 for 86 points. The next year he went 38-33-9 for 85 points. In 1988-89 he went 41-29-10 for 92 points before going 18-24-4 in 46 games in 1989-90. Overall Murray spent nine seasons in Washington and went 343-246-83 for 769 points in 672 games.

Murray passed away on August 12, 2017. Besides coaching the Caps he also served as General Manager of the Ottawa Senators for nine years. He also worked with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Florida Panthers, and the Detroit Red Wings as General Manager. He worked in the NHL for 35 consecutive seasons and was responsible for Washington’s first ever playoff appearances.

#3 Ron Wilson

Ron Wilson was the first head coach to guide the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998 before falling to the Detroit Red Wings in four games as part of their dynasty. What’s impressive is he guided the Caps to the Stanley Cup in his first season as head coach. He went 40-30-12 that year for 92 points.

1998-99 was a down year as Wilson went 31-45-6 for 68 points. He bounced back in the 1999-00 season with a 44-24-12-2 record for 102 points to finish first place in the Southeast Division. The next year he went 41-27-10-4 for 96 points. His final season saw him go 36-33-11-2 for 85 points.

Overall, Ron Wilson spent five seasons with the Capitals and coached in 410 games. His record was 192-159-51-8 for 443 points. Wilson replaced #5 on this list Jim Schoenfeld after the club failed to make the playoffs in 1996-97.

Wilson’s first season was a successful one and a 17 point improvement from the previous season. In the playoffs, the Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins in the first round, Ottawa Senators in the second round, and Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals.

After a down season the next year, Wilson coached the Caps to back to back Southeast Division title. He makes this list as being the first coach to guide the team to the finals.

#2 Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Boudreau helped coach the Caps to the playoffs in the early part of the Alex Ovechkin era and was the bench boss in the Young Guns Era. Replacing a fired Glen Hanlon, Boudreau turned the Caps around from 6-14-1 to 37-17-7. That 81 point finish helped the Caps win the Southeast Division and would be the first of four consecutive division titles.

The next year Boudreau went 50-24-8 with 108 points. The Caps were even better in the 2009-10 season as Boudreau won a career high 54 games going 54-15-13 guiding the Caps to not only their third straight division title but their first Presidents’ Trophy as the best record and the most points in the entire NHL.

The next season Boudreau went 48-23-11 for 107 points for a first place finish in the Southeast Division and first seed in the Eastern Conference (thankfully no Presidents’ Trophy). The next year Boudreau was 12-9-1 for 25 points before he was fired in late November. He was replaced by Dale Hunter.

Bruce Boudreau was a great coach and had an even bigger personality. He was fun with the media and had a silly quote here and there to make his pressers entertaining.

We’ve now taken a look at four of the best coaches of all time. It’s time for #1.