Washington Capitals: Top 10 best free agents of all-time

#2 Joel Ward

The Washington Capitals signed Joel Ward on July 1, 2011 after he spent time with the Nashville Predators. In his first season, Ward scored six goals and added 12 assists for 18 points. The next year he had eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points. Ward broke out in the 2013-14 season with 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points. The next season he had 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.

Ward came from the Nashville Predators where he had a solid playoff performance with seven goals and six assists in 12 games. He was even more clutch come playoff time with the Caps. In 2012, the Caps were up against the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins and it was Ward’s overtime goal on the road that quieted the crowd and gave the Caps a huge upset.

In the 2013 playoff series against the New York Rangers, Ward had one goal and three assists for four points. The Caps missed the playoffs in 2014 but were back a year later. In 14 games in the spring of 2015, Ward had three goals and six assists for nine points including a buzzer beater in Game 1 against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden which once again stunned the crowd.

In four years with the Caps, Ward skated in 276 games and recorded 57 goals and 64 assists for 121 points.