Most of what I learned about hockey I learned from Joe B and Locker. Joe Benanati and Craig Laughlin have been a staple in the broadcast booth since 1996, the first year they were paired up for a Washington Capitals game. This year marks the 30th year Beninati and Laughlin will be in the booth together, longer than any other broadcasting duo in the NHL.
Beninati and Laughlin have seen it all from their perspective above the ice. Together since the finals days at the old Capital Centre to the current Capital One Arena, Multiple Presidents Cup winning teams, winning the draft lottery in 2004 for the right to draft Alexander Ovechkin, playoff heartbreak year after year, two runs to the Stanley Cup, one Stanley Cup Championship, and calling the majority of Alex Ovechkin’s goals as he raced to catch and eventually pass Wayne Gretzky for most goals all-time. It has been quite a career for the dynamic duo.
Outsiders usually have the same reaction when they first hear Locker’s quirky voice. “What’s up with that guys voice?” my uncle from Philly asked the first time he watched a game with me on tv. “That’s Craig Laughlin.” “I remember him. Wow, that voice!” Joe B is the straight man, with the awesome suits, Laughlin the comic relief as well as the resident hockey expert. Eventually, even he, a long-time Flyers fan who looked down on the franchise in Washington, recognized how good the two are.
Joe B and Locker broadcast their first game together on October 5th, 1996 and the two are synonymous with the Capitals' broadcasts. Their chemistry was evident from the start. They joked and laughed. Locker with the telestrator has become a fixture on the broadcasts with Locker’s mantra “Hold it here.” There is a whole list of hockey terms the two have made part of the hockey vernacular in Washington. “Biscuit in the basket,” “bang-bang play,” “tic, tac, toe,” and the all-time favorite “dipsy-do, Joe!” The two have educated Caps fans and given them hockey terms like “big-rig” and “ka-bong” and “the ol’ face wash, Joe!” There’s a list for those who want to get up to speed here.
This season, the Capitals have upgraded their roster and look to be a playoff team that could make a deep run. Joe B and Locker will be up in the booth starting October 3rd, 2026, in Carolina, like always. After 30 years with no signs of slowing down, they should be in the booth for at least a few more years of what arguably are careers that should land them both in the broadcaster wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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