Throughout the year, the Sip Advisor will alphabetically travel the National Hockey League (NHL), discovering the best and worst each team has to offer in a variety of subjects. We will also feature a drink based off the franchise. Today, we head to the U.S. capital to filibuster the Washington Capitals:

Establishment Story: The Capitals joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1974. Their first season was the worst ever for an NHL expansion team, finishing with a 8-67-5 record. Things didn’t get much better for the Capitals for the next few years and the team was in danger of being relocated in the early 1980s, before a ‘Save the Caps’ campaign kept the franchise in Washington.

Stanley Cups: The Capitals have won one Stanley Cup, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. Washington has played in one other Stanley Cup Final, being swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1998. Even making the playoffs was once very difficult for the Capitals, as after joining the NHL in 1974, they didn’t reach the post-season for the first time until 1983. That was followed by 14 straight playoff appearances, though.

Celebrity Fan: Some of the Capitals celebrity supporters include Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, who has been a season ticket holder for many years, and Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter, who became a Washington fan early into the team’s existence, when she moved to the area. Both were present for and participated during the Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup championship run.

Super Fan: For many years, Capitals season ticket holder Sam Wolk was best known by other supporters as Horn Guy. During games, Wolk would blow his horn three times, leading the rest of the crowd to chant “Let’s go, Caps!” His fandom led to being cast in a Capitals advertising campaign and being included as part of the Caps Road Crew. Wolk crafted each of his horns himself, spending hours on them prior to the season.

Mascot: Slapshot is a bald eagle, donning jersey number 00. He debuted with the team on November 18, 1995, and is sometimes flanked by secondary mascots, Air Slapshot and Hat Trick. The Capitals first mascot was Winger, who still makes rare appearances at games. Aside from the usual mascot work, riling up crowds and handing out merchandise, Slapshot even appeared on a 2009 episode of The Price is Right.

Tradition: The Capitals fight song, released in 2008, is called Rock the Red, by Washington, D.C. heavy metal band Darkest Hour. Fans of the team are also encourage to Rock the Red, by wearing red gear to home games. Another notable team slogan is Unleash the Fury, which is often used when the Capitals need to rally back from a deficit. Unleash the Fury was originally created by Scott Brooks, when he was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers organization.

Appearances in Media: The HBO sports documentary series 24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic series debuted in 2010, detailing the Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins seasons, as they were set to meet in the 2011 Winter Classic. The four-part series highlighted the rivalry between superstars Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Speaking of Ovechkin and Crosby, the two helped promote the 2011 Winter Classic with an appearance on The Price is Right, presenting a VIP prize package for the marquee game.

Events/Scandals: Following the 1989-90 campaign, four Capitals players – Dino Ciccarelli, Geoff Courtnall, Neil Sheehy and Scott Stevens – were accused of raping a 17-year-old girl, following a team season wrap-up event. While the case never made it to court, police believed there was enough evidence that a crime had occurred. In the aftermath, all but Ciccarelli never played for Washington again.

Rivalry: The Capitals have feuded with both Pennsylvania-based teams (Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers), along with both New York City-located clubs (the Rangers and Islanders). All five franchises comprised the Patrick Division for much of its existence and remained together for the early years of the Atlantic Division and later Metropolitan Division. Washington was moved to the Southeast Division from 1997 to 2013.

Tragedy: For an almost 50-year-old franchise, the Capitals have managed to avoid player misfortunes. There has been deaths of notable fathers close to the organization, including T.J. Oshie’s dad, Tim, and Alex Ovechkin’s dad, Mikhail. Tim Oshie was suffering with Alzheimer’s during Washington’s 2018 Stanley Cup run, with the son and father embracing during the championship celebration becoming one of its most memorable moments. Mikhail Ovechkin also spent a lot of time around the team, before health issues.

Player Nicknames: There’s been some clever nicknames in Capitals history. First, rearguard Rod Langway was dubbed the Secretary of Defense, based on the team playing in the American capital. Next, goalie Jim Carey was given the moniker Net Detective, a play on actor Jim Carey’s Ace Ventura: Pet Detective film. And you can’t forget superstar Alex Ovechkin earning the nickname The Great Eight, based on his play and number.

Line: Alex Ovechkin has been a constant on the Capitals best line for close to two decades. Over that time, he has been combined with Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom as the SOB Line, as well as with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson. At times, Backstrom has taken the place of Kuznetsov, to complete the unit. Ovechkin holds the NHL record for career power play goals, so those five-man groupings deserve great credit.

Captain: Alex Ovechkin has served as the Capitals captain since January 2010, following the trade of Chris Clark to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ovechkin would lead the team to their only Stanley Cup championship, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP, in the process. Ovechkin continues to wow crowds to this day, as he chases down Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record for most career goals.

Enforcer: Dale Hunter has the second most penalty minutes in NHL history and ranks first in playoff penalty minutes. Much of that time spent in the penalty box was accrued as a member of the Capitals, with Hunter holding the franchise penalty minute record with 2,003. Shockingly, he does not hold the single-season record, however. His 12-year stint with the team was honoured with the Capitals retiring Hunter’s jersey in 2000.

Family Values: Brothers Dale and Mark Hunter were both members of the Capitals in 1992-93, although Mark only played seven games for the squad and retired at the end of that season. Also in 1992-93, brothers Kelly and Kevin Miller played for Washington together, with Kevin suiting up for 10 games. A third Miller brother, Kip, played two seasons with the Capitals a decade later.

Returning Players: A number of players have spent two stints with the Capitals, including former third overall (1981) draft pick Bobby Carpenter, defenseman Sylvain Cote, enforcer Craig Berube, checking center and published author Eric Fehr, all-time Ukrainian scoring leader Dmitri Khristich, and winger Todd Krygier. Additionally, goalie Vitek Vanecek was a Seattle Kraken expansion draft selection from Washington, only to be returned to the Capitals via trade a week later.

Short Stint: While not the most glamorous name that could have been included here, John Kordic’s seven-game tenure with the Capitals in 1990-91 was productive, with nine fights and 101 penalty minutes, as well as two suspensions (one from the team and another from the league). Tragically, Kordic died in August 1992, never able to overcome the demons he was battling when he joined Washington. Kordic’s death came after a drug-fuelled police incident in L’Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec.

Undrafted: Jeff Halpern was signed by the Capitals out of college in 1999, becoming the first player born and raised in the Washington, D.C. region to play for the team. He even played on the Little Caps minor hockey team as a youngster. Halpern remained with the organization until 2006, serving as captain for the 2005-06 campaign, and also joined the club for the 2011-12 season. In 2023, Halpern was an unsuccessful candidate for the Capitals vacant head coach position.

Trade: With the Capitals having never made the playoffs in their eight years of existence, in the 1982 off-season, they acquired defenseman Rod Langway (along with Doug Jarvis, Craig Laughlin and Brian Engblom) from the Montreal Canadiens for Ryan Walter and Rick Green. Langway replaced Walter as team captain and Washington made the post-season in each of the next 11 seasons, with Langway winning two Norris trophies along the way, until he retired during the 1992-93 campaign.

Signing: On July 1, 2014, newly-minted Capitals GM Brian MacLellan made two contract offers that would pay great dividends down the road. On the opening of free agency, MacLellan signed defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen (both taken from the Pittsburgh Penguins) to five-year, $27.5 million and seven-year, $40.25 million contracts, respectively. Both would be members of the 2018 Stanley Cup championship squad, with Orpik scoring the Finals Game 2 winner.

Draft Pick: The Capitals have selected first overall three times in franchise history, highlighted by taking Alex Ovechkin in 2004. Some other top picks for the team, include fourth overall choices Mike Gartner (1979) and Nicklas Backstrom (2006), Scott Stevens (5^th overall in 1982) and Olaf Kolzig (19^th overall in 1989). One of Washington’s greatest draft steals was selecting Peter Bondra at 156^th overall in 1990.

Holdouts: The Capitals have experienced a number of holdouts over the years, sometimes with two players or more sitting out much of training camp. This includes Peter Bondra and Michal Pivonka in 1995, as well as the trio of Jan Bulis, Sergei Gonchar and Chris Simon in 2000. Others to go through a contract dispute at different lengths with the team are Kevin Hatcher (1990), Don Beaupre (1991) and Adam Oates (1997).

Buyouts: The Capitals have only used three buyouts over the course of the salary cap era, with the most expensive being defenseman Jeff Schultz, who was owed $2 million, when a compliance buyout was used on the final year of his deal in 2013. Other buyout recipients were Ben Clymer in 2008 and Tyler Sloan in 2011, each with one year remaining and $616,667 and $466,667 due, respectively.

Unique Game: Washington played the 2011 Winter Classic versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2015 Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks, a 2018 Stadium Series contest opposed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and a 2023 Stadium Series match opposite the Carolina Hurricanes. Internationally, the Capitals played a four-game exhibition series versus the Kansas City Scouts in Japan, winning the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup. They also participated in the 1980 and 1981 DN-Cup, which were round robin tournaments in Sweden.

Goal: Despite the importance of Lars Eller’s Stanley Cup-clinching goal in 2018, one of the greatest tallies in NHL history belongs to the future league goal scoring king, Alex Ovechkin. With so many goals to his name (currently at 827), what made this one against the Arizona Coyotes so special was Ovechkin scored from his back, while hooking the puck into the net. This occurred during Ovechkin’s rookie season, setting a high bar for future goals to be compared to.

Fight/Brawl: For whatever reason, nothing brings NHL fans to their feet quicker than a goalie fight. In 2013, they got one, when Braden Holtby battled Ray Emery of the Philadelphia Flyers. Holtby was somewhat of an unwilling combatant, given Emery’s reputation as a fighter (not to mention he had no reason to drop the gloves, given the Capitals were winning handedly), but the two tussled anyway.

Injury: On December 23, 2022, defenseman John Carlson took a slapshot to the side of the head, resulting in a small skull fracture and severed temporal artery. On the plus side, Carlson never lost consciousness and was not concussed on the play. The injury also necessitated Carlson’s ear having to be partially reattached. Carlson was able to return to the team before the end of the season.

Penalty: During the 1993 playoffs, Pierre Turgeon scored for the New York Islanders, putting his team up 5-1 and confirming the Capitals would be eliminated. While celebrating, Turgeon was slammed into the boards by a frustrated Dale Hunter, who had lost the puck, leading to the goal. Turgeon suffered a separated shoulder from the hit, while Hunter was handed a 21-game suspension, then an NHL record.

Wildest Story: The 1974-75 inaugural season for the Capitals is viewed as one of the worst campaigns for a team in NHL history, with their .131 winning percentage (8-67-5 record) remaining a league record. When the club finally won their first road game towards the end of the year, they celebrated like winning the Stanley Cup, using a garbage can as a trophy.

Blooper: One of the funniest moments in NHL history took place in January 2009, when Alex Semin dropped the gloves with Marc Staal of the New York Rangers. What followed resembled a percussion musician playing the bongos, as Semin slapped at the head of Staal. Semin would never be confused as an enforcer, but young kids can throw better punches than he displayed in this tilt.

Miscellaneous: The Capitals (along with the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA) – both teams owned by Ted Leonsis) are potentially set to move south to Alexandria, Virginia. The franchises would play out of a new sports and entertainment complex, set to open in 2028. Speaking of Capitals owners, it should also be noted NBA megastar Michael Jordan once had a minority stake in the club.

Washington Capitals: All Caps Smash

• 2 oz Vodka
• Top with Grapefruit Juice
• Garnish with a Maraschino Cherry

This drink is based off a ready-to-drink canned cocktail served at Capitals games. It is produced by Devils Backbone Distilling Co. I threw in the Maraschino Cherry so even the beverage was rocking the red!