Washington Capitals’ Forgotten Ones – The Hockey Writers – Washington Capitals

When the hockey world thinks about the Washington Capitals, there are obvious names that come up. If talking about the present or recent history, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, TJ Oshie, and Braden Holtby will come to mind. If talking about the more-distant past, some players mentioned would be Peter Bondra, Kevin Hatcher, Sergei Gonchar, Dale Hunter, and others. With those who are remembered for their time in Washington, there are those who are also forgotten. Maybe they only played one season for the club, or they are more remembered for their time on other teams. There are many who can fit this bill in Caps history, but here are five notable ones.

Zdeno Chara

When Zdeno Chara wrapped up his time with the Boston Bruins, many hockey fans believed the giant defenseman would call it a career. He had suited up for that franchise since he joined the team before the 2006-07 campaign and was a core member during the franchise’s Stanley Cup victory against the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. He had 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 81 games that season.

Chara became a figure of Boston sports in general. He and Patrice Bergeron represented Boston hockey.

Instead of retiring though, the former Bs blueliner signed a one-year contract with the Capitals prior to the 2020-21 NHL season. Seeing Chara in any other jersey other than Boston’s was weird at that point. His point production had dropped off from his prime, so the Caps knew they were not getting the same Chara from seasons ago. Chara put up two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 55 games that season.

Chara also played in five postseason games for Washington, going pointless in all of them. Then, his time in D.C. was up as quickly as it began. He signed with the New York Islanders for the following season, before officially hanging up his skates in 2022. Looking at his career as a whole, he produced 209 goals and 471 assists for 680 points in 1,680 games. He is a future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, and he will always be remembered for his size, how fast his shot was, and being a fierce leader on the ice. He will be remembered more for his days in Boston though, and not as much as his season as a Cap.

Sergei Fedorov

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