The Washington Capitals of Washington, D.C. was an expansion team for the 1974-75 season of the National Hockey League. Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Bullets, a basketball team, was the owner. He built the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland to have a place for both of his teams to play. Abe hired Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager. They had very few players with any professional experience so they were sitting ducks for their veteran competition.

Their first season was disastrous. They set records for the most losses, the most road losses, and the most consecutive losses both at home and on the road. By 1982 they were not much better and they were considering moving out of the D.C. ares. The local fans started a campaign to "Save the Caps."

They hired David Poile as General Manager and he pulled off the biggest trade in Franchise History. In 1982 he traded Ryan Walgter and Rick Green to Montreal for four of their players. Their solid defense turned the franchise around. They made their first playoffs in 1983. Things were looking up. They were conference champions from 1997-98. They won Division championships in 1988, 1999, 2000, 2007, and 2008.

In the 1995 season they tried to give the team a more modern look in order to make more merchandise sales. They abandoned the original logo and color scheme in favor of a blue, black,and bronze palette with an American Bald Eagle with five stars as its logo. As an alternate logo they had hockey sticks crossed behind the picture of the Capitol Building.

Hockey is becoming a more popular game to follow, as many fans are interested in what's going on with the Washington Capitals and who they are playing next. Just since the first of the year, the Capitals have won most of their games. They are playing strong and the players are excited about how well they have been performing, as well as the fans being ecstatic over their success.

The team is expecting a lot out of player Brooks Laich who has been scoring well in the past few games causing the third win in a row this year. The Caps have won 23 games out of 26 this season. Keeping this momentum up is key to keeping this winning streak going. Another player that is doing very well is Alex Ovechkin; some are saying many times he is the reason the team wins. Ovechkin recently had a five point goals scored in one game. His teammates say that he gets more excited about others on the team scoring than he does when he scores himself!

The Washington Capitals continue to be very active in community events for charity. There next event is Sunday, January 24th at 7pm at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Tickets are on sale now. The event includes food, drinks, talking, and meeting the team players and an auction benefit. To get tickets for this event and for more information you can go to http://capitals.nhl.com. Do not wait to long though, or the tickets may be sold out.

Born on March 8, 1976 in South Windsor, Connecticut, Chris now stands at six foot tall and weighs 200pounds. His playing career started in 1998 and is still going strong. Chris Clark has played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals, and the Calgary Flames. He has had some injuries in his years as a hockey player, some preventing Chris from playing hockey, but as soon as he could, he was right back out on the ice and scoring points.

In college Chris played for four years and made 128 points for his team. He received 392 penalty minutes in the 142 games that he played for the Clarkson Golden Knights in the ECAC. With this record he was a sure win to play for the professional leagues. Chris was drafted in the third round by the Calgary Flames in 1994 NHL entry draft. This was Clark's start in his professional ice hockey career. Chris was the right hitting, right winger for the Calgary Flames in 1994. In August of 2005, he was traded as a restricted free agent to the Washington Capitals. Chris was named captain of the Capitals in September of 2006.

As his stats prove, he is a great player who has shaped the success of the Washington Capitals. His fans will agree that he is a go-getter and a proud captain. Many love to watch him on the ice as he gets better and better all the time.

Bruce Allen Boudreau (born January 9, 1955) is the head coach for the ice hockey team, Washington Capitals. He won the Jack Adams award in 2007 - 2008 for the most outstanding coach. Boudreau has good qualities, such as being witty. Also he defends his players when one them is put on the spot. Because of him, the team has a high rating in the National Hockey League.

For 20 seasons and 141 games Boudreau played professional hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs, which is part of WHA or World Hockey Association. He also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Fighting Saints. He is still ranked as 14 on the list for all-time goal scorer. While a player, Boudreau had received numerous awards and had set records.

His coaching career is equally as successful. He started out coaching minor league teams winning several championships; then he was asked to coach the Washington Capitals. In November 22, 2007, he was named interim head coach. In December, he was named the permanent head coach.

Under his leadership, the Washington Capitals in 2007 - 2008 won their first league championship for their Southeast Division. The second season of coaching the Capitals earned the team a record of 50-24-8 and 108 points. This made them eligible for another Southeast division title and Second in the Eastern Conference. Boudreau writes a weekly column called “Behind the Bench.” You can read what he has to say about hockey. Type in the Search Engine “Behind the Bench Washington Capitals."

The name Nicklas Backstrom isn't exactly a household name, but he is a rising hockey star that you may be hearing more about in 2010. Born November 23, 1987, an earlier profile listed his weight at 183 pounds, but a more recent profile listed it as 210 pounds. So, he is growing in stature as well as in hockey legends.

Backstrom started playing in a Swedish league. He expected to play in the World Junior Championships, but he also made the Swedish senior team and competed in the World Championship in Latvia in May. His skills improved in the 2006-07 season where he had 12 goals and 28 assists in 45 games. That success earned him an invitation to join the Washington Capitals, but he decided to stay in Sweden another year. In May 2007, he did sign with the Washington Capitals to play for them in the 2007-08 season. Soon after his arrival to the NHL, a key player was injured and Backstrom got his chance to play in the first line. In his second NHL season, he scored 88 points, which put him in the top ten NHL scorers. Going into the 2009-10 season, Backstrom is the number one center for the Washington Capitals. Critics say that his strengths lie in his fine technical skills, but point out that he would be an even better player if he were a stronger skater.

Backstrom's contract with the Washington Capitals expires in 2010. He has already set several records. In December it was announced that he would play for Team Sweden in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Be watching for more news about this rising star.