It's the dog days of summer, but hockey never rests. OK, maybe it does, and I'm struggling to find things to write about.
But I think I'm onto something here.
Coming up: If the Washington Capitals could have an all-time team, this is what I think it would be.
Disclaimer: This is not a ranking of the best Capitals of all time. Some of these lines were made more for how each member's assets would help the other members.
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin-Adam Oates-Peter Bondra
Dennis Maruk-Nicklas Backstrom-Mike Gartner
Bengt Gustafsson-Mike Ridley-Dave Christian
Dale Hunter-Michal Pivonka-Kelly Miller
The Capitals have had some VERY good talent on center, but other than OV, Bondra, and Gartner have been sort of soft on the wings. I had a tough time deciding whether to put Oates, Backstrom, or somebody else completely on the top line, but decided on Oates for his accomplishments as a player as well as for jumpstarting OV as a coach, making me think he would be fantastic on Ovechkin's line. Add Bondra to that, and we have three of the deadliest players in team history. The second line is also solid, with Maruk taking the wing in order to once again have two deadly scorers centered by an extremely capable center. The third line also has three of the best scorers in franchise history (yes, even Dave Christian; he is 12th all time on the Caps in points). Now for the fourth line. Don't get me wrong, Dale Hunter was (and is) awesome. But considering that he is the toughest player in Caps history (by far), I decided to put him on a 4th line which still has two fantastic scorers.
Other Possible Forwards: Joe Juneau, Alexander Semin, Dino Cicarelli
Defensemen:
Calle Johansson-Rod Langway
Scott Stevens-Kevin Hatcher
Larry Murphy-Sergei Gonchar
You don't know how hard it was for me to decide between Gonchar and Mike Green. In the end, I chose Gonchar for his durability; Green's injury problems steered me to choose Gonchar. Other than that, everybody here is a Caps legend. Johansson, the highest scoring Caps D-man of all time, and Langway, perhaps our best defensive defenseman ever, would make a solid, balanced blue line. Stevens, the New Jersey Devils legend, was equally good for the Caps until he was send to The Garden State. Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy are two of the most overlooked defensemen in team history.
Other Possible Defensemen: Mike Green, Yvon Labre, Sylvain Cote, Al Iafrate
Goalies:
Olaf Kolzig
Don Beaupre
No surprises here; the two best goaltenders, stat-wise, in Caps history. However, Jim Carey may have been here, had he stayed with the team; I deeply considered including him. In the end, though, these Caps legends would be fantastic starting goalies for any team, especially the Capitals all-time team.
Other Possible Goaltenders: Jim Carey, Braden Holtby
What do you think? Who would you add/take out? Put your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned for more fun stuff during these lazy summer days.
But I think I'm onto something here.
Coming up: If the Washington Capitals could have an all-time team, this is what I think it would be.
Disclaimer: This is not a ranking of the best Capitals of all time. Some of these lines were made more for how each member's assets would help the other members.
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin-Adam Oates-Peter Bondra
Dennis Maruk-Nicklas Backstrom-Mike Gartner
Bengt Gustafsson-Mike Ridley-Dave Christian
Dale Hunter-Michal Pivonka-Kelly Miller
The Capitals have had some VERY good talent on center, but other than OV, Bondra, and Gartner have been sort of soft on the wings. I had a tough time deciding whether to put Oates, Backstrom, or somebody else completely on the top line, but decided on Oates for his accomplishments as a player as well as for jumpstarting OV as a coach, making me think he would be fantastic on Ovechkin's line. Add Bondra to that, and we have three of the deadliest players in team history. The second line is also solid, with Maruk taking the wing in order to once again have two deadly scorers centered by an extremely capable center. The third line also has three of the best scorers in franchise history (yes, even Dave Christian; he is 12th all time on the Caps in points). Now for the fourth line. Don't get me wrong, Dale Hunter was (and is) awesome. But considering that he is the toughest player in Caps history (by far), I decided to put him on a 4th line which still has two fantastic scorers.
Other Possible Forwards: Joe Juneau, Alexander Semin, Dino Cicarelli
Defensemen:
Calle Johansson-Rod Langway
Scott Stevens-Kevin Hatcher
Larry Murphy-Sergei Gonchar
You don't know how hard it was for me to decide between Gonchar and Mike Green. In the end, I chose Gonchar for his durability; Green's injury problems steered me to choose Gonchar. Other than that, everybody here is a Caps legend. Johansson, the highest scoring Caps D-man of all time, and Langway, perhaps our best defensive defenseman ever, would make a solid, balanced blue line. Stevens, the New Jersey Devils legend, was equally good for the Caps until he was send to The Garden State. Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy are two of the most overlooked defensemen in team history.
Other Possible Defensemen: Mike Green, Yvon Labre, Sylvain Cote, Al Iafrate
Goalies:
Olaf Kolzig
Don Beaupre
No surprises here; the two best goaltenders, stat-wise, in Caps history. However, Jim Carey may have been here, had he stayed with the team; I deeply considered including him. In the end, though, these Caps legends would be fantastic starting goalies for any team, especially the Capitals all-time team.
Other Possible Goaltenders: Jim Carey, Braden Holtby
What do you think? Who would you add/take out? Put your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned for more fun stuff during these lazy summer days.
No comments:
Post a Comment