Tommy "Bomber" Williams (1974-76)

Tommy Williams knew how to celebrate. After all, he won a gold medal with the 1960 U.S. Olympic team. And when a game ended, the party was just starting. “He was a wild man off the ice,” recalled one teammate.

Take his nickname, “Bomber” – earned for telling a customs agent he was carrying a bomb (that remark got him arrested). While in flight, he was known to wield shaving cream to decorate the hair of sleeping teammates.

On a 1974-75 Capitals team that lost 67 times, the majority of celebrating took place away from the rink. “We drank better than we played,” Williams told the Washington Star. “The more we played, the more we wanted to drink.”

So when the Capitals beat the Seals in Oakland for their first road win – after 37 straight losses – naturally it was Bomber who led the cheers.

It'll always be a fond memory for teammates, as described to washingtoncaps.com. “Tommy got hold of a trash can, and we paraded it around the locker room like the Stanley Cup,” said Yvon Labre. Ron Lalonde continues the now legendary tale in the audio clip at left.

The story of the Caps 5-3 win gets even better. Tommy’s younger brother, Butch, played for the Seals. “Our dad was listening to the game,” Butch told Brad Kurtzberg for his book, Shorthanded. “I was the first star, with 1 goal and 2 assists. Tommy (2 assists) was the second star.” Truly a night for the Williams family worth celebrating.

Milt Schmidt, General Manager & Coach (1974-75)

Milt Schmidt won two Stanley Cups centering Boston's famous "Kraut" line, and two more as general manager.

When Schmidt became the first G.M. of the new Washington Capitals in 1974, he gushed, "I feel like a kid with a new toy."

This Toy Story wasn't a comedy. By the late stages of that 8-win season, G.M. Milt appointed himself coach, too - he had fired his first coach, while the second resigned because of ulcers. Now he was quoted saying, "I feel like I want to vomit."

Schmidt was mercifully let go when the team won just 3 of its first 37 games in Season 2. In the mother of all understatements, Schmidt told UPI, "All-in-all, perhaps a change is for the best."

And that, ladies and germs, is how the Caps turned Milt into a Sour Kraut.

Coach Tom McVie (1975-78)

Enter coach Tom McVie, hired, in his words, to "Rattle some cages." Because by the middle of their second season in 1975, the Capitals were so far down, they couldn't see up. A 25-game winless streak led players to expect, and accept, losing.

With little talent on the roster, McVie compensated with extreme conditioning. Players' (printable) nickname for the hard-driving McVie was "Simon" - as in Simon Legree, the cruel slave dealer in Uncle Tom's Cabin. One player termed his exhausting workouts "sick." McVie also employed motivation, playing military march music in the locker room; and trickery, alternating goalies every few minutes in one game, to keep them fresh against the onslaught of the powerful Canadiens in Montreal.

The results were a near miracle. In 1976-77, largely on hustle and team unity, the Caps earned 24 wins and 14 ties - more success than their first two seasons combined. McVie finished second in Coach of the Year balloting to Scotty Bowman, whose Montreal team lost just 8 games all year.

And if you think "near miracle" is too dramatic a description of the turnaround, well, the Canadiens didn't think so. After beating the Caps in the final game of the regular season, players from both teams spontaneously lined up for a playoff-style line of handshakes. It may be the only time that's ever happened in a regular season NHL game.

Garnet "Ace" Bailey (1975-78)

One newspaper headline described Tom McVie's training camp as a "Torture Chamber." Rather than complain about his coach's harsh methods, gregarious Ace Bailey chose to outfox him.

Sports.jrank.org relates this gem: "Bailey received a four-inch-manual from McVie, telling him how to get into condition. Bailey used the manual to prop up a beer keg in his bar. On the first day of training camp, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Bailey beat several other players in a footrace, and McVie said approvingly, 'Ace, I can see you used your book this summer.' Bailey replied, 'Coach, I used it every day.'"

Another time, after a poor game, McVie scheduled a practice for the ungodly hour of 4 a.m.

As Mike Vogel of washingtoncaps.com tells it, the groggy players gathered in the hotel lobby. What they didn't know is that Bailey, pretending to be McVie, had called and cancelled the bus that was to drive them to the rink. Eventually, the players were granted a reprieve for some more shut-eye.

Ace Bailey was aboard one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. In memory, his family created the Ace Bailey Children’s Foundation. As friend Dave Andrews told espn.com, "Ace loved children and Ace never really lost the child in him. He had a terrific sense of humor. This is a tough business and it can become a grind. But when you were around Ace, it was never a grind."

Mike Palmateer (1980-82)

No player ever arrived at a Capitals game the way Mike Palmateer did once in 1981.

He came from Toronto a year earlier with much fanfare. Palmateer was flashy in net, feisty with opponents, and funny with the media. One writer dubbed him "The Popcorn Kid" for munching boxes of the stuff before games.

Mike told Goal magazine he was glad about the trade because "The popcorn at Maple Leaf Gardens was okay, but Washington's is the best in the league. Nice and puffy."

Unfortunately, injuries kept him from fulfilling his promise with the Caps.

Legendsofhockey.net, in fact, tells an incredible story about the day Palmateer was scheduled for arthroscopic surgery:

"He was already dressed in hospital linen, on his way into the operating room when an urgent call came through from the Caps. Their other goalie, Wayne Stephenson, had been injured.

"They needed Palmateer, bad knee and all, for the evening's game. So, he was packed into an ambulance and delivered to the stadium."

Palmateer, to tenderslounge.wordpress.com, added this: "I had already been given some drugs," at the hospital.

"The drugs hadn’t worn off when the game started, but I guess they figured I was still a better option than the guy they called up from the minors. I had the surgery the next day. Probably didn’t help prolong my career."

Too true. The goalie spent almost as much time under the knife as between the pipes - a numbing 20 knee surgeries.
Get that man some popcorn, Stat!

Redskins Owner Jack Kent Cooke, Coach George Allen

Believe it or not, Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke and coach George Allen conspired against the Capitals before their first-ever home game.

Cooke also owned the L.A. Kings, who would christen Capital Centre against the Caps on Oct. 15, 1974. Before the team bus left for the rink, Allen boarded to give the Kings a pep talk. As Bob Miller recounts in Tales From The Kings, Allen clapped his hands as he talked. "Aware the Kings were unbeaten in 3 straight, Allen said, 'Remember men, four is better than three,' and then left the bus." Not exactly "Win one for the Gipper."

With that suspect motivation, L.A. and Washington slogged to a 1-1 tie. Five years later, a disenchanted Cooke sold the team, famously lamenting that transplanted Canadians didn't buy enough tickets to Kings games. "Now I know why they left Canada - they hate hockey!"

Bill Mikkelson (1974-75)

Examine this 1974 photo of Bill Mikkelson gliding effortlessly down the ice, and it's easy to believe he could set an NHL record.

In fact, he did. During the Capitals woeful first season, Mikkelson was on-ice for 82 more even-strength goals by the opposition than by the Caps. That's "minus-82" in hockey speak, a mark that stands three decades later. "For myself, I don't mind the record," Mikkelson told Mike Ulmer of the Toronto Sun. "We were a minor league team playing in a run-and-gun era against some truly great teams."

After he retired to Edmonton, Bill's children were occasionally teased about it. But the good-natured Mikkelson had a ready-made comeback. "I would always tell them to go back to school and ask the kid who was bothering them what their father's NHL plus-minus had been."

Here's some more ammunition for your kids, Bill: Mario Lemieux was -35 in his first season, and Wayne Gretzky was a minus player for 7 of his last 8 seasons. So there.

Bernie Wolfe (1975-79)

Acrobatics made Bernie Wolfe a '70's fan favorite. "Wolfe, only 5-foot-9, made saves while lying on his stomach, sitting on his pants, diving to the left, right and bearings in between. He was given a standing ovation after just seven minutes." So wrote Bob Fachet in the Washington Post after one game.

No wonder Bernie was considering other lines of work. Already a college grad, he studied finance when not stopping pucks. Since 1981, he's owned a financial planning company in Maryland.

When Wolfe and Chicago's Mike Veisor stood between the pipes for a 1977 game at Capital Centre, it was likely the first and only time both starting goaltenders were Jewish. Fittingly, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Mazel Tov!

Mike Marson (1974-78)

Even if you know Mike Marson was the NHL's second black player when he joined the Capitals in 1974 - and even if you know he was the first in 13 years - you have no idea how tough it was for this small-town Canadian teenager.

Racial slurs from opponents were just the beginning. According to Cecil Harris' book Breaking The Ice, teams would offer a cash prize to the player who injured Marson. A black teammate, Bill Riley, recalls the pair “getting high-sticked and slashed and speared. Those things cut Michael’s heart out."

Marson received death threats pasted from words cut out of magazines. One read: 'You’re on thin ice black boy… The nigger is going to die'."

Marson found no refuge with his so-called “teammates.” “Uncle Ben” was one of the printable slurs. Some pretended not to know him when they boarded planes. When Marson filmed a TV commercial, Dave Kryskow cracked that he could be chosen instead “if I get my face painted.” When a death threat was phoned in to the Philadelphia Spectrum, linemates joked about sitting far from him on the bench.

Marson can be proud that few years ago, he helped NHL officials mandate penalties, fines, and suspensions for racial slurs on the ice.

And maybe it's not surprising that after retiring, Marson became a karate black belt. These days, says toromagazine.ca, he "teaches hockey fighting like it’s a martial art. Marson’s instruction wipes away the mystery of combat. Students know they can take a punch in the head without collapsing because Marson has punched them in the head, and they haven’t collapsed."

The same can be said about Mike Marson.

The First Former Capital (1974)

Quick: Name the Capitals defenseman who wore this sweater bearing number 5. Rod Langway was the d-man #5 you were probably thinking of. After all, the team retired the number in his honor. Those with a high Capitals I.Q. might also have guessed Rick Green, who wore #5, was traded for Langway and won a Cup with Montreal.

But you would be right if you answered... Joe Lundrigan. The sweater above - with no name stiched on it - belonged to Lundrigan, a blueliner in the Caps first game in 1974.

Joe skated in a grand total of 2 more before becoming the first ex-Cap, never again playing in the NHL.

Pat Riggin (1982-86)

Maybe another Capital was more disliked by teammates than Pat Riggin, but none come immediately to mind.

It wasn't his play. Riggin once stopped Wayne Gretzky on a penalty shot to preserve a 3-3 tie. During 1983-84, Riggin and Al Jensen shared the William Jennings trophy, for allowing the fewest goals in a season. Yet Jensen expressed relief when Riggin was traded early in '86-'87, because Riggin was so competitive about playing time.

Mike Gartner also felt Riggin's wrath. The Toronto Star wrote that the goalie objected to Gartner's high slapshots during practice. "Riggin slashed Gartner, Gartner swung his stick at Riggin's head (barely missing), and they slugged it out."

Riggin also antagonized U.S. teammates Rod Langway, Dave Christian, and Bob Carpenter. The Star, quoting Riggin: "I'm sick and tired of Americans coming into the NHL and taking our jobs."

Once, he even turned his acid tounge on himself. Coach Bryan Murray assigned numerical performance grades after every game, and shared those grades with players at 20-game intervals.

Riggin told Sports Illustrated, "My first two report cards were so bad, I had to take them home and get them signed by my parents."

Doug Mohns (1974-75)

Trivia Answer: Doug "Diesel" Mohns. Question: Who was the first captain of the Capitals? The Caps' inaugural season was Mohn's last of an illustrious 22-year career.

Mohns was also noteworthy for donning a helmet, even before goaltenders did. Smart idea, you might think - after all, he was 40 years old during his season in Washington. But it wasn't just safety that motivated Mohns to keep his head covered.

From the Washington Star: Mohns "used to carry a curious red box with him on road trips. There was a big furor when it got lost one night. He kept his toupee inside the box."

Don Cherry (Bruins Coach 1974-79)

Depending on whom you ask in Canada, Don Cherry is a national treasure, an entertaining TV commentator, or a reactionary bigot. And also, a Capitals antagonist.

That's the Boston coach in the plaid sportscoat, but what's he doing? Wash. Post photog Richard Darcey captures Cherry confronting a heckler at Capital Centre.

Yes, Cherry actually climbed into the stands between periods of a 1978 Bruins-Capitals game.

Cherry once smirked that his Bruins should wear leaded skates so the outmanned Caps could keep up. As he wrote in Hockey Stories and Stuff, Cherry received an angry response letter from Caps coach Tom McVie.

Never one to let sleeping controversies lie, Cherry whipped out the letter when the teams next met, and read it aloud in front of the Caps bench.

P.S. In true karma, his last NHL job was with Colorado, where his coaching record was 19 wins, 48 losses.

Bobby Carpenter (1981-87, 1992-93)

The script was perfect: a U.S. teenage phenom, picked third overall in 1981, jumps directly from high school to the NHL, in the Nation's Capital, no less. Sports Illustrated called Bobby Carpenter "The Can't Miss Kid."

Indeed, the Massachusetts native poured in 92 goals his first three seasons, then erupted for 53 in 1984-85. The Capitals touted Carpenter and fellow 50-goal scorer Mike Gartner as the "Goal Dust Twins."

But his breakout season was followed by multiple breakdowns - contract squabbles, poor conditioning, feuds with coach Bryan Murray, injuries, and declining production.

Now SI was calling Carpenter the "Can't Play Kid." He was overheard saying, "I've got to get out of this (bleeping) organization," was suspended, and eventually traded. Who could have imagined that after wandering through New York, L.A. and Boston, he would sign for one more season in D.C. in 1992.

Carpenter, now a defensive specialist, moved on one more time to New Jersey, where he helped the Devils win a Stanley Cup in 1995, before finally hanging up his skates in 1999.

Bryan "Bugsy" Watson (1976-79)

The Capitals have never been the subject of a Sports Illustrated cover. Which proves, I guess, that you don't need an SI cover jinx to be jinxed.

Anyway, one Cap did sneak his way onto the front of Volume 46, Issue 6, Feb. 7, 1977. That's Bryan "Bugsy" Watson marking Guy Lafleur.

In a way, that's appropriate. Watson had a habit of shadowing opposing stars - with trash talk, with flying elbows, with whatever it took. "Bugsy" got his nickname from an irritated Gordie Howe. Bobby Hull dubbed him "Superpest."

Legendsofhockey.net cited Watson's "tradition of hustle and crime," a nod to his 2,212 penalty minutes for 6 NHL teams (at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds!).

D.C. was Watson's final stop, and to his credit, the veteran retained his enthusiam. Evan Weiner of nhl.com tells how when coach Tom McVie played motivational music, Bugsy "put a bandana around his head, marching back and forth through the locker room."

Watson explained, "The first time I heard it, I thought Tommy was stark raving mad — a month later, I was singing all the songs. It didn't make you play any better, but it made you feel good."

Sort of like being a fan of the early Capitals - they didn't win much, but rooting for them made us feel good.

Bill Riley (1976-79)

Bill Riley never took for granted the opportunity to play in the NHL. Perspective was likely provided by his previous occupation as a welder in an aluminum plant.

It also helped Riley keep a healthy sense of humor, even during endless hours spent on the road. Barry Lorge of the Washington Post had this case in point:

"'Who are you guys? You all seem to be together,' asked a curious civilian as nine Caps piled into a van for the shuttle to the St. Louis airport. 'We're a band,' said Bill Riley. He motioned toward a sportswriter. 'This is our bass player.'

"What's the name of your group?' the man asked. Riley did not hesitate: 'We're the Tower of Power.' 'Have a good trip,' the man said. 'I'll look for your records.'"

Dennis Maruk (1978-83)

Washington has hosted the NHL All Star Game just once, in 1982. DC's rep was Dennis Maruk, racing to team records for goals (60), assists (78), and points (132!). "Pee Wee", deemed too small by many scouts, finished with an amazing 431 points in 343 games as a Cap.

If you think all athletes are blasé about all-star appearances, read what Maruk told Hockey Digest about being a home-town selection in '82:

"I was the last guy introduced. The place erupted with applause, a standing ovation. It was great to see that we did have a lot of fans in Washington. It sent chills down my spine. I was so happy my mom and dad were there to see it.

"A lot of players are fortunate enough to play on a Stanley Cup winner. I wasn't one of them. But with the reception I got from the fans that day, I consider that my Stanley Cup. That's the game I'll never forget."

Despite being one of only 19 60-goal scorers in NHL history, fame never went to his head. Case in point: In 2008, "Alexander Ovechkin broke Maruk's Caps record for goals in a season when he scored 65," reported The Kingston Whig Standard. "The pair talked several times during Ovechkin's big season.

"He called and said, 'I'm sorry I broke your record,'" Maruk said. "I said, 'Don't be sorry, I was cheering you on.'"

It turns out "Pee Wee" was, and is, a big man in all the ways that really count.

(Photo at left: Maruk, acknowledging the cheers, when shown on the Verizon Center scoreboard during a 2009 game. How many razors did he wear out removing the fu manchu?)

Capitals Coaches Danny Belisle (1978-79), Bruce Boudreau (2007- )

The Capitals quirky coaching history includes firing one Murray (Bryan) and hiring his brother (Terry), and employing the youngest coach in NHL history (Gary Green, 26). Best of all, two of their bench bosses appeared in the hockey movie classic, Slapshot.

Danny Belisle spent 13 undistinguished months as coach, winning 28 games, losing 51. His brush with greatness came three years earlier.

In the film's climactic scene, Reg Dunlop (Paul Newman) and his Chiefs are in a bench-clearing brawl. Evan Weiner of nhl.com points out, “You might recognize Belisle as the player absorbing Reg Dunlop's blows (photo at left).” Belisle explained, “We weren't assigned fight partners. I knew if I could get to Paul Newman, I'd get in the movie." Belisle also got his son a brief on-camera role as a stickboy.

Bruce Boudreau coached more than 1,000 minor league games before the Caps called him up in 2007. Years earlier, he landed a bit part in Slapshot, playing for "Hyannisport." (He's No.7 if you want to look for him.) Boudreau told the Toronto Star, "I'm the little hog that stays in front of the net because I knew where the camera was."

Kevin Hatcher (1984-94), Dwight Schofield (1985-86)

Dwight Schofield took his job as an NHL enforcer seriously - to keep sharp on road trips, he traveled with two pairs of boxing gloves.

So naturally Schofield was intrigued when he learned that fellow Capital Kevin Hatcher had trained at the legendary Kronk Gym, whose members also included boxing champion Tommy "Hit Man" Hearns.

As reported in Sports Illustrated, "Schofield challenged Hatcher to some on-ice sparring after practice. As teammates roared in approval, Hatcher quickly decked Schofield with a right. 'I took him too lightly,' said an embarrassed Schofield. 'Experienced veteran, young kid with no book on him, happens all the time.'"

Alan May (1989-94)

For the undercard bout to the Hatcher-Schofield fight, consider this story first shared by Dave Fay of the Washington Times.

It concerns tough-guy right wing Alan May. His 339 penalty minutes in the 1989-90 season is still a team record. He hardly slacked off after that, with 264, 221, and 268 minutes in his three other full seasons in Washington.

One night, his dance partner was Jim Agnew of the Vancouver Canucks. As often happens, the combatants continued jabbering once they were done jabbing. This particular conversation, though, raised eyebrows. After their fight, May said to Agnew in the penalty box, ''How's your sister?''

May and Agnew had become close as teammates in junior hockey. In fact, May was invited to the wedding of Agnew's sister. ''You never let those things carry over,'' Agnew said of the fight. ''We had a nice little talk.''

Michel Belhumeur (1974-75)

Whenever longtime hockey fans bring up the name Michel Belhumeur, the talk naturally turns to the team that hung the goaltender out to dry.

The name of that team, of course, is the... Philadelphia Flyers.

Wait... what? The expansion Capitals of 1974-75 were the ones who left Belhumeur, sometimes literally, defenseless. Michel suffered a winless season - 24 losses, 3 ties, 8 no-decisions, and zero victories - by far the most games ever played in a season by a goalie without getting a "W".

Even on the night when Belhumeur stopped two penalty shots by the Blackhawks in the same game, and made 37 other saves besides, he still lost, 3-2. As the joke goes, he could have sued the Caps for lack of support.

He actually did take legal action against the Flyers a year earlier, and it was no joke. Belhumeur was a farmhand, called up during Philly's 1974 playoff run. Since he didn't play, the Flyers didn't think they owed him a check. Belhumeur sued, and according to the Chicago Tribune, the matter was settled out of court.

For the record, Michel won nine games in goal for the Flyers in the '72-'73 season, so he did taste the NHL thrill of victory there... if not the thrill of appreciation.

Bryan "Butsy" Erickson (1983-85)

Bryan "Butsy" Erickson claimed there was no interesting story behind his nickname. That changed the day some quick thinking saved his, er, "Butt-sy."

The Capitals had created a "Grunt Line", wrote Jack Falla in Sports Illustrated. It was "A new team ritual in which a player celebrating his birthday must skate through a gauntlet of teammates who whack him with hockey sticks.

"Erickson breezed through the gauntlet with ease and then, with a laugh, he reached into his hockey pants and removed a pair of shin guards that, well, had not been protecting his shins."

One Game Wonders, and Don Beaupre (1988-94)

Four men share the shortest Capitals career for a goalie - one game. Technically, less than one game - all four made their appearance in relief. Yet all were the goaltender of record at the finish.

Like the others, Alain Raymond was summoned from the minors because of injury. With Pete Peeters out and Clint Malarchuk ineffective, Raymond started the 2nd period in Hartford on Dec. 9, 1987. Though the Caps rallied in Raymond's 40 minutes, he was tagged with a 5-4 loss.

Two goalies had their shining moment in wild victories over Ottawa, and neither allowed a goal. On Nov. 7, 1998, Mike Rosati stopped 12 shots in the final 28 minutes, as the Caps won in Ottawa, 8-5. Corey Hirsch went between the pipes to start the 3rd period on March 11, 2001, with Washington trailing the Senators at home, 5-2. Hirsch stopped all 8 shots in his 20 minutes, and the Caps tallied four times to win, 6-5.

The absolute shortest career of any Capitals goalie - 19:43 - belongs to Robbie Moore. In Philadelphia on October 10, 1982, Moore tended goal in the 3rd period. The Capitals rallied for two late goals, then pulled Moore in the final minute. But an empty net goal gave the Flyers a 6-4 win.

Moore was also one of the shortest in stature. He stood just 5 feet, 5 inches - though that was tall enough to record 2 shutouts for those same Flyers in '78-'79.

Robbie had a kindred spirit in 5-foot-8 netminder Don Beaupre.

Don was anything but a one-game wonder, spending six strong seasons with the Capitals during a 17-year NHL career. Once, when Beaupre was asked if he was big enough to succeed in the NHL, his answer was included in Viva la Repartee: "I just have to stop the puck," Don said, "not beat it to death."

And no discussion of Capitals one-game goalies would be complete without mentioning Shawn Simpson and Brett Leonhardt - although they only made it as far as the Caps' players bench.

Simpson began the evening of April 23, 1990 in street clothes at the Baltimore Arena, the third goalie for the AHL Skipjacks. Jim Hrivnak was playing, with Bob Mason dressed as his backup. Meanwhile, at Capital Centre, Don Beaupre was getting injured in the first period of a Caps playoff game. Mike Liut came on in relief, but what if he also got hurt?

Shawn packed his gear, hopped in a car, and made it to Landover in time to suit up for the third period. Later, Caps G.M. David Poile wondered why Bob Mason hadn't been called. "All he had to do was take off his skates and get in the car."

Déjà vu struck for Leonhardt on December 12, 2008. Backup goalie Jose Theodore got hurt the morning of a home game, and his minor-league replacement had to fly all the way from Houston. So Brett, a former college goalie who works for the team's website, was signed to a one game (unpaid!) contract.

He took shots in warmups and spent half of the first period on the bench, until Simeon Varlamov relieved him. As the Associated Press reported, "He looked down sheepishly when he was shown on the huge replay screen along with the caption: '1st NHL game.' The crowd roared."

(Goaliesarchive.com was a resource for this post. Christine Brennan of the Washington Post and Doug Norris of hockeygoalies.org provided the Simpson story)

Doug Gibson (1977-78)

If they ever choose to rename the Lady Byng trophy for gentlemanly conduct, I nominate Doug Gibson.

In Doug's brief NHL career - 63 games, including 11 with Washington - he was NEVER whistled for a penalty. That, friends, is an NHL record, for the most games played with zero penalty minutes.

One other bit of Gibson trivia is Caps-connected. When Gary Green was promoted from the Capitals' farm team to coach in DC, Gibson was named player-coach in Hershey. Gibson's Bears won the AHL championship, and he scored 12 playoff goals! Hershey was backstopped by two familiar names to Caps fans, Gary Inness and Dave Parro, who won 6 playoff games apiece.

Jean Pronovost (1980-82)

Jean Pronovost had already played 908 NHL games and was a 4-time All Star when he came to Washington at the twilight of his career.

However, Jean had one more memorable game in him, on Sunday, Nov. 2, 1980. The Capitals were in Winnipeg, and with the game almost over, trailed the Jets, 4-2.

The goaltender was on the bench when Pronovost scored to halve the deficit. With six Caps attackers still on the ice, Pronovost scored again in the final five seconds to forge a 4-4 tie. It's the only time the same Capital has scored twice with their netminder pulled. Magnifique!

Tim Coulis (1979-80), Paul Mulvey (1978-81)

Two former Capitals from the same draft class will forever be linked by their acts of aggression - or lack of same.

Tim Coulis, pick #18 in the 1978 draft, played just 19 games in DC. 3 years later, Coulis lost his mind during a minor-league contest. Enraged by a penalty, Coulis rammed the butt-end of his stick into the head of referee Bob Hall, knocking him unconscious. He was barred from hockey for one year.

Paul Mulvey was no shrinking violet during 3 seasons with Washington. Picked by the Caps two spots after Coulis at #20, Mulvey engaged in his share of fights. But while a member of the L.A. Kings, Mulvey refused a coach's order to leave the bench and join in a brawl. For breaking the "code" of protecting teammates, he was immediately demoted to the minors. After a year, and no calls from the NHL, he retired.

Something's backward when a player like Mulvey is essentially blacklisted for not fighting, while Coulis, who committed assault, gets forgiven - Minnesota called him up briefly in 1983, and 1984, and 1985.

Eddy Godin (1977-79)

You might say Eddy Godin scored his goals in bunches. A 3rd round draft choice, Godin had an NHL career of 27 games with the Caps over two seasons. He scored 3 goals.

Amazingly, two of those came, not just on the same night, but on the same SHIFT. Late in the 2nd period of a 1977 game on Broadway, Godin lit the lamp twice, 24 seconds apart. It helped the Caps secure a 5-5 tie with the Rangers.

You can hear the goal replays here: http://caps-audio.blogspot.com/ (scroll down).

Bob "Hound" Kelly (1980-82)

Owners expect hate mail. Heck, Caps owner Abe Pollin once got an angry letter 5 pages long. It was only noteworthy because the author was one of his players.

Bob "Hound" Kelly won two Cups in Philadelphia before being traded down I-95. As Jim Jackson points out in Walking Together Forever, Kelly achieved personal bests in his first Washington campaign: 26 goals, 36 assists in 1980-81.

Early next season, though, Roger Crozier became interim GM. He and new coach Bryan Murray decided this Hound could no longer hunt. Little used, Kelly quit and picked up a pen. He called his former bosses "henchmen" and "back-stabbers."

Kelly mused later, "I scored on Roger Crozier (who was a Buffalo goalie) in the finals in 1975, and then he helps end my career six years later."

Robert Fachet (Capitals Beat Writer, 1974-88)

On mornings after a Capitals victory, I would rush to retrieve the Washington Post from our doorstep, so I could enjoy Robert Fachet's game story.

Here's a 1974 sample: "Cancel the plane to Buffalo. The Washington Capitals were flying so high last night they could make the trip without one. After 14 winless games and 33 days without a victory, they whipped the California Golden Seals, 6-4."

As you can infer, wins weren't always plentiful in the 14 seasons Fachet covered the Caps. And there's no more miserable assignment in sports journalism than being the beat writer for a bad team. Bob deserved a purple heart (purple typewriter ribbon?) for having to come up with new ways to report that the Caps had lost a game.

Fortunately, Bob was up to the task - never more so than the opening paragraph to his story for March 20, 1975:

"Greek mythology records the plight of Sisyphus, who pushed a huge stone to a mountain summit. Watched it roll down and has to repeat his task for eternity. It does not record whether he wears a Washington Capitals' uniform."

Like all us long-time fans, Bob never shook his addiction to the Capitals. He attended many games even after he was no longer the team's beat writer.

When Fachet died in 1998, his Post obituary included glowing praise from Rod Langway. "You talk about respect, he got it around the league. He did a lot for hockey in the Washington area."

Ron Weber (Broadcaster, 1974-1997)

As their play-by-play man, Ron Weber loved the Capitals. He just didn't trust them. Specifically, he didn't trust them on road trips. See, Weber, who broadcast almost 2,000 Caps games, had heard about players pulling pranks at the team hotel - like kidnapping media types from their rooms, and locking them out in their underwear. So Ron made a pre-emptive maneuver: he always slept in a bathing suit.

Speaking of Weber's attire, "Outrageously loud" was how Robert Fachet of the Washington Post described it. As a sportscaster, "Weber needs little added color with his favorite ensemble of red jacket, red shirt, white tie, white pants, red socks, and white shoes." Weber got the last word, though, saying Fachet "has been to too many somber affairs." Sitting nearby, Fachet roared with laughter that could be heard on the broadcast.

Greg Joly (1974-76)

This may be the only photo containing both a Capitals sweater and a smiling Greg Joly. The Caps made Joly their first-ever draft choice, as well as the #1 overall pick in the 1974 NHL draft.

Here, he's flanked by G.M. Milt Schmidt and owner Abe Pollin. Later, they would abandon him to the not-so-tender mercies of more experienced opponents. A combination of injuries, being a teenager on a bad team, and not least of all, pre-season comparisons to Bobby Orr, made Joly's short career decidedly less than jolly.

Guy Charron (1976-81), Bengt Gustafsson (1979-89)

Finally, a few words about my two favorite players growing up.

Before Ovechkin, before Bondra, before Gartner, the first player to make Capitals fans rise from their seats was Guy Charron.

Sure, the Canadiens had the more famous smooth-skating, high-scoring, French-Canadian Guy (Lafleur) - we liked ours just fine.

Like Montreal fans, we got lots of chances to shout "Ghee!" after a score. In his first three D.C. seasons, Charron tallied 102 goals, while serving as Captain and never missing a game.

And matinee idol looks didn't hurt, either: "With curly black hair and haunting eyes, he is movie star material," wrote Joan Ryan in the Washington Post.

Playing 700 NHL matches for poor teams in Detroit, Kansas City and Washington, Guy's misfortune was to never appear in a Stanley Cup game. Our good fortune was to see #15 at his best, a worthy member of the All-Time team named in 2004.

Bengt Gustafsson fascinated fans as hockey's answer to the Globetrotters.

Gus could dangle the puck like a yo-yo on a string. While standing virtually still, he played keep-away from frantic opponents.

For all his flashy playmaking, Gustafsson remained a Stoic Swede. He didn't lose his cool with SOB Islanders goalie Billy Smith whacking at his shins. And he took in stride a five goal-game against the Flyers.

Delve deeper, though, and Bengt's scoring exploits in Philadelphia on January 8, 1984, become more remarkable.

Going 5 for 5 is rare enough in baseball. In hockey, it's unheard of. But that was Gustafsson's line score - a goal on each of the 5 shots he took. Gus' 5-spot remains a Capitals single-game record, tied a decade later by Peter Bondra. He showed characteristic modesty in recalling the feat. Listen to the audio clip at left, excerpted from a washingtoncaps.com interview.

Even if Bengt was the anti-showboat, such heroics inspired plenty of passion. One night, after Gus scored an overtime game-winner, owner Abe Pollin planted a big kiss on his forehead during a post-game interview.

Don't worry, Abe, you weren't the only one with a man-crush on #16.

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Growing Up with the Capitals

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