Washington Capitals Greatest Players

	Peter Bondra - Washington's all time leader in so many offensive categories, Bondra truly is Peter The Great.
	Bobby Carpenter - Sports Illustrated's "Can't Miss Kid" was the first American player to score 50 goals in a single NHL season. He later became a dependable role player.

	Dino Ciccarelli - Dino the Dinosaur scored 608 goals - two shy of Bobby Hull. Will he make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame?
	John Druce - With 14 goals in 15 playoff games in 1990, John Druce was the unlikeliest of playoff heroes.
	Gaetan Duchesne - A coach's dream, Gaetan Duchesne was a diligent defensive forward whose importance was impossibly to quantify with any statistic.
	Mike Gartner - For a decade Mike Gartner was the Washington Capitals go-to guy. The consistent goal scorer was one of the greatest skaters to ever play the game.
	Bengt-Ake Gustafsson - This super Swede ranks as one of the Washington Capitals all time best forwards.
	Alan Haworth - Like so many Washington forwards in the 1980s, Alan Haworth was good at many things, but spectacular at none of them.
	Dale Hunter - The villainous Dale Hunter was the heart and soul of both the Quebec Nordiques and Washington Capitals.
	Al Iafrate - Harley ridin', head bangin' Al Iafrate was always an adventure, on and off the ice.
	Joe Juneau - A rocket scientist from RPI and an Olympic medalist, Joe Juneau transformed himself from NHL scoring star to unheralded defensive specialist.
	Rod Langway - Born in Taiwan and a college football star, Washington Capitals all star defenseman Langway became the preeminent defensive defenseman in modern times.
	Mike Marson - Just the second black player in NHL history, the Washington Capitals had hoped for the second coming of John Ferguson. Unfortunately Marson couldn't handle the pressure.
	Dennis Maruk - Little Dennis Maruk put up some big numbers in a Washington Capitals jersey, still holding team records for goals and points in a season
	Kelly Miller - A long time Cap, Kelly Miller was one of the best defensive forwards in the league in the early 1990s..
	Pete Peeters - Pete Peeters backstopped the Capitals for 5 years in the 1980s.
	Mike Ridley - A rare NHL graduate from Canadian University, Mike Ridley was a really solid two way player for the Washington Capitals.
	Bill Riley - The third black player in league history, Bill Riley was working as a welder in northern British Columbia when the Washington Capitals offered him a try-out. He made the most of his opportunity.

	Scott Stevens - Scott Stevens may have been the most feared physical force in the history of hockey.
	Ryan Walter - One of the hockey's nicest guys is also one of hockey's most interesting people. This born leader has had an interesting life both on and off the ice.

Bugsy Watson - Patrolling the blue line for 5 seasons in Pittsburgh, Bugsy Watson was one of the NHL's penalty minute leaders in the 1970s.

Bernie Wolfe - Bernie Wolfe was the goaltender for the worst team in hockey. His record shows it.

Bryan "Bugsy" Watson

Nicknamed "Bugsy" by Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio, Bryan Watson was known to be an agitator extraordinaire. He bothered people, doing whatever it took to make them lose their concentration.

In spite of Bryan's small size (5'9" and 175 Ibs), most people were distinctly aware of his presence. Ken Schinkel, a former teammate and coach of Bryan once said " Bryan is very verbal, and will take whatever steps are necessary to do his thing. That thing means to get into fights, give elbows, and make people boo when he comes to the ice."

Schinkel also recalled when he played against Bryan.

"I felt it when Bryan came to say hello in the corners. You always knew you got hit when Bugsy got to you. "

Watson himself used to say that the contact felt good and got his circulation moving. Pete Stemkowski of the Rangers called him a "Madman". Denis Potvin once described how during a fight Bryan drove his head right into his cheek. Anything counted in Bryan's book. His style of play could easily be seen on his PIM totals. Bryan had 2212 Pim's in only 878 games.

Intimidation was the name of the game for Bryan. He was a pretty bad skater and shooter but he had more guts than most players and that is what kept him in the NHL for such a long time. He only scored 17 goals in the 878 games and had 152 points.

A loyal and absolutely fearless player who never hesitated to stop pucks with his head if the situation called for it, Bryan was a great teammate. In the dressing room he was always on the lookout for a good practical joke. He knew when to lighten the bench, and when to set a fire under someone's ass. He was definitely one of those players who every team liked to have on their side.

But among his opponents he was the kind of player that you loved to hate in the same fashion as an Eddie Shack, Theoren Fleury, or Sean Avery. In other words, you loved to have him on your team but you hated to play against him, because he could be really mean.

This Bancroft, Ontario native played his junior career for the Peterborough Petes in the OHA. He then toiled a short while in the minors before being called up to the Montreal Canadiens where he played 39 regular season games during the 1963-64 season as well as 6 playoff games, but he didn't make much of a name for himself. It was apparent that Bryan's bruising style was not going to fit the fleet style of play that the Canadiens were noted for, so they traded him to Chicago on June 8, 1965. One day later he was claimed by Detroit in the intra-league draft.

Watson spent two years in Detroit, drawing some praise for his job checking Bobby Hull in the 1966 playoffs. Yet he would be claimed by Minnesota in the expansion draft in 1967. The North Stars traded him back to Montreal the same day. Once again he had a short stint with the Canadiens and spend most of his time in the AHL and CHL. Needless to say, Watson's luggage was starting to get worn out after all this movement.

It was during the 1967-68 season that Bryan drew some fame. He managed to lead the CHL in penalty minutes (293) in only 50 games, but he also was named the best defenseman in the CHL as well as being the MVP of the league and a first team All-Star.

He was traded to Oakland in 1968 and then to Pittsburgh in 1969. He managed to stay over 5 seasons in the Steel City, and led the NHL with 212 PIMs in 1971-72.

But Bryan continued to be a well traveled player. He played in St. Louis and Detroit once again before finishing his career with three seasons in Washington. In 878 NHL games he scored just 17 times while setting up 135 others. He retired with 2212 PIMs, then a NHL all time record.

After a short coaching tenure with the early 1980s Edmonton Oilers, Watson would stay in the Washington area in retirement, opening up Bugsy’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar in nearby Alexandria, Virginia.

Alan Haworth

The Buffalo Sabres were perhaps guilty of not being patient enough with one of their talented rookies of the early 1980s in Alan Haworth.

Haworth was a small but sturdy center/winger who quickly emerged as a Sabres prospect after being drafted 95th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He would turn professional in 1980-81. He started the year by apprenticing in the minor leagues but quickly would prove he was ready for the next level when he scored an impressive 14 goals and 32 points in just 21 games. The Sabres called him up for the rest of the season. He continued to impress in his rookie NHL season, scoring points against every team in the league except two despite only playing in 49 games. He was a consistent player and by playoffs emerged as one the to-go guys, scoring 4 goals and 8 points in 7 games, good enough for a third place tie among Sabres post-season scoring leaders.

Haworth returned in 1981-82 but his production leveled off. He scored 21 goals and 39 points in 57 games, while also seeing 14 games in the minors. By the end of the year the struggling Haworth was traded to Washington in an exchange of multiple draft picks.

In Washington Alan would develop into a very good player that the Sabres would have liked to have had in their lineup. He became a consistent 25 goal threat while rounding into a solid two way player. In 1985-86 he enjoyed his best year in the NHL, scoring 34 goals and 73 points while posting another 10 points in 9 playoff games. He had great speed and a hard slap shot, but also became a dependable defensive player. His playmaking abilities were underrated, largely because he spent much of his time on one of the wings of a 2nd or 3rd lines.

In 1987-88 Haworth was a key part of one of the biggest trades in NHL history. He, along with fellow native-Quebecer Gaetan Duchesne and a first round draft choice (used to select the wonderful Joe Sakic) were traded to Quebec for goalie Clint Malarchuk and leader Dale Hunter. The move was especially controversial because of Hunter's surprise departure. Haworth, a natural center, was brought in as his replacement. Those were awfully big skates to fill, but Alan did an admirable job, turning in a career second-best 57 point season including 23 goals and 34 assists.

Haworth, the son of long time professional player Gord "Red" Haworth, opted to surprise many when he left the Nordiques after just one season. He ended up going to Switzerland to play 4 seasons with SC Bern before retiring as a player.

Haworth retired with 189 goals, 211 assists and 400 points in 524 NHL games.

Kelly Miller

Undersized Kelly Miller lived the American hockey dream.

Miller and his family grew up hockey. Born in Detroit and raised in Lansing, Michigan, his father Lyle was a former college player who became a part owner of a local hockey rink. This made it pretty easy for Kelly and his brothers to become rink rats. Kelly, Kevin, and Kip Miller all went on to become collegiate, international and NHL stars. They are also cousins of Buffalo Sabres stand out goalie Ryan Miller and his brother Drew.

Kelly played in relative anonymity until entering college. In fact he wasn't even drafted in his initial draft class of 1981 because he played in the almost unknown Great Lakes Junior Hockey League. But after one season at Michigan State, he was snatched up by the New York Rangers in 1982, 183rd overall.

The undersized speedster would amass one of the greatest careers in Michigan State history, including a Hobey Baker nomination in 1985 as the best player in US college hockey. The two time Michigan State MVP and team captain also starred with the United States junior team, representing the nation at the World Junior Championships three times.

Unlike a lot of student athletes, Miller was a great student as well. The Business major graduated with a 3.51 GPA despite his devotion to hockey and despite time missed for the World Juniors. He was twice named to the CCHA's all academic team, with an honorary mention another year. His academic quests would continue in the pros, working as a stock broker and earning his real estate license in the NHL off-seasons.

Upon graduation Miller stepped directly into the National Hockey League, playing in the final 5 regular season games and 3 playoff games with the Rangers. He finished the year by representing USA at the senior World Championships.

Miller returned for his rookie season in 1985-86, but found nagging knee and ankle injuries hampering him. An offensive leader in college, Miller found the NHL to be a much tougher place to score. He would end up 13 goals and 33 points in a respectable rookie season.

After not showing much offensive progression in half a season in 1986-87, the Rangers gave up on the youngster. Miller found himself traded with Mike Ridley and Bob Crawford to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Bobby Carpenter. The trade would go down as one of the best in Caps history.

Miller would never really find much offense in Washington either. Only once in 13 seasons in the nation's capital would he surpass the 20 goal mark. But Miller worked hard to evolve into a defensive specialist, often playing with Mike Ridley and Michal Pivonka. Miller would be a finalist for the Selke Trophy, as NHL's best defensive forward, in 1992.

Miller was a very unpredictable skater, and that was his best asset. He was lightning quick, but knew how to throw off the opposition by using his speed in multiple gears. His hand and stick skills never caught up to him at the NHL level, but as his career progressed he became a decent passer while on the break. He was strong at reading plays and great at anticipating moves, allowing him to become a top checker and penalty killer. He was a tiny little guy, but he did put what he had into an engaging physical game. He knew his limitations.

Not surprisingly, Miller was a crowd favorite in Washington. Those fans were happy for Miller as much as anyone when the Capitals made an unexpected journey to the Stanley Cup finals in 1998. Despite losing the finals to Detroit, the experience was one of Miller's career highlights. He had been through good times and bad in Washington, and it must have been justifying to be a part of that team.

After finishing the year at the World Championships, Miller retired in 1999. He did sign a minor league contract in a comeback bid in 2000. He skated with the Grand Rapids Griffins, a team he was already working with as a volunteer coach. He would later coach junior hockey in the Lansing area while starting his own real estate development company.

Al Iafrate

Al Iafrate is one of the more interesting characters to play in the National Hockey League. His passion for hockey was matched by his joy for heavy metal music, and perhaps exceeded by his love of Harley Davidson motorcycles. He often showed up for practice and games on his hog while wearing the full Harley leather gear!

Iafrate was one of hockey's best prospects. Drafted 4th overall by the Toronto Maples Leafs in 1984 after spending the year with the USA National and Olympic teams, Big Al had scouts drooling over his skill package. Huge at 6'3" and over 220lbs, he was a strong skater for a big man. He had a booming shot that would rival Al MacInnis' shot at All Star skills competitions. He had great offensive instincts. His one downfall was his defense, primarily because he never used his size to his advantage. He was great at rushing the puck out of the defensive zone, but was never an elite breakout passer.

"Wild Thing" had a very good career cut short by serious knee injuries. It took 3 years before Iafrate finally blossomed, but once he did he erupted with 22 goals and 52 points. He would slip a bit in 1988-89 but returned to the 20 goal, 60 point level in 1989-90.

The Leafs grew tired of the enigmatic blueliner who was a handful off the ice as well, and traded him to Washington where he fit right into the Capitals love of offensive defensemen. Al would score 17 goals and 51 points in 1991-92, his first full season with the Caps. And in 1992-93 he had his best season ever - scoring 25 goals and 66 points while being named to the Second All Star Team. He was even able to shake the notion that he wasn't a strong playoff performer. While the Caps were ousted in round one, this defenseman could not be blamed. He scored 6 goals in 6 games! Amazing!

Al slowed somewhat in 1993-94 when he had 10 goals after 67 games. At that point the Caps traded him to Boston in exchange for the highly skilled Joey Juneau. Iafrate finished the season strongly with 5 goals and 13 points in 12 games, but was relatively quite in the playoffs with 3 goals and 1 assists in 13 playoff matches.

Al's career effectively came to a halt at the conclusion of that season. Like most hockey players, Iafrate was badly injured and he finally had to give in to get himself patched up. In the summer of 1994 Al had to go through surgeries to correct injuries in his back and both knees. It took 2 full seasons for him to recover.

The San Jose Sharks took their chances on Iafrate when they acquired his rights in a June 1996 trade. Al Played in 59 games over the next two seasons, but he was never fully recovered from injuries and was not to be counted on to play on any given night.

Despite his history of injuries, the Carolina Hurricanes offered Al an incentive-laden contract in the summer of 1998. However Iafrate had to announce his retirement before training camp ever began, and he forsook his contract by not attempting to play.

Peter Bondra

Who is the greatest player in the history of the Washington Capitals?

As always there will be much controversy with such a question, followed by what is hopefully healthy debate. One could argue Rod Langway, the classic defenseman who was the team's heart and soul. One could argue Mike Gartner, the team's consistent offensive threat for so many years. Goalie Olaf Kolzig is a popular choice. Some may even prematurely argue Alexander Ovechkin, who after only a couple of seasons is quickly zeroing in on such destiny.

Right now though I'm going to have to pick Peter Bondra as the greatest Washington Capitals player of all time. The Slovakian bullet rewrote much of the Capitals record book.

Bondra was spotted by long time Caps scout Jack Button, who convinced GM David Poile to take use the 156th overall draft selection of the 1990 draft on the 22 year old late bloomer who somehow slipped through previous drafts.

Bondra joined the team immediately, playing in 54 games in the 1990-91 season. It was a tough year of transition for Bondra, who was actually born in Ukraine. Fortunately he had fellow Slovak Michal Pivonka to help him adjust both on and off the ice.

Bondra showed glimpses of greatness that season, but only had 12 goals to show for it. But over 14 seasons fans knew him as one of the NHL's greatest goal scorers.

The key to Bondra's game was always his skating and shooting.

Bondra was an explosive skater with a wide skating stance that gave him impenetrable balance. With a loose puck up for grabs he was like a sprinter out of the starting blocks. He could handle the puck too at top speed, often cutting in on his off wing and shooting in stride. Though his season totals were consistently high, he was a bit of a streaky player, scoring goals in bunches.

Bondra always had a goal scorer's mentality, firing shots on net whenever and from wherever possible. He had a lethal arsenal of shots, notably his wrist and backhand shots. Twice he led the league in goal scoring, 1994-95 and 1997-98. He finished his career in Washington holding Capitals team records in goals (472), points (825), power-play goals (137), game-winning goals (73), short-handed goals (32) and hat tricks (19).

Despite his offensive wizardry, "Bonzai" was a pretty anonymous player all things considered. Playing in Washington did not help him get into the spotlight, but Bondra also shunned the spotlight as well. He was simply not interested in such media and fanfare.

On his best days Peter Bondra was comparable to Pavel Bure or Alexander Ovechkin. He was that good, and scored goals with the same infectious exuberance. Though he was not a noted playmaker, Bondra was a very committed team player. He did not neglect his defensive duties, and was a regular on the PK unit. Though he was 6'1" and over 200lbs, he was not an overly strong player in terms of muscling out players along the boards. But he would get his nose dirty.

For all his efforts, team success was tough to come by in Washington during the 1990s. Only twice did the team make it past the first round of the playoffs. In 1998 the Capitals made a surprise visit to the Stanley Cup finals, though the team fell just short to the Detroit Red Wings.

Washington has traditionally been a very loyal organization, keeping players in town for long periods of time. If there was ever a player who deserved to finish his career as a Washington Capital, it was Bondra who truly loved being a Cap, even though there was a couple of public rough spots.

Unfortunately it was not meant to be. The struggling Caps moved Bondra to Ottawa, starting a rebuilding phase and allowing the tearful Bondra to play with a contender. Unfortunately Ottawa didn't make it past the first round.

Bondra bounced around after that, playing with Atlanta and Chicago and with HK SKP Poprad during the lost lockout season. The aging veteran was never the same goal scorer once he left Washington.

He would finish out his career with a quiet 503 goals, 892 points in 1071 career games

In the fall of 2007, Bondra announced his retirement from playing hockey. He had been hoping for a one year contract offer from the Capitals so that he could finish out his career where his heart had always been. But the offer never came.

A different offer did come, and it was close to Bondra's heart too. The powers that be in Slovakia offered Bondra the job as the national team's general manager. The proud Slovak was eager to accept the challenge.

Bondra represented in seven international competitions during his playing career, including the 1994 Winter Olympics qualifying tournament, the 1998 Winter Olympics, the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the Ice Hockey World Championships in 2002 and 2003. Perhaps his greatest career highlight was in 2002 when he led the Worlds with 7 goals en route to a Slovakian gold medal. He scored the tournament clinching goal with just 100 seconds left in the game Overall, he played 47 games and scored 35 goals on international level for Slovakia.

In both Washington and Slovakia, Bondra truly is Peter The Great. I see no reason why he should not be a Hall of Fame enshrinee

Pete Peeters

As a youngster I instantly took a liking to goaltender Peter Peeters. Initially it had to be the name that attracted me took him, but his play quickly made him a long time favorite.

Peeters is the the son of Dutch immigrants, and grew up as a competitive swimmer while tending to the nets on the side. In fact, it was not until he was 18 years old that he committed to major junior hockey, joining a weak Medicine Hat Tigers squad for two years starting in 1975.

With a porous defense in front of him, Pete Peeters was peppered with pucks. But this pickle that Peeters picked turned out to be a perfect training ground. The huge workload and respectable showing earned him high praise from scouts. In 1977 he was selected 135th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL Amateur draft.

After two years apprenticing in the American Hockey League, winning the Hap Holmes trophy as top goalie along the way, Peeters was promoted to the Flyers for the 1979-80 season, sharing the nets with Phil Myre.

The Flyers must have thought they had the second coming of Bernie Parent based on the way Peeters started that year. He went 22-0-5 before losing his first game of the season on February 19th! Of course that was the year the Flyers went 35 straight games without a loss, and partner Myre picked up some wins during that streak as well. Peeters finished the year with a record of 29-5-5 with a 2.73 GAA, earning him an All Star game nod. He was the Flyers go to guy in the playoffs as well, leading the Flyers all the way to Stanley Cup finals, only to lose on an over time goal courtesy of the New York Islanders' Bob Nystrom.

The following season Peeters had the impossible task of duplicating his incredible rookie season. Of course he could not, and over the next two years in Philadelphia his GAA rose and his playoff success dwindled.

Peeters was a tough guy to warm up to as well. Known as a grouchy guy, he was nicknamed Grumpy. He did not like the Philadelphia system of rotating goalies and at times carrying three netminders. A bit of a sore loser, he was not easy to talk to after games, especially in games that he loses. One Philadelphia reporter found that out in the 1981-82 season when he accused Peeters of physically assaulting him. The incident helped lead to Peeters departure from the City of Brotherly Love.

In June 1982 the Flyers traded Peeters to Boston in exchange for stud defenseman Brad McCrimmon. Both teams fared well in the trade, especially Boston in that first season. Peeters had perhaps his best year, playing in a career high 62 games, posting an amazing record of 40-11-9 with 8 shutouts and a NHL best-of-the-decade 2.36 GAA. At one stretch he went 31 games without a loss. Not surprisingly Peeters was awarded the Vezina Trophy as top goalie and named to the NHL's First All Star Team. Almost as impressive was the fact that Peeters finished 2nd in the entire league in Hart Trophy voting as league MVP in a time when the award was basically owned by the great Wayne Gretzky.

Again Peeters was faced with the unenviable task of living up to his previous years performance. And again he would not be able to live up to the gaudy expectations. He played two more years in Beantown while his GAA inflated the numbers in the L column increased. Though his critics skepticism grew, he remained a top goalie in most minds in the NHL. He was invited to Team Canada for the 1984 Canada Cup, one of his greatest honours, but sprained his ankle. Still he was able to play in the final game against Sweden and clinch the championship. He was also the goalie in the dramatic 3-2 OT win against the Soviets. The game, considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time, wasthe highlight of his career.

Interestingly, Peeters found the Canada Cup experience to be such a high that he had trouble once he returned to Boston for the season. Bruins GM Harry Sinden directly linked the Canada Cup to Peeters poor season by his standards, claiming "he was tired, both physically and emotionally." Peter Peeters was Petered!

After a slow start to the 1985-86 season, Peeters was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for goaltender Pat Riggin. Obviously the Caps were counting on Peeters' track record of great performances when placed in a new environment, though that never really panned out in Washington. Instead Peeters supplied the Caps with solid but not spectacular goaltending for the next 5 seasons. But he was never able to find any playoff success with the Capitals either.

Peeters returned to Philadelphia for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, the final two of his career. Peeters did so by his choice, signing as a free agent. It seemed like an odd move, as Peeters left Philadelphia because he dislike the three goalie rotation so much. Now he found himself as part of another three goalie rotation in Philly, sharing the nets with Ron Hextall and Ken Wregget. Hextall was hurt much of the 1989-90 season though.

Peeters retired with 246 wins, 155 losses and 51 ties in 489 career games. He posted 21 career shutouts and had a career GAA of 3.08, a very respectable number for the high scoring 1980s. Upon retirement he returned to the family farm near Edmonton, where he grew up and always returned to in the off seasons. He eventually got into coaching, serving as a goaltending specialist with the Minnesota North Stars, Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes before returning to Edmonton to do the same role with the Oilers.

If you take the highlights of Pete Peeters career, you could mistake him as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. He had some great highs, such as 1979-80 in Philadelphia, 1982-83 in Boston and the 1984 Canada Cup. But because of his team's frequent failures in the playoffs and the fact he rarely played 2/3rds of the schedule like most top goalies, Peeters isn't really remembered as one of the top goalies of the 1980s that he actually was. If Peeters is remembered at all, it is in a highlight reel seen surrendering Mario Lemieux's first NHL goal.