The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, and captured six division titles. In 1997, the team moved their home hockey rink from the suburban Capital Centre to the new Verizon Center in Washington's Chinatown neighborhood. Former AOL executive Ted Leonsis has owned the team since 1999, and has revitalized the franchise by drafting star players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, and Alexander Semin, and hiring head coach Bruce Boudreau. The 2009–10 Capitals won the franchise's first-ever Presidents' Trophy for the team with the most points at the end of the regular season.

History

Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the National Hockey League as an expansion team for the 1974–75 season. The team was owned by Abe Pollin (also owner of the NBA's Washington Bullets until his death on November 24, 2009). Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets (who formerly played in Baltimore) and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager.

With a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the World Hockey Association (WHA), the available talent was stretched thin. The Capitals had few players with professional experience and were at a disadvantage against the long-standing teams that were stocked with veteran players. Like the other three teams who joined the league during the WHA era—the Scouts (now the New Jersey Devils), Atlanta Flames (now playing in Calgary), and New York Islanders—the Capitals did not factor the survival of the rival league into their plans.

The Capitals' inaugural season was dreadful, even by expansion standards. They finished 8–67–5, far and away the worst record in the league. Their 21 points were half that of their expansion brethren, the Scouts. The eight wins are the fewest for an NHL team playing at least 70 games, and the .131 winning percentage is still the worst in NHL history. They also set records for most road losses (39 out of 40), most consecutive road losses (37),and most consecutive losses (17). Coach Jim Anderson said, "I'd rather find out my wife was cheating on me than keep losing like this. At least I could tell my wife to cut it out." Schmidt himself had to take over the coaching reins late in the season. (Only once in NHL history has another team even come close to matching this futility: the 1980-81 Winnipeg Jets finished with 9 wins and 57 losses, but a relatively impressive 14 ties.)

In 1975–76, Washington went 25 straight games without a win and allowed 394 goals en route to another horrendous record: 11–59–10 (32 points). During the middle of the season, Max McNab was hired as GM, and Tom McVie was hired as head coach to replace Schmidt. For the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Capitals alternated between dreadful seasons and finishing only a few points out of the playoffs. In 1980 and 1981, for instance, they were in playoff contention until the last day of the season. The one bright spot during these years of futility was that many of McNab's draft picks (e.g. Rick Green, Ryan Walter, Mike Gartner, Bengt Gustafsson, Gaetan Duchesne, Bobby Carpenter) would impact the team for years to come, whether as important members of the roster or crucial pieces to major trades. By the summer of 1982, there was serious talk of the team moving out of the U.S. capital, and a "Save the Caps" campaign was underway. Then two significant events took place to solve the problem.

Playoffs

First, the team hired David Poile as General Manager. Second, as his first move, Poile pulled off one of the biggest trades in franchise history on September 9, 1982, when he dealt longtime regulars Ryan Walter and Rick Green to the Montreal Canadiens for Rod Langway (named captain only a few weeks later), Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis, and Craig Laughlin. This move turned the franchise around, as Langway's solid defense helped the team to dramatically reduce its goals-against, and the explosive goal-scoring of Dennis Maruk, Mike Gartner, and Bobby Carpenter fueled the offensive attack. Another significant move was the drafting of defenseman Scott Stevens during the 1982 NHL Entry Draft (the pick was made by interim-GM Roger Crozier, prior to Poile's hiring). The result was a 29-point jump, a third-place finish in the powerful Patrick Division, and the team's first playoff appearance in 1983. Although they were eliminated by the three-time-defending (and eventual) Stanley Cup Champion New York Islanders (three games to one), the Caps' dramatic turnaround ended any talk of the club leaving Washington.

The Capitals would make the playoffs for each of the next 14 years in a row. They became known for starting slow before catching fire in January and February. However, regular-season success did not carry into the playoffs. Despite a continuous march of stars like Gartner, Carpenter, Langway, Gustafsson, Mike Ridley, Dave Christian, Dino Ciccarelli, Larry Murphy, and Kevin Hatcher, Washington was knocked out in either the first or second round eight years in a row. In 1985–86, for instance, the Caps finished with 107 points and won 50 games for the first time in franchise history, good enough for the third-best record in the league. They defeated the Islanders in the first round but were eliminated in the second round by the New York Rangers.

The next season brought even more heartbreak, with a loss to the Islanders in the Patrick Division Semifinal. This series was capped off by the classic Easter Epic game, which ended at 1:56 am on Easter Sunday 1987. The Capitals had thoroughly dominated most of the game, outshooting the Islanders 75–52, but lost in overtime when goaltender Bob Mason was beaten on a Pat LaFontaine shot from the blue line. For the 1989 playoff push, Gartner and defenseman Larry Murphy were traded to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for Ciccarelli and defenseman Bob Rouse, however the goaltending once again faltered and they were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals finally made the Wales Conference Finals in 1990, but went down in a four-game sweep at the hands of the first-place Boston Bruins.

Eastern Conference champions

Then in 1998, Peter Bondra's 52 goals led the team, veterans Dale Hunter, Joe Juneau and Adam Oates returned to old form, and Olaf Kolzig had a solid .920 save percentage as the Caps got past the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Buffalo Sabres (the latter on a dramatic overtime win in game six on a goal by Joe Juneau) en route to the team's first (and to date, only) Stanley Cup finals appearance. The Capitals won six overtime games, three in each of their series against the Bruins and Sabres. However, the team was outmatched by the defending champions, the Detroit Red Wings, who won in a four-game sweep.

That same season, Oates, Phil Housley, and Hunter all scored their 1,000th career point, the only time in NHL history that one team had 3 different players reach that same milestone in a single season.

Disappointments and rebuilding

In 1999, The team was sold to a group headed by AOL executive Ted Leonsis. The Capitals went on to win back-to-back Southeast Division titles in 2000 and 2001, yet both years lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After the 2000–01 season, Adam Oates demanded a trade but management refused and stripped him of his team captaincy.

In the summer of 2001, the Capitals landed five-time Art Ross Trophy winner Jaromir Jagr, by trading three young prospects to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jagr was signed to the largest contract ever in NHL history - $77 million over 7 years at an average salary of $11 million per year (over $134,000 ''per game''), with an option for an eighth year. However, after Adam Oates was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Capitals failed to defend their division title and missed the playoffs in 2002 despite a winning record. Still, the 2001–2002 season marked the highest attendance in franchise history, drawing in 710,990 fans and 17,341 per game.

Before the 2002-03 season, the Caps made more roster changes, including the signing of highly regarded Robert Lang as a free agent, a linemate of Jagr's from Pittsburgh. Washington returned to the playoffs in 2003, but disappointed fans again by losing in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning after starting off with a two-game lead in the best-of-seven first-round series. The series is well-remembered for the three-overtime Game 6 at the then-MCI Center, the longest game in the building's history, which was eventually decided by a power play goal by Tampa.

In the 2003–2004 season, the Caps unloaded some of their high-priced talent — not just a cost-cutting spree, but also an acknowledgment that their attempt to build a contender with high-priced veteran talent had failed. Jagr had never lived up to expectations during his time with the Capitals, failing to finish among the league's top scorers or make the postseason All-Star Team. The Caps tried to trade Jagr, but as only one year was left on the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement before it expired, few teams were willing to risk $11 million on an underperforming player. In 2004, Jagr was finally sent to the New York Rangers for Anson Carter and an agreement that Washington would pay approximately four million dollars per year of Jagr's salary, with Jagr himself agreeing to defer (with interest) $1 million per year for the remainder of his contract to allow the trade to go ahead. This was quickly followed by Peter Bondra going to the Ottawa Senators. Not long after, Robert Lang was sent to Detroit and Gonchar to the Bruins. The Robert Lang trade marked the first time in the history of the National Hockey League that the league's leading scorer was traded in the middle of the season. The Capitals ended the year 23–46–10–6, tied for the second worst record, along with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Alexander Ovechkin era (2004 - present)

In the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Capitals won the Draft Lottery, moving ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins who had the NHL's worst record, and selected Alexander Ovechkin first overall. During the NHL labor dispute of 2004–05, which cost the NHL its entire season, Ovechkin stayed in Russia, playing for Moscow Dynamo. Several other Capitals played part or all of the lost season in Europe, including Olaf Kolzig, Brendan Witt, and Jeff Halpern. The Capitals' 2005 off-season consisted of making D.C.-area native Halpern the team's captain, signing Andrew Cassels, Ben Clymer, Mathieu Biron and Jamie Heward, and acquiring Chris Clark and Jeff Friesen via trade. In the current era of the Capitals, they have been a regular season powerhouse, but with consistent playoff disappointments they have failed to live up to the lofty standards expected of them.

The Capitals finished the 2005–06 NHL season in the cellar of the Southeastern Division again, with a 29–41–12 campaign, having 12 more points than the 2003–04 Season, good for 27th out of the 30 NHL teams. Yet the team played close in every game, playing in 42 one-goal games, although losing 2/3 of those games. Ovechkin's rookie season exceeded the hype, as he led all 2005–06 NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring and tied for third in goals; and his 425 shots not only led the league, but also set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's rookie point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history, and his goal total was tied for third in franchise history. Ovechkin won the Calder Memorial Trophy, beating out Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby and Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Many longtime Capitals had career years, with Dainius Zubrus netting 57 points, Halpern having a career-best 33 assists, Matt Pettinger putting in a career-best 20-goal, 38-point effort and seven others on the relatively young team topping 20 points for the first time. Two notable landmarks were also hit by Capitals, as the team's longest tenured Capital, Olaf Kolzig, won his 250th game in goal and Andrew Cassels became the 204th player to play 1,000 games, although he did not finish out his season with the team. A notable first was that Washington area native Jeff Halpern was named captain of his hometown Capitals. At the 2006 trade deadline, March 8, Brendan Witt was traded to Nashville.

In the 2006 offseason, Halpern left the Capitals to join the Dallas Stars; Chris Clark became the Capitals' new captain. Richard Zednik returned to the Capitals in 2006–07 after a disappointing 16-goal, 14-assist season in 2005–06 with Montreal, but was later dealt at the trade deadline to the New York Islanders after a disappointing and injury plagued season; the Caps also signed former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Donald Brashear.

Yet the Capitals finished with the same point total (70) in 2006–2007 as they did the year before, although they won one less game. Alexander Ovechkin was the Capitals' lone representative in the All-Star game. The year was also notable for the breakout of Alexander Semin, who notched 38 goals in only his second NHL season.

The Capitals signed Swedish phenom Nicklas Backstrom, the fourth overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, to three-year entry-level contract. They also signed 19-year-old Semyon Varlamov to a three-year entry-level contract. They then went on to fill needs at defense, by signing puck moving defenseman Tom Poti, right wing, by signing Viktor Kozlov, and center, by signing playmaker Michael Nylander. Because of these signings there was much more hope for the 07–08 season and players were looking towards the playoffs.

After starting the season 6–14–1, the Capitals fired coach Glen Hanlon and replaced him with Hershey Bears coach Bruce Boudreau on Thanksgiving Day, 2007. On January 10, 2008, the Capitals signed Ovechkin to a league-record $124 million contract extension; at 13 years, it also had the second-longest term of any contract in the NHL, after New York Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro's 15-year contract.

Despite the Capitals' young defense and injuries to key players such as Michael Nylander and Brian Pothier, Boudreau engineered a remarkable turnaround. Aided by key moves at the trade deadline (Matt Cooke, Sergei Fedorov and Cristobal Huet), Ovechkin's league-leading 65 goals, and Mike Green's NHL defenseman leading 18 goals, the Capitals won the Southeast Division title for the first time since the 2000–01 NHL season, edging out the Carolina Hurricanes for the division title on the final game of the season. Their remarkable end of season run included winning 11 of the final 12 regular season games. The Capitals became the first team in NHL history to make the playoffs after being ranked 14th or lower in their conference standings at the season's midpoint. The Capitals drew the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round, and managed to force a Game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series. They ultimately lost to the Flyers 3–2 in OT. After the season concluded, Boudreau's efforts were rewarded with a long term contract.

The accolades for the team continued to grow after the end of the season. Alex Ovechkin won the Art Ross Trophy, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Award. Ovechkin became the first player in NHL history to win all four awards in the same season. He also was the first player to win an MVP award in any major sport in the Washington, DC area since Joe Theismann won the NFL MVP in 1983. Moreover, he was named an NHL First Team All-Star and became the first player since 1953 to be named as such in each of his first three years in the NHL. Nicklas Backstrom was a finalist for the Calder Trophy, but ended up second to the Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane; however, Backstrom was still selected to the All-Star Rookie Team. Bruce Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award for NHL best coach. Ovechkin and Mike Green were named to the Sporting News All-Star Team, with Ovechkin being the Sporting News Player of the Year.

The 2008-09 NHL season was highlighted by the play of Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin. Green led all NHL defensemen in goals and points. He set the record for the longest consecutive goal scoring streak by a defenseman with eight games. Ovechkin won his second Hart Trophy, his second Lester B. Pearson Award and his second Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. The Capitals finished the regular season with a record of 50-24-8 and a team record 108 points, and they won their second consecutive Southeast Division championship. They defeated the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs 4 games to 3, overcoming a 3-1 deficit. The Capitals were then defeated by the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in seven games.

The Capitals finished the 2009-10 NHL season regular season first in the league with 121 points and won the Presidents' Trophy. Ovechkin lead the team in points with 109, and finished as the third highest goal scorer, despite playing 9 games fewer than the league leaders Sidney Crosby and Henrik Sedin. Backstrom finished with 101 points, fourth most in the NHL. Once again, Mike Green led all defensemen in points, finishing with 76. The Capitals also dominated the plus/minus category, finishing with 5 players in the top six. Despite having a top-ranked regular season, they were defeated by the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs.

The Capitals made a splash in the 2011 Free Agent Frenzy, signing Troy Brouwer (a restricted free agent in a trade from Chicago) and Roman Hamrlik to two year deals, Joel Ward to a four year deal and brought former captain Jeff Halpern back with a one year deal on July 1. Tomas Vokoun, the top free goaltender, signed with the club on July 2 to a one year contract. Christian Hanson, son of Hanson brother David, joined the club on July 10.

Recent seasons

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses/SOL = Shootout Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against''

GP 82 82 82 82 82

Season	|	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
2006–07 NHL season	2006–07	|	28	40	14	70	235	286	5th, Southeast	Did not qualify
2007–08 NHL season	2007–08	|	43	31	8	94	242	231	1st, Southeast	2007-08 Philadelphia Flyers season>Flyers)
2008–09 NHL season	2008–09	|	50	24	8	108	272	245	1st, Southeast	2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins season>Penguins)
2009–10 NHL season	2009–10	|	54	15	13	121	318	233	1st, Southeast	2009-10 Montreal Canadiens season>Canadiens)
2010-11 NHL season	2010-11	|	48	23	11	107	224	197	1st, Southeast	Tampa Bay Lightning>Lightning)

Team colors

Prior to the start of the 1995–96 season, in an attempt to modernize the look and improve merchandise sales, the team abandoned its 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. The alternate logo depicted the Capitol with crossed hockey sticks behind. The new logos were viewed as being unpopular with fans . Prior to the 2000-01 season, the team retired its blue road jersey in favor of the alternate black Capitol uniform, but still kept the white eagle jersey for home games.

The Capitals unveiled new uniforms on June 22, 2007 which coincided with the NHL Entry Draft and the new league-wide adaptation of the Reebok-designed uniform system for 2007–08. The change marks a return to the red, white, and blue color scheme originally used from 1974 to 1995. The new primary logo is reminiscent of the original Capitals' logo, complete with a hockey stick formed by the letter "t"; it also includes a new feature the original logo didn't have: 3 stars representing Maryland, Virginia, and DC. More simply, the stars are a reference to the flag of DC, which is in turn based on the shield of George Washington's family coat of arms. The new alternative logo uses a blue "W" and the silhouette of the United States Capitol building in the negative space below.

For the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, the Capitals wore a white jersey honoring its past with the original logo. The jersey resembled the one the franchise wore from 1974-1975 to 1994-1995. Instead of wearing the combination of blue pants and white helmets that the team used when it played at the Capital Centre, the Caps chose red pants and helmets for the New Year's Day game. The Caps wore the same jersey, minus the NHL Winter Classic patch, on February 1, 2011 to honor Hockey Hall of Fame winger Dino Ciccarelli.

Players

Current roster

Team captains

Retired numbers

5 - Rod Langway: D, 1982–1993, Retired November 26, 1997.

7 - Yvon Labre: D, 1974–1980, Retired November 22, 1980.

11 - Mike Gartner: RW, 1979–1989, Retired December 28, 2008.

32 - Dale Hunter: C, 1987–1999, Retired March 11, 2000.

The Capitals also honor the NHL's league-wide retirement of Wayne Gretzky's #99, and plan to retire Olaf Kolzig's 37 in 2012.

Hall of Famers

Mike Gartner: RW, 1979–1989, Inducted Class of 2001.

Rod Langway: D, 1982–1993, Inducted Class of 2002.

Larry Murphy: D, 1983–1989, Inducted Class of 2004.

Scott Stevens: D, 1982–1990, Inducted Class of 2007.

Dino Ciccarelli: RW, 1989–1992, Inducted Class of 2010.

First-round draft picks

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten regular season point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

''Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; * = current Capitals player''

Points	Goals	Assists
Pos RW RW LW C C RW C D C D align="left" Player | GP G A Pts P/G align="left" Peter Bondra | 961 472 353 825 0.86 align="left" Mike Gartner | 758 397 392 789 1.04 align="left" Alexander Ovechkin* | 475 301 313 614 1.29 align="left" Michal Pivonka | 825 181 418 599 0.73 align="left" Dale Hunter | 872 181 375 556 0.64 align="left" Bengt Gustafsson | 629 196 359 555 0.88 align="left" Mike Ridley | 588 218 329 547 0.93 align="left" Calle Johansson | 983 113 361 474 0.48 align="left" Dennis Maruk | 343 182 249 431 1.26 align="left" Scott Stevens | 601 98 331 429 0.71	align="left" Player Pos align="left" Peter Bondra RW align="left" Mike Gartner RW align="left" Alexander Ovechkin* LW align="left" Mike Ridley C align="left" Bengt Gustafsson RW align="left" Dave Christian RW align="left" Bobby Carpenter C align="left" Dennis Maruk C align="left" Dale Hunter C align="left" Michal Pivonka C	align="left" Player Pos align="left" Michal Pivonka C align="left" Mike Gartner RW align="left" Dale Hunter C align="left" Calle Johansson D align="left" Bengt Gustafsson RW align="left" Peter Bondra RW align="left" Scott Stevens D align="left" Mike Ridley C align="left" Alexander Ovechkin* LW align="left" Adam Oates C align="left" Kevin Hatcher D

Head coaches

Head coaching history

NHL awards and trophies

References

External links

Official website of the Washington Capitals

Category:Southeast Division (NHL) Category:Sports in Washington, D.C. Category:Sports clubs established in 1974

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position	Left wing
shoots	Right
height ft	6
height in	2
weight lb	233
league	NHL
team	Washington Capitals
former teams	HC Dynamo Moscow (RSL)
ntl team	Russia
birth date	September 17, 1985
birth place	Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
draft	1st overall
draft year	2004
draft team	Washington Capitals
career start	2001
website	www.ovie8.com}}

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin (; ; born September 17, 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to playing in the NHL, Ovechkin played for HC Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Superleague for four seasons from 2001 until 2005. Ovechkin was the first overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, drafted from Dynamo after 3 seasons with the club. Since the 2004–05 NHL season was lost because of a lockout, Ovechkin remained with Dynamo for one more season before transferring to the NHL for the 2005–06 NHL season, in which he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, scoring 52 goals and 54 assists to lead all rookies with 106 points.

During the 2007–08 season, he led the NHL with 65 goals and 112 points to capture the Rocket Richard and Art Ross Trophies. That season he also won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the NHL Players' Association and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP. He is the only player to win all four awards since the Rocket Richard Trophy's inception in 1999. He would lead Team Russia to a gold medal at the World Championships the same year.

In 2009, he again won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, the Lester B. Pearson Award, and the Rocket Richard Trophy. Ovechkin also led the Capitals to their second consecutive division title. He won the Ted Lindsay Award, which the Pearson Award had been renamed, for a third straight year in 2010, as well as being named to the First All-Star Team for a fifth consecutive season.

Early life

Alex Ovechkin is the son of Mikhail Ovechkin, a former professional soccer player, and Tatyana Ovechkina, who won two Olympic gold medals while competing for the Soviet women's basketball team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The first sign of Ovechkin's future came when he was two years old—while in a Soviet toy store, he grabbed a toy hockey stick and refused to let go. His parents treasure the picture to this day. Whenever he saw a hockey game on TV, he "dropped all his toys" and ran to the TV, protesting if his parents tried to change the channel. His parents say they knew he would be an athlete when he chose to run up the steps to their 10th floor apartment instead of taking the elevator. They also encouraged him to be athletic, sending him out to play at nearby soccer fields and basketball courts.

Sergei, Ovechkin's older brother, had initially introduced him to hockey, and Alex enrolled in hockey school at the age of 8. Soon after he began, however, he had to postpone his hockey career because his parents were unable to take him to the rink. But one of Ovechkin's coaches saw his talent and insisted to his parents that he should continue playing hockey. Sergei later died in a car accident when Alex was only 10. A childhood friend claims this is one of the reasons Ovechkin is so passionate on the ice. He also has another older, brother, Mikhael.

Playing career

Dynamo Moscow

Ovechkin began playing in the Russian Superleague with Dynamo Moscow at the age of 16. Making his professional debut in the 2001–02 season, he scored four points in 21 games. He would spend three seasons there prior to being drafted by the NHL, and he would rack up 36 goals and 32 assists in 152 career games.

The following off-season, Ovechkin was selected first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals. He had been projected as the first overall pick for nearly two years and had earned comparisons to Mario Lemieux. He was so highly regarded that the Florida Panthers attempted to draft him in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in the 9th round, even though his birthday was two days after the cut-off (September 15, 1985). Rick Dudley, the general manager of the Panthers, claimed the pick was legitimate, claiming that Ovechkin was old enough with leap years taken into consideration.

Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Ovechkin remained with Dynamo for one more season. He recorded 27 points in 34 games in 2004–05, while missing nearly two months of play because of a shoulder injury sustained in the gold medal game against Canada in the 2005 World Junior Championships. In the playoffs he helped Dynamo win the Russian Superleague title.

With the threat of the lockout cancelling another NHL season, Ovechkin signed a contract with rival Russian team Avangard Omsk. In order to maintain his eligibility for the NHL in the event that the lockout ended, the contract contained an out clause with a July 20, 2005 deadline. Although a new NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) had not yet been reached between players and owners, Ovechkin decided to opt out and signed with the Capitals on August 5, 2005. The deal was a three-year, entry-level contract worth the rookie maximum of $984,200 per season with performance-based bonuses to inflate his annual salary to as much as $3.9 million.

Washington Capitals

left|thumb|Ovechkin receives key to the cityTwo days after signing, the lockout ended with a new CBA. Ovechkin played his first game with the Capitals on October 5, 2005, scoring two goals in a 3–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. On January 13, 2006 in Anaheim, Ovechkin scored his first career hat trick against Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to help Washington win the game. Three days later, on January 16, he scored a goal that veteran hockey reporter Bill Clement called "one of the greatest goals of all time". Knocked down by Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Paul Mara and sliding on his back facing away from the net, Ovechkin was able to hook the puck with one hand on his stick and slide it into the net past goalie Brian Boucher for his second goal of the night. It became referred to as "The Goal". On February 1, Ovechkin was named NHL Rookie of the Month for January 2006 as well as being named Offensive Player of the Month, becoming only the third player in NHL history to earn both honors simultaneously.

Ovechkin finished the 2005–06 season leading all NHL rookies in goals, points, power-play goals, and shots. He finished third overall in the NHL in scoring with 106 points and tied for third in goals with 52. His 425 shots led the league, set an NHL rookie record and was the fourth-highest total in NHL history. Ovechkin's point total was the second-best in Washington Capitals history and his goals total tied for third in franchise history. He was also named to the NHL First All-Star Team, the first rookie to receive the honor in 15 years. After the season ended, Ovechkin received the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's best rookie. EA Sports made him one of the cover athletes for ''NHL 07''. The following season, Ovechkin appeared in his first NHL All-Star Game in Dallas on January 24, 2007. He completed his second NHL season with 46 goals and 92 points.

Playing in the final season of his rookie contract, in 2007–08, Ovechkin signed a 13-year contract extension worth $124 million with the Capitals on January 10, 2008. The contract, which averages $9.5 million per year, is the richest in NHL history. Working without an agent, Ovechkin negotiated directly with Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and general manager George McPhee.

Late in the season, on March 3, 2008, Ovechkin notched his 50th, 51st and 52nd goals of the campaign for his fourth career NHL hat trick and to hit the 50-goal mark for the second time in his career. Later that month, on March 21, 2008, Ovechkin scored his 59th and 60th goals of the season against the Atlanta Thrashers, becoming the first NHL player to score 60 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr in 1995–96 and 19th player overall. Four days later, on March 25, Ovechkin scored his 61st goal of the season to break the Washington Capitals' team record for goals in a single season previously held by Dennis Maruk. He also went on to break Luc Robitaille's record for most goals by a left winger in one season on April 3, 2008, by scoring two goals for his 64th and 65th of the season. He also became the first NHL player to score at least 40 even-strength goals in one season since Pavel Bure in 1999–2000.

Leading the league in scoring with 65 goals and 112 points, Ovechkin captured both the Art Ross Trophy and the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2007–08. It was the first time in 41 seasons that a left-winger led the NHL in points since Bobby Hull led the league with 97 points in 1965–66.

Ovechkin helped lead a rejuvenated Capitals team back to the Stanley Cup playoffs with a stronger supporting cast that included countryman Alexander Semin, rookie center Nicklas Bäckström and defenseman Mike Green. He scored the game winning goal in his NHL playoff debut with less than five minutes left in Game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers. He scored nine points in seven games against the Flyers as the Capitals were eliminated in the opening round. In the off-season, Ovechkin was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, becoming the first player in the history of the NHL to win all four major awards, including the Art Ross and Rocket Richard Trophies. Ovechkin was also awarded his third consecutive Kharlamov Trophy, named after Soviet hockey star Valeri Kharlamov and presented by Sovetsky Sport newspaper as the best Russian NHL player as voted by other Russian NHL players.

In late October of the 2008–09 NHL season, Ovechkin returned home to Moscow to visit his ailing grandfather, missing only the second game of his career up to that point, snapping a consecutive streak of 203 games played. On February 5, 2009, Ovechkin scored his 200th goal against the Los Angeles Kings becoming only the fourth player in the NHL to reach the milestone in four seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux. On March 19, he scored his 50th goal of the season, becoming the first Washington Capitals player to reach the 50-goal mark three times. He finished the campaign with 56 goals to capture his second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy, joining Jarome Iginla and Pavel Bure as the third player to win the award twice and the second player after Bure (2000 and 2001) to win the award in back-to-back seasons. With 110 points, he finished as runner-up to countryman Evgeni Malkin for the Art Ross.

Ovechkin and the Capitals repeated as division champions en route to meeting the Rangers in the opening round. After advancing to the second round in seven games, Ovechkin notched his first NHL playoff hat trick on May 4, 2009, in Game 2 against the Penguins to help Washington to a 4–3 win. The Capitals were eventually defeated by Pittsburgh, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, in seven games. Ovechkin finished the 2009 playoffs with a post-season career-high 21 points in 14 games. He went on to win the Hart and Pearson Trophies for the second consecutive year, becoming the seventeenth player to win the Hart multiple times.

Just over a month into the 2009–10 season, Ovechkin suffered an upper-body injury during a game against the Blue Jackets on November 1, 2009, after a collision with opposing forward Raffi Torres. After returning, Ovechkin was suspended by the NHL on December 1 for two games (one for the action, and one for a second game misconduct penalty during the season) for a knee-on-knee hit to Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason during a game the previous day. Both Gleason and Ovechkin had to be helped off the ice, although Gleason later returned during the game, while Ovechkin did not. Ovechkin was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct at the time. Capitals Coach Bruce Boudreau commented that Ovechkin's style of play was at times "reckless". The suspension was Ovechkin's first of his career, causing him to forfeit $98,844.16 in salary.

On January 5, 2010, Ovechkin was named captain of the Washington Capitals after previous captain Chris Clark was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He became the first European, second youngest and 14th overall captain in team history.

On February 5, 2010, at a game against the New York Rangers, Ovechkin, with his second goal and third point of the game, reached the 500-point milestone of his NHL career. He is the fifth player to achieve the milestone in only five seasons, reaching it in 373 career games.

On March 14, 2010, at a game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center, Ovechkin sent Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards after Campbell had dumped the puck to the blue line. Ovechkin was called for boarding, receiving a 5-minute major and a game misconduct, and was suspended for 2 games (for a third game misconduct of the season, a 2-game suspension is automatic). Campbell suffered a fractured clavicle and fractured rib, and was expected to be out 7–8 weeks.

Ovechkin won the 2009–2010 Ted Lindsay Award, becoming only the second player to win the award in three consecutive years.

Ovechkin currently ranks third in Capitals history in goals (only Peter Bondra and Mike Gartner have tallied more goals) and is 7th in total points.

In 2009–2010 Ovechkin surpassed the mark of Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame goaltender Bill Durnan (first four seasons from 1943–44 through 1946–47) and became the first player in NHL history voted a First Team All-Star in each of his first five seasons.

In 2011, Ovechkin and the Capitals took part in the New Year's Day NHL Winter Classic, facing Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ovechkin did not score any points, but he and the Capitals won 3–1.

On March 8, 2011, in a 5-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, Ovechkin recorded his 600th career point.

On April 5, 2011, Ovechkin scored his 300th career goal, becoming the 6th youngest and 7th fastest player to do so.

International play

}} At the age of 16, Ovechkin helped lead the Junior National Team to the Gold medal with two hat tricks, one against Switzerland and one against USA, and an assist.

At the age of 17, when he was selected by Russian coach Viktor Tikhonov to play in the Česká Pojišťovna Cup EuroTour tournament, Ovechkin became the youngest skater ever to play for the Russian National Team. In that tournament he also became the youngest player ever to score for the National Team. He also was selected to play at the 2002 IIHF World U18 Championships, which he amassed 14 goals and 4 assists in 8 games, leading Russia to a Sliver medal.

At the age of 18, Alex Ovechkin was named Captain of the Junior Russian National Team. Russia finished 5th in the tournament. In 2003, the team would go on to win a gold medal in the IIHF World U20 Championship.

At the age of 19, Ovechkin was named to the Russian National Team for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, making him the youngest player to play in the tournament.

Also at the age of 19, Alex Ovechkin was named Captain of the Junior National Team in the 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament, lasting from December 25, 2004, to January 4, 2005, was Ovechkin's third and last. At the end of the tournament he had collected 7 goals (tied for tournament lead). His team received the silver medal after losing the gold medal game to Canada on January 4, and Ovechkin was named the Best Forward of the tournament as well as selected to the tournament All-Star Team. In 2005 Ovechkin played in his first IIHF men's World Championships. He scored five goals and three assists, landing eighth in the top scorers list and sharing third place in goal scoring.

In 2006, Ovechkin played in his first Winter Olympic Games. Although Russia came away from the games without a medal, Ovechkin scored 5 goals in the tournament, including the game-winner against Canada's Martin Brodeur, eliminating Canada from the tournament. Ovechkin was the only player not on the Swedish (Gold) or Finnish (Silver) teams to be named to the all-tournament team.

At the 2006 IIHF World Championships, Ovechkin scored six goals and three assists (nine points) in seven games before Russia lost 4–3 to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. For his efforts, Ovechkin was one of six players selected to the Media All-Star Team.

At the 2008 IIHF World Championships, Ovechkin helped lead Russia to the gold medal by finishing with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in nine games. He was selected to the Media All-Star Team for the second time in five tournament appearances.

In the 2010 Winter Olympics, Ovechkin and Team Russia were one of the favourites to win the Gold Medal. Despite high expectations, Russia lost to Canada 7–3 in the quarterfinals. Ovechkin finished with 2 goals and 2 assists in Russia's four games.

After being eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs, Ovechkin joined Team Russia for the 2010 IIHF World Championships along with many other Russian stars, such as Malkin, Datsyuk, and Kovalchuk. Despite being heavily favoured to win the tournament, Russia lost to the Czech Republic in the finals. This loss ended a disappointing year for Ovechkin on the international stage.

Ovechkin also joined the Russian team for the 2011 IIHF World Championships after the Capitals were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. He played in 5 games for the Russian team, but did not manage to score any points. This was the first time Ovechkin failed to score any points in a World Championship tournament.

Off the ice

The day after he received his first Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, he was given the key to the city by Washington mayor Adrian M. Fenty for being the first Washington MVP winner in a major sport since Joe Theismann of the Washington Redskins in 1983.

On June 11, 2008, Ovechkin also launched his own line of designer streetwear with CCM.

Ovechkin was reportedly involved in a feud with Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, who was drafted second behind Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Though the two were reported to be good friends when they roomed together during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, this friendship quickly cooled. There is no definitive information on what caused the feud, but the most popular theory is that it began in August 2007, when Ovechkin supposedly punched Malkin's Russian agent, Gennady Ushakov, at a Moscow nightclub. Ovechkin has denied that version of events, while Malkin confirmed it, although he was not certain whether this was the precipitating event to the feud. The most notorious event took place on January 21, 2008 in Pittsburgh, when Ovechkin took a run at Malkin, which would have seemingly resulted in a devastating hit had Malkin not ducked out of the way just in time. The two would also not make eye contact at the 2008 NHL Awards Ceremony. Despite these incidents, Ovechkin has repeatedly denied "having it out" for Malkin. it apparently dissipated as mysteriously as it started. On January 24, 2009, at the SuperSkills Competition, Malkin assisted Ovechkin in his stunt during the Breakaway Challenge. Malkin handed Ovechkin his props for the stunt as well as handing him his stick and pouring some sports drink down Ovechkin's throat. Though there is no final word on the nature and status of the feud, considering their past interactions, this incident appears to show that the feud has effectively ended. It has been reported that Ilya Kovalchuk, who was then the Atlanta Thrashers' captain and is also teammate of Ovechkin and Malkin on the Russian national team, brokered the peace between the two. On January 24, 2009, Ovechkin won the Breakaway Competition at the SuperSkills Competition for the 2nd consecutive year in Montreal after emerging in the final few seconds wearing a hat bestowed with a Canadian flag and white sunglasses. On January 25, 2009, Ovechkin scored 1 goal and notched 2 assists, as well as scoring the game-ending shootout goal in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game as the Eastern Conference won 12–11.

He has also made a brief cameo appearance in Vlad Topalov's music video for "Perfect Criminal". He appears at 3:50 minutes into the video, playing "the last man on Earth".

Late in the 2008–09 NHL season, Ovechkin garnered some criticism over his exuberant after-goal celebrations. In the February 28, 2009, segment of Hockey Night in Canada's Coach's Corner, Canadian hockey analyst Don Cherry likened Ovechkin's celebrations of jumping into the boards and his team-mates to that of soccer players, concluding that this was not the Canadian way and advising Canadian kids to ignore Ovechkin's example. Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau came to Ovechkin's defense, stating Cherry "doesn't know Alex like we know Alex", and Ovechkin himself stated that he "doesn't care" about Cherry. The next notable incident happened on March 19, 2009, in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After scoring his 50th goal of the season, Ovechkin put his stick on the ice, pretending to warm his hands over it because it was "hot". The incident sparked an immediate response from Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet who said that "[Ovechkin] went down a notch in my books". Boudreau had also stated that he would discuss the incident with Ovechkin, and teammate Mike Green, despite being the first to celebrate with Ovechkin afterwards, commented that he did not wish to join in the pre-meditated celebration. Ovechkin himself was unapologetic, and said about Don Cherry in particular, "He's going to be pissed off for sure...I love it!".

He is the cover athlete of 2K Sports hockey simulation video game ''NHL 2K10'', as well as the cover athlete of EA Sports ''NHL 07''.

On July 6, 2009, Ovechkin was named an ambassador for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

In late 2009, he was named GQ's 48th most powerful person in D.C.

During the 2010–11 season, he has been featured in one of ESPN's ''This is SportsCenter'' commercials, in which he laughed off a question by an ESPN personality accusing him of being a Russian spy before being pulled upward by a line through an open ceiling tile by countryman and former Capitals teammate Semyon Varlamov. Ovechkin is featured on the wrapping of Big Deal candy bar.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				! colspan="5"		Playoffs
Season (sports)>Season	! Team	! League		! GP		Goal (ice hockey)>G	Assist (ice hockey)>A	Point (ice hockey)>Pts	Penalty (ice hockey)>PIM	! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM
2001–02				21		2	2	4	4	3	0	0	0	0
2002–03	Dynamo Moscow	RSL		40		8	7	15	29	5	0	0	0	2
2003–04	Dynamo Moscow	RSL		53		13	10	23	4	3	0	0	0	2
2004–05	Dynamo Moscow	RSL		37		13	14	27	32	10	2	4	6	31
	Washington Capitals			81		52	54	106	52	—	—	—	—	—
	Washington Capitals	NHL		82		46	46	92	52	—	—	—	—	—
	Washington Capitals	NHL		82		65	47	112	40	7	4	5	9	0
	Washington Capitals	NHL		79		56	54	110	72	14	11	10	21	8
	Washington Capitals	NHL		72		50	59	109	89	7	5	5	10	0
	Washington Capitals	NHL		79		32	53	85	41	9	5	5	10	10
RSL totals				! 151		! 36	! 33	! 69	! 106	! 21	! 2	! 4	! 6	! 35
NHL totals				! 475		! 301	! 313	! 614	! 346	! 37	! 25	! 25	! 50	! 18

International

! Year	! Team	! Event	! Result	! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM
	Russia			8	14	4	18	0
	Russia			6	6	1	7	4
	Russia	U18		6	9	4	13	6
	Russia	WJC	5	6	5	2	7	25
			10	6	1	1	2	0
	Russia		6	2	1	0	1	0
	Russia	WJC		6	7	4	11	4
	Russia	WC		8	5	3	8	4
	Russia		4	8	5	0	5	8
	Russia	WC	5	7	6	3	9	6
	Russia	WC		8	1	2	3	29
	Russia	WC		9	6	6	12	8
	Russia	Oly	6	4	2	2	4	2
	Russia	WC		9	5	1	6	4
	Russia	WC	4	5	0	0	0	4
Senior totals				! 66	! 32	! 18	! 50	! 65
U20 totals				! 18	! 18	! 7	! 25	! 33
U18 totals				! 14	! 23	! 8	! 31	! 6

NHL All-Star Games

Year	! Location		! G!!A!!Pts
55th National Hockey League All-Star Game	2007			1	0	1
56th National Hockey League All-Star Game	2008			2	0
57th National Hockey League All-Star Game	2009			1	2
58th National Hockey League All-Star Game	2011			1	1
All-Star totals			! 5!!3!!8

Awards

NHL

NHL All-Rookie Team: 2006

NHL First All-Star Team: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

NHL Number 1 Star of the Month: January 2006, January 2008, March 2008, November 2008, January 2010

NHL Offensive Player of the Month: January 2006

NHL Rookie of the Month: December 2005 and January 2006

NHL Number 1 Star of the Week: Week Ending – December 30, 2007; March 9, 2008; March 23, 2008; December 28, 2008; October 5, 2009; January 18, 2010.

NHL Offensive Player of the Week: Week Ending – December 31, 2005; January 23, 2006

NHL Player of the Year – ''Sporting News'': 2008, 2009

NHL All-Star Game selections: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011

Calder Memorial Trophy – NHL Rookie of the Year: 2006

Kharlamov Trophy – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Lester B. Pearson Award (Most Outstanding Player): 2008, 2009

* Ted Lindsay Award (Formerly known as Lester B. Pearson Award): 2010

Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player): 2008, 2009

Art Ross Trophy: 2008 (112 points)

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy: 2008 (65 goals), 2009 (56 goals)

International play

2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships – ''Best Forward''

2006 Winter Olympics – ''Ice Hockey All-Tournament Team''

2006 IIHF World Championship – ''Media All-Star Team''

2008 IIHF World Championship – ''Media All-Star Team''

Records

NHL records

First player to win the Art Ross Trophy, Maurice Richard Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award and Hart Memorial Trophy as well as win all four in a single season (Note: The Maurice Richard Trophy was established for the 1998–99 season). Only player to be named to the NHL First All-Star Team in each of his first five seasons

Most goals scored by a left-winger in a season (2007–08) – 65 goals

Most points scored by a left-wing rookie (2005–06) – 106 points

Most shots on goal by a left-winger in a season (2008–09) – 528 shots

Most shots on goal by a rookie in a season (2005–06) – 425 shots

Point streak in consecutive games to start an NHL career by a No. 1 overall pick (2005–06) – 8 games

Most regular season points by a Russian-born NHL rookie (2005–06) – 106 points

Fastest overtime goal – 6 seconds; (December 15, 2006 vs. Atlanta Thrashers; tied with Mats Sundin and David Legwand)

Washington Capitals records

Most seasons with 50 or more goals – 4 (2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10)

Most shots on goal in a season – 528 (2008–09)

Most goals in a season (2007–08) – 65 goals

Most power play goals in a season (2007–08) – 22 PP goals (tie with Peter Bondra)

Most career overtime goals – 10 OT goals

Most career penalty shots attempted – 6 shots (most recent on January 17, 2010)

Most goals in a season by a rookie (2005–06) – 52 goals

Most points in a season by a rookie (2005–06) – 106 points

Point streak by a rookie – 11 games (17 points; 5 goals, 12 assists), March 18 – April 7, 2006

Point streak by a rookie to start season – 8 games

Goal streak by a rookie – 7 games, February 10 – March 8, 2006

References

External links

RussianProspects.com Alexander Ovechkin Profile

Player profile at eurohockey.com

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:People from Moscow Category:Art Ross Trophy winners Category:Calder Trophy winners Category:Hart Memorial Trophy winners Category:HC Dynamo Moscow players Category:Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Category:Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Category:Lester B. Pearson Award winners Category:National Hockey League All-Stars Category:National Hockey League first overall draft picks Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:National Hockey League players with 50 goal seasons Category:National Hockey League players with 100 point seasons Category:Olympic ice hockey players of Russia Category:People from Arlington County, Virginia Category:Rocket Richard Trophy winners Category:Russian ice hockey left wingers Category:Sportspeople from Moscow Category:Washington Capitals captains Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Washington Capitals players

ang:Alexander Ovechkin bg:Александър Овечкин cs:Alexandr Ovečkin da:Aleksandr Ovetjkin de:Alexander Michailowitsch Owetschkin es:Alexander Ovechkin fr:Aleksandr Ovetchkine hr:Aleksandr Ovečkin it:Aleksandr Ovečkin he:אלכסנדר אובצ'קין lv:Aleksandrs Ovečkins lt:Aleksandras Ovečkinas hu:Alekszandr Mihajlovics Ovecskin mn:Александр Овечкин nl:Aleksandr Ovetsjkin ja:アレキサンダー・オベチキン pl:Aleksandr Owieczkin ru:Овечкин, Александр Михайлович simple:Alexander Ovechkin sk:Alexandr Michajlovič Ovečkin sr:Александар Овечкин fi:Aleksandr Ovetškin sv:Aleksandr Ovetjkin uk:Овечкін Олександр Михайлович

team	Winnipeg Jets
former teams	Washington Capitals
league	NHL
position	Right wing
shoots	Right
height ft	6
height in	4
weight lb	204
nationality	Canada
birth date	September 07, 1985
birth place	Winkler, MB, CAN
draft	18th overall
draft year	2003
draft team	Washington Capitals
career start	2005 }}

Eric Fehr (born September 7, 1985) is a Canadian ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. Fehr was a first-round draft pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, chosen 18th overall.

Fehr played 11 games with the Capitals in the 2005–06 NHL season; he went scoreless, with 2 penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating. He spent the rest of the season with the Hershey Bears and returned to Hershey to start the 2006–07 AHL season. He had a brief callup to the Capitals early in the 2006–07 season and was recalled again in late January. His first game back with the Capitals came on January 27, 2007; Fehr scored his first NHL goal, which would be the game-winner in the Capitals' 7–3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Fehr recovered from his herniated disc and was called up to the Washington Capitals on February 4, 2008.

During the off season of 2010, Eric Fehr has been involved with film as an actor.

On July 8, 2011, Fehr was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a 2012 4th round pick and prospect Danick Paquette.

Career statistics

{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" width="70%" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |   ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |   ! colspan="6" | Regular season ! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |   ! colspan="6" | Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! +/- ! PIM ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! +/- ! PIM |- ALIGN="center" | 2000–01 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2001–02 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 63 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 13 | 29 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |- ALIGN="center" | 2002–03 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 70 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 17 | 76 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -1 | 26 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2003–04 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 71 | 50 | 34 | 84 | 23 | 129 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 16 |- ALIGN="center" | 2004–05 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 71 | 59 | 52 | 111 | 26 | 91 | 24 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 13 | 47 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2005–06 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 70 | 25 | 28 | 53 | -12 | 70 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 8 |- ALIGN="center" | 2005–06 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2006–07 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 40 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 20 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — |- ALIGN="center" | 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2007–08 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 23 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |- ALIGN="center" | 2008–09 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 61 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 8 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2009–10 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 69 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 18 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 |- ALIGN="center" | 2010–11 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 52 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | WHL totals ! 279 ! 146 ! 131 ! 277 ! 79 ! 325 ! 60 ! 26 ! 25 ! 51 ! 15 ! 89 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | AHL totals ! 110 ! 47 ! 47 ! 94 ! 8 ! 133 ! 19 ! 8 ! 3 ! 11 ! 2 ! 8 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 230 ! 46 ! 47 ! 93 ! 78 ! 62 ! 26 ! 5 ! 1 ! 6 ! 0 ! 4 |}

References

External links

Category:1985 births Category:Brandon Wheat Kings alumni Category:Calder Cup champions Category:Hershey Bears players Category:Ice hockey people from Manitoba Category:Living people Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:People from Winkler, Manitoba Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Washington Capitals players

cs:Eric Fehr de:Eric Fehr fr:Eric Fehr ru:Фер, Эрик uk:Ерік Фер

position	Defence
shoots	Left
height ft	6
height in	3
weight lb	206
team	Washington Capitals
league	NHL
current team	Hershey Bears
league	AHL
ntl team	CAN
birth date	September 24, 1988
birth place	Burnaby, BC, CAN
career start	2008
draft	5th overall
draft year	2007
draft team	Washington Capitals }}

Karl Alzner (born September 24, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, currently playing for the Washington Capitals. He was drafted in the first round, 5th overall, by the Capitals in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. A standout in junior, Alzner won two World Junior Hockey Championship gold medals with team Canada (as the captain), and was named the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s top player and Canadian Hockey League (CHL)'s top defenceman in 2008.

Junior career

Alzner played four Western Hockey League (WHL) seasons with the Calgary Hitmen as part of a standout junior career. He was a member of Canada's gold-medal winning team at the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championships as one of only two players who had not been selected in the NHL draft (the other being Sam Gagner). Shortly after returning to Calgary after the World Junior Championships, Alzner headed to Quebec City, Quebec to play in the 2007 Top Prospects Game. Alzner was joined by two other players from the Hitmen: Brett Sonne and Alex Plante. Alzner and Sonne played for the White team, while Plante joined the victorious Red team.

Alzner was an assistant captain in the 2007 Super Series against the Russian junior team, and was named captain of Team Canada for the 2008 World Junior Championships, both of which were won by Canada. Alzner was named the WHL Player of the Year and Defenceman of the Year for the 2007–08 WHL season. He was also named the top defenceman in the Canadian Hockey League.

Professional career

Alzner is in his third professional season in the Capitals organization, having been assigned to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) to start 2008–09. He was called up to the Washington Capitals roster on November 26, 2008, making his NHL debut that night against the Atlanta Thrashers. He recorded his first NHL point (an assist) on December 4, 2008, against the New York Islanders. He recorded his first goal the next game on December 6, 2008, on ''Hockey Night in Canada'' against Vesa Toskala of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Alzner's reactions to this accomplishment were captured in an audio-journal he was keeping for the Hockey Diaries project. Alzner was sent back down to Hershey on January 28, 2009 to make room for returning defenceman Tom Poti. He was recalled during the Capitals' playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 3 as a precautionary measure after injuries to several Washington defencemen, but did not see any action.

In his second season with the Capitals in 2009–10, he was called up to the NHL several times by the Capitals. He played on a defensive pairing with John Carlson in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

On July 15, 2011, Alzner signed a two-year contract with the Capitals.

Career statistics

				! colspan="5"		Playoffs
Season (sports)>Season	! Team	! League		! GP		Goal (ice hockey)>G	Assist (ice hockey)>A	Point (ice hockey)>Pts	Penalty (ice hockey)>PIM	! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM
ALIGN="center"		ALIGN="center"
ALIGN="center"
ALIGN="center"
ALIGN="center"
	Calgary Hitmen	WHL		60		7	29	36	15	16	6	2	8	4
	Hershey Bears			48		4	16	20	10	6	0	2	2	2
	Washington Capitals	NHL		30		1	4	5	2	—	—	—	—	—
	Hershey Bears	AHL		56		3	18	21	10	20	3	7	10	4
	Washington Capitals	NHL		21		0	5	5	8	1	0	0	0	0
	Washington Capitals	NHL		82		2	10	12	24	9	0	1	1	0
WHL totals				260		19	98	117	94	59	8	20	28	21
AHL totals				104		7	34	41	20	26	3	9	12	6
NHL totals				133		3	19	22	34	10	0	1	1	0

International play

{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" width=35% |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Year ! Team ! Event ! ALIGN="center" rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |   ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM |- ALIGN="center" | 2007 | Canada | WJC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 2007 | Canada | SS | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |- ALIGN="center" | 2008 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | Junior totals ! 21 ! 2 ! 5 ! 7 ! 8 |}

References

External links

hitmenhockey.com Bio

Hockey Canada

Category:1988 births Category:Calgary Hitmen alumni Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen Category:Hershey Bears players Category:Ice hockey people from British Columbia Category:Living people Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:People from Burnaby Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Washington Capitals players

cs:Karl Alzner de:Karl Alzner fr:Karl Alzner fi:Karl Alzner

position	Centre
played for	Toronto Maple LeafsChicago Black HawksMinnesota Fighting Saints
shot	Left
height ft	5
height in	9
weight lb	170
birth date	January 09, 1955
birth place	Toronto, ON, CAN
career start	1976
career end	1992 }}

Bruce Allan Boudreau (born January 9, 1955) is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach who currently coaches the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, logging 141 games in the NHL and 30 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA. Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's most outstanding head coach in the 2007-08 NHL season.

Playing career

While Boudreau's major professional career was modest, he had a long career in the minor leagues, and was one of the most prolific minor league scorers of all time, largely in the American Hockey League (AHL). His junior career was spent with the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), for which he averaged over 100 points a season. He scored 165 points in his final season in juniors, adding 44 points in 27 games en route to captaining the Marlies to a Memorial Cup championship. He was awarded the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the top goal scorer for the 1974–75 OMJHL season.

After being drafted in the third round, 42nd overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boudreau could not agree with Toronto on a contract and joined the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA, making his professional debut in 1975.

Spending most of the early part of his professional career with Maple Leaf farm teams in Dallas, New Brunswick and St. Catharines, Boudreau also spent significant time playing for the Springfield Indians (for whom he won his only scoring championship in 1988), the Fort Wayne Komets and the Nova Scotia Oilers. His most significant NHL time came in 1981, when as an injury replacement he scored 10 goals and 14 assists in only 39 games.

He remained a minor league star and top scorer right through his final season in 1992. His final game came in Springfield where he had been signed by the Adirondack Red Wings as an emergency injury replacement during their first round Calder Cup playoff series against the Indians.

Playing achievements and facts

Boudreau remains the 15th leading all-time goal scorer in the AHL with 316, also currently 11th in assists with 483, and 11th in points with 799. For the minor leagues as a whole, Boudreau is 8th all time with 1,368 points, and 13th in both goals and assists with 548 and 820 respectively; he is in the top 25 all-time scorers for professional hockey.

While playing for the Johnstown (PA) Jets early in his career, Boudreau had a minor role in the hit hockey movie ''Slap Shot'', appearing briefly wearing the green sweater (#7) of the opposing Presidents against the Hanson brothers' Chiefs.

Scored 100 points or more for five separate minor league teams.

Named to the Central Hockey League's Second All-Star Team in 1982.

Named to the American Hockey League's First All-Star Team in 1988.

Inducted into the 2009 class of the AHL Hall of Fame.

; Team records - Springfield Indians

Assists in a season: 74, 1987–1988

Points in a season: 116, 1987–1988

; Awards

Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy - 1974–75 OMJHL season, Toronto Marlboros

John B. Sollenberger Trophy - 1987–88 AHL season, Springfield Indians

Memorial Cup and J. Ross Robertson Cup with the 1974–75 Toronto Marlboros

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, Boudreau began a highly successful coaching career. In the minor leagues, Boudreau has coached the Muskegon Fury, Fort Wayne Komets, Mississippi Sea Wolves, Lowell Lock Monsters, Manchester Monarchs, and Hershey Bears.

Under Boudreau's leadership, the Bears won the 2006 AHL Calder Cup championship. The Bears made it all the way back to the Calder Cup finals under Coach Boudreau again in 2007, ultimately falling to the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Previously, Boudreau coached the Mississippi Sea Wolves to the ECHL Championship in 1999, and also led the Fort Wayne Komets to the IHL Finals in 1994. Boudreau was awarded the Commissioner's Trophy (IHL) as coach of the 1993–94 Komets.

Boudreau was named interim head coach of the NHL's Washington Capitals on November 22, 2007, and later their permanent coach on December 26. He compiled a 37–17–7 rookie coaching record with a team that was 6–14–1 when he inherited it. Under Boudreau's leadership, the 2007–08 Capitals won their first Southeast Division title in seven years and made the playoffs for the first time in five years. He also won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's best coach in 2008.

Boudreau continued his success in his second season as coach of the Capitals, leading the Capitals to a record of 50-24-8 and 108 points, good for another Southeast division title and 2nd in the Eastern Conference.

In his third season with the Capitals Boudreau led the team to a 54-15-13 record and 121 points, which was not only good enough for a third straight Southeast division title but 1st in the Eastern Conference and the team's first ever Presidents' Trophy awarded to the team with the most points in the league, a vast improvement over their inaugural season of 8-67-5. Their success in the regular season, however, did not carry over to the postseason, as they lost to the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens in 7 games, losing the last 3 games of the series.

Boudreau is known for his talkative personality, earning him the nickname "Gabby." In 2009, he released his memoir, ''Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer.''

Coaching record

37 !rowspan="1" 50 !rowspan="1" 54 !rowspan="1" 48 !colspan="2"

rowspan="2"	Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular Season !! colspan="3"|Post Season
! G !! W !! L !! OTL !! Pts !! Division Rank !! W !! L !! Result
Washington Capitals	2007–08 NHL season>2007–08	61	|	17	7	81	1st Southeast	3	4	Philadelphia Flyers>Flyers (Conference Quarterfinals)
Washington Capitals||2008–09	82	|	24	8	108	1st Southeast	7	7	New York Rangers>Rangers (Conference Quarterfinals)	Pittsburgh Penguins>Penguins (Conference Semifinals)
Washington Capitals||2009–10	82	|	15	13	121	1st Southeast	3	4	Montreal Canadiens>Canadiens (Conference Quarterfinals)
Washington Capitals||2010–11	82	|	23	11	107	1st Southeast	4	5	New York Rangers>Rangers (Conference Quarterfinals)	Tampa Bay Lightning>Lightning (Conference Semifinals)
Total ||	307	189	79	39	417	|17||	20

References

External links

Washington Capitals profile

Category:1955 births Category:Adirondack Red Wings players Category:American Hockey League Hall of Fame members Category:Baltimore Skipjacks players Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey people Category:Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Category:Canadian ice hockey centres Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Cincinnati Tigers players Category:Dallas Black Hawks players Category:ECD Iserlohn players Category:Fort Wayne Komets players Category:Hershey Bears coaches Category:Ice hockey Bundesliga (1958–1994) players Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario Category:Jack Adams Award winners Category:Johnstown Jets players Category:Living people Category:Minnesota Fighting Saints draft picks Category:Minnesota Fighting Saints players Category:New Brunswick Hawks players Category:Newmarket Saints players Category:North American Hockey League (1973–1977) players Category:Nova Scotia Oilers players Category:People from Toronto Category:Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Category:Springfield Indians players Category:St. Catharines Saints players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players Category:Toronto Marlboros alumni Category:Washington Capitals coaches Category:World Hockey Association first round draft picks

de:Bruce Boudreau fr:Bruce Boudreau no:Bruce Boudreau fi:Bruce Boudreau sv:Bruce Boudreau