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The Greatest Washington Capitals of All Time

All-time greats by position · era-adjusted

Updated 2026-07-09

The greatest Washington Capitals of all time — the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who defined the franchise. Each is ranked by their finest era-adjusted season, weighted by how long they anchored the roster, so a dominant year from any era is measured fairly.

Top forwards

  1. Alex Ovechkin Left Wing
    3 seasons sampled · peak 2007 · 65G 47A 112P · +28 · 82 GP
    85Peak
  2. Nicklas Backstrom Center
    3 seasons sampled · peak 2009 · 33G 68A 101P · +37 · 82 GP
    76Peak
  3. Alexander Semin Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2009 · 45G 49A 94P · +40 · 73 GP
    75Peak
  4. Robert Lang Center
    1 season sampled · peak 2003 · 38G 59A 96P · +3 · 63 GP
    66Peak
  5. T.J. Oshie Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2016 · 40G 28A 68P · +34 · 68 GP
    59Peak
  6. Dennis Maruk Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1981 · 61G 78A 139P · -7 · 80 GP
    58Peak
  7. Jaromir Jagr Right Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 2001 · 37G 57A 94P · +0 · 69 GP
    61Peak
  8. Aliaksei Protas Left Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 2024 · 32G 39A 71P · +43 · 76 GP
    59Peak
  9. Michal Pivonka Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1995 · 18G 73A 91P · +20 · 73 GP
    55Peak
  10. Peter Bondra Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2000 · 45G 36A 81P · +8 · 82 GP
    55Peak
  11. Mike Gartner Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1984 · 51G 53A 105P · +16 · 80 GP
    52Peak
  12. Bobby Carpenter Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1984 · 54G 43A 97P · +20 · 80 GP
    52Peak

On defense

  1. Mike Green Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2009 · 21G 62A 83P · +43 · 75 GP
    66Peak
  2. John Carlson Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2019 · 18G 71A 89P · +14 · 69 GP
    55Peak
  3. Sergei Gonchar Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1999 · 20G 40A 61P · +29 · 73 GP
    48Peak
  4. Larry Murphy Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1986 · 24G 59A 83P · +26 · 80 GP
    47Peak
  5. Jakob Chychrun Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2025 · 27G 35A 61P · +20 · 80 GP
    44Peak
  6. Kevin Hatcher Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1992 · 34G 44A 78P · -7 · 83 GP
    37Peak
  7. Sylvain Cote Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1993 · 16G 34A 50P · +29 · 84 GP
    37Peak
  8. Jeff Schultz Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2009 · 3G 22A 26P · +56 · 73 GP
    37Peak

In goal

  1. Olie Kolzig Goaltender
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1997 · 33W · 2.2 GAA · .920 SV% · 5 SO
    63Peak
  2. Braden Holtby Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 2016 · 42W · 2.07 GAA · .925 SV% · 9 SO
    61Peak
  3. Logan Thompson Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 2025 · 31W · 2.44 GAA · .912 SV% · 4 SO
    64Peak
  4. Al Jensen Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1985 · 28W · 3.19 GAA · .889 SV% · 2 SO
    64Peak
How this ranks: a player’s best season with the Washington Capitals is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then nudged up for how many standout seasons they gave the club — rewarding peak brilliance and franchise tenure together.

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Frequently asked questions

Who is the greatest Washington Capitals player of all time?
By All-Time Hockey's era-adjusted peak-season ranking, Alex Ovechkin leads the Washington Capitals all-time greats; the top three overall are Alex Ovechkin, Olie Kolzig, Braden Holtby. Each player is scored on his finest season relative to the league around him.
Who is the best Washington Capitals goaltender of all time?
Olie Kolzig ranks as the top Washington Capitals goaltender by peak era-adjusted season, weighted by win volume so durable starters outrank one-year standouts.
How are the all-time Washington Capitals rankings calculated?
Each player's best season with the Washington Capitals is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then weighted by how many standout seasons he gave the club. Data spans the 1960s to today.

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