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PEROID 3

PEROID 3

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Montreal - Audio

 Culture Change For Ex-Canadiens
Langway recalled his first impressions of the Capitals franchise after he and three teammates were traded from tradition-rich Montreal.

Montreal Seasoning

Rod Langway, Doug Jarvis and Brian Engblom hit the road after the summer, 1982 trade that brought them and Craig Laughlin to the Capitals (Book Pg. 216 - and by the way, I'm hoping this is a posed photo) Rod Langway turned the Capitals from doormats to contenders by installing a work ethic and rock-solid defense (Book Pg. 236) With Rod as captain, the Caps made 11 consecutive playoff appearances Langway won the Norris Trophy as best defenseman in 1983 and 1984 This poster celebrated Rod's 1992 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame Langway and Jarvis as GOAL Magazine cover boys The face of pro hockey's Iron Man, Doug Jarvis (Book Pg. 226) Jarvis set a National League record by playing in 964 consecutive games; 265 of those came while wearing a Caps sweater Jarvis won the '84 Selke trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward Parting with Brian Engblom made the trade indefensible to Habs fans Brian aided mightily in Washington's defensive improvement in 1982-83, before being traded for Larry Murphy the following season Winger Craig Laughlin proved the surprise of the trade (Book Pg. 233) Laughlin scored a career-best 30 goals in 1985-86 For the past two decades, Craig has worked on Caps TV broadcasts Montreal's side of the trade: defenseman Rick Green, here with Langway... ...and center Ryan Walter, here with Engblom (who took his number!) Walter and Langway, past and present Caps Captains Certificate noting the first home playoff game in Capitals history.

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80's Skaters

GREG ADAMS (Book Pg. 225) GREG ADAMS PETER ANDERSSON JOHN BLUM BOBBY CARPENTER: Teenage cover boy in Feb., 1981; four months later, Caps chose Carpenter 3rd overall in the ’81 draft. (Book Pg. 104) BOBBY CARPENTER: Got Goals? Bobby scored 53 in 1984-85. (Book Pg. 232) BOBBY CARPENTER BOBBY CARPENTER DAVE CHRISTIAN DAVE CHRISTIAN DINO CICCARELLI (Book Pg. 235) YVON CORRIVEAU GEOFF COURTNALL JOHN DRUCE GAETAN DUCHESNE (Book Pg. 224) GAETAN DUCHESNE BRYAN ERICKSON LOU FRANCESCHETTI (Book Pg. 269) LOU FRANCESCHETTI GARRY GALLEY BOBBY GOULD BOBBY GOULD BOBBY GOULD KEVIN HATCHER KEVIN HATCHER ALAN HAWORTH (Book Pg. 281) ALAN HAWORTH BILL HOULDER (Book Pg. 228) KEN HOUSTON CALLE JOHANSSON KELLY MILLER KELLY MILLER LARRY MURPHY (Book Pg. 151) LARRY MURPHY MIKE RIDLEY (Book Pg. 292) MIKE RIDLEY SCOTT STEVENS (Book Pg. 157) SCOTT STEVENS SCOTT STEVENS SCOTT STEVENS DARREN VEITCH As of 2020, the Capitals have retired four numbers in franchise history. We suspect Olie Kolzig, Peter Bondra, and at least a couple of the 2018-Cup winning Caps will someday join them. 11 - MIKE GARTNER (Book Pg. 238) 11 - MIKE GARTNER 11 - MIKE GARTNER 11 - MIKE GARTNER MIKE GARTNER: Try finding a hockey card with more total career goals - Wayne Gretzky (894), Mike Gartner (702)… and Greg Therberg (15). 32 - DALE HUNTER (Book Pg. 239) 32 - DALE HUNTER 32 - DALE HUNTER 32 - DALE HUNTER 32 - DALE HUNTER 7 - YVON LABRE (Book Pg. 25) 7 - YVON LABRE 7 - YVON LABRE 5 - ROD LANGWAY (Book Pg. 236) 5 - ROD LANGWAY 5 - ROD LANGWAY 5 - ROD LANGWAY Rod rocks USSR wing Sergei Makarov during 'Rendezvous ’87' in Quebec. (Book Pg. 222) Rod Langway's Norris Trophies in 1983 & 1984 (top), his 1997 sweater retirement (bottom).

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80's Goalies

DON BEAUPRE DON BEAUPRE DON BEAUPRE AL JENSEN (Book Pg. 241) AL JENSEN AL JENSEN CLINT MALARCHUK (Book Pg. 247) CLINT MALARCHUK CLINT MALARCHUK: Nicknamed ‘Mallard’ for quacking like Donald Duck during games, Clint was the real Hockey Champ for overcoming depression and OCD. (Book Pg. 248) BOB MASON (Book Pg. 243) BOB MASON BOB MASON PETE PEETERS (Book Pg. 245) PETE PEETERS PETE PEETERS PAT RIGGIN (Book Pg. 241) PAT RIGGIN PAT RIGGIN Jim Carey wasn’t a Capitals goalie until 1995, but a Caps fan asked me to include him… Carey authored 9 shutouts in 1995-96, his first full NHL season, and won the Vezina Trophy… Nicknamed the 'Net Detective', as a play on a Jim Carrey movie role - fittingly, because one writer called Carey, 'The NHL’s biggest mystery'… He faltered in two playoff years, lost confidence, got traded, and was out of hockey by age 25.

Audio - Jensen

 Al Was A Stand-Up Guy
Jensen discusses how positioning, coaching & equipment have evolved
for goalies since he played for the
Caps from 1981-86 (Book Pg. 241).

Coaches

Before we get to the playoff years, a quick tour through the early management ranks, starting with Milt Schmidt, the first general manager for the expansion Capitals in 1974. (Book Pg. 6) Milt, who won four Cups in Boston and 11 games total in Washington, drops the ceremonial puck at a 1987 B's-Caps game. Rod Langway looks on. Red Sullivan, the first chief scout, coached briefly in 1975, then went back to scouting. Maryland political power broker Peter O'Malley was Caps President for three seasons in the '70s. (Book Pg. 107) Max McNab became GM midway through Year 2 (Book Pg. 85) Hired with McNab: hard-nosed coach Tom McVie (Book Pg. 86) Tough spot: Dan Belisle took over 48 hours before the '78-'79 opener (Book Pg. 91) In 1980, McNab (C) hired 26-year-old Gary Green (L), youngest coach in NHL history (Book Pg. 94) In each of Green's two seasons, the Caps missed the playoffs on the last day of the regular season After playing the first 7 seasons for the Caps, Yvon Labre spent time as an assistant coach Hired in 1981, the demonstrative Bryan Murray led DC to a decade of playoff visits (Book Pg. 249) Demonstrative? Yes, Bryan was especially skilled with the right-hand finger-point See, he's using it again Bryan was also proficient in a variety of open-palm variations, like the 'waist level'... ...the questionable-call 'shoulder level'... ...and the full-disbelief 'touchdown level' Murray displayed a lethal left jab... ...sometimes followed by an Ali-like combo Like most officials, referee Paul Stewart had his share of verbal jousts with Murray. But away from the rink, Stewart described Bryan as a 'soft-spoken, intelligent gentleman.' (Book Pg. 255) Pictured: the exact moment Caps coach Bryan Murray realizes he's been seated at the media table, and he'll have to pick up the check. When Terry Murray replaced his older brother Bryan as Capitals coach in 1990 (Book Pg. 254)... ...he kept his arms draped at his sides David Poile engineered the Langway & Company trade days after being hired in 1982, and remained Gen. Mgr. until 1997 (Book Pg. 256) Poile spirited Michal Pivonka out from behind the Iron Curtain. David Poile Bob Fachet in The Hockey News, on David Poile's prematurely gray hair: 'Trying to figure out the Washington Capitals can do that to you.' The Capitals' coach, team president, and general manager at their weekly 'Dynasty' viewing party, wondering if that wicked Joan Collins will ever get what's coming to her. Abe Pollin owned the Capitals from their 1974 inception until selling in 1999. Did he care about his hockey team? Check the smooch he lays on the forehead of Bengt Gustafsson following an overtime victory at Capital Centre. (Book Pg. 209) GM Poile speaks at a press event, while Pollin wonders what happened to his vodka tonic.

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Numbers

The 1989 Patrick Division pennant-winners boasted three Hall-of-Famers: Gartner, Langway, and Stevens… …and three 40-goal scorers: Courtnall, Ciccarelli, and Ridley. The most number of Capitals named to an All-Star game. (February 12, 1985 - Book Pg. 265) Calgary, home of the Stampede Rodeo, gave players cowboy hats to wear during introductions. Rod Langway gives the Saddledome crowd a pregame giggle. Cumulative +/- of Caps skaters in 1974-75 (Book Pg. 267) Most combined goals in a Capitals game, an 11-7 loss to Quebec on Feb. 2, 1981. Brothers Peter (above) and Anton Stastny both collected eight points. (Book Pg. 125)

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Gus - Audio

 Five-Goal Gus
Bengt Gustafsson morphed into King Midas in Philadelphia on Jan. 8, 1984; everything he touched turned to Goal.
5 scores on 5 shots! (Book Pg. 229)

1984 Draft


More Stuff of Legend

The way Mike Gartner choked up, he'd have made a great leadoff hitter. Speaking of baseball, Kevin Hatcher played a great 3rd base for the Caps... did you know, Kevin once skated an entire shift without taking a breath? Another 2-sport Cap: Clint Marlarchuk, the team's goalie AND punter. If you imagined a goalie like Pete Peeters giving birth to a puck, it would look something like this... but why would you imagine that? 1985-86 Season Sales Brochure 1986-87 Season Sales Brochure The best trade in Capitals history not involving a Hunter or Langway: Kelly Miller (10) and Mike Ridley from NYR for Bobby Carpenter in 1987. Czechoslovakian import - and clotheshorse - Michal Pivonka, in his first television commercial, calling himself a 'Hip Czech.' (Book pg. 227) Referees 'Let 'em play' in the '80's; in today's NHL, I'm pretty sure this would be called holding of Mike Gartner's sweater. And I'm real sure Rod Langway is being hooked. Of course, Rod himself perfected the clutch-and-grab. Peter Andersson is either checking for weapons, or this is holding. Scott Stevens not only knocked 'em down, he made sure they stayed down. Randy Holt, trying to wedge his stick through Matt Pavelich's helmet. You read the pin right; these were made in case the Caps had beaten Detroit in the 1998 Finals; now they're proudly worn in some third-world country. While we're at it, here's an NHL2K9 video game rendering of the Capitals celebrating a Stanley Cup championship. Or, if you prefer, here's an NHL17 video game version. In 2018, of course, the Capitals got to pose for real.

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