Washington Capitals: 5 best trades in franchise history

You can’t tell the story of the Washington Capitals without appreciating how terrific they’ve been at trades. Let’s take a look at their five best. 

The Washington Capitals have finally won the Stanley Cup. But throughout their 40+ years of existence, they’ve been really great at one thing – trades. Whenever the Caps have been consistently good (which has been quite often), there’s been at least one or two trades responsible for it.

One trade quite literally saved the Caps, for, without it, they’d probably be in Kansas City, or somewhere other than Washington, DC. Another two helped them win a Stanley Cup. Yet more netted them consistent contributors for virtually nothing.

There’s only one rule – they have to include a player. Hindsight will be used liberally, so be prepared. Let’s get started with some of the trades that deserve to be mentioned, but just missed the cut.

Cristobal Huet For A Second-Round Pick

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The Rock The Red era for the Capitals unofficially arrived in 2004, when the team drafted Alex Ovechkin. But it’s official arrival was four years later, when they made an amazing playoff run despite dealing with a slow start. Cristobal Huet was a huge part of that, posting a .936 save percentage during the regular season in 13 games.

Semyon Varlamov To The Colorado Avalanche

This trade would have been on this list because it netted them a first-round pick and a second-round pick. The latter eventually helped them land center Mike Ribeiro, who was a great one-year stopgap as a second-line center.

It looked even better after the Capitals drafted Filip Forsberg with the Avalanche’s pick. Too bad they poured gasoline all over the trade and lit it on fire by trading him for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.

Dennis Wideman

The Capitals got defenseman Dennis Wideman from the Florida Panthers back in 2011 for Jake Hauswirth and a third-round pick. An injury to Mike Green made this trade even more vital. Anytime you can get a solid defenseman for nobody meaningful, that’s a pretty good trade. Wideman had an All-Star season with the Caps in 2011-12.

Larry Murphy

Larry Murphy‘s best days came with the Pittsburgh Penguins, sadly. But he gave the Capitals some great years and the Caps only had to give up Ken Houston and Brian Engblom for him. Later, Murphy got traded, along with Mike Gartner, to the Minnesota North Stars for Dino Cicarelli and Bob Rouse.

Sergei Federov

For many Capitals fans, seeing Sergei Federov in a Caps sweater was a dream come true. Even if it was an old Federov who wasn’t in his prime. Before the 2017-18 Capitals won the Stanley Cup, he might have been responsible for the Caps best postseason moment.

Michal Kempny

Hard to argue against a trade that basically saved the Capitals 2017-18 season. The Caps defense was much better with him in the lineup and his addition helped stabilize the blueline.

Dale Hunter

Sure, the Dale Hunter trade involved the draft pick that eventually became Joe Sakic. But Hunter served as the Capitals captain for a long time. For years, he defined the Caps.

5. The Laich Trade

Brooks Laich is a pretty darn polarizing guy in Washington Capitals history. People pretty much either loved him because of his handsomeness and penchant for good quotes or loathed him for his boring quotes and expensive contract.

Perhaps a reason people liked Laich was because he represented a tie to the organization – Peter Bondra. Bondra is arguably the third-best Capitals forward of all-time and certainly the best pre-Ovechkin.

Back in 2003-04, the Caps were undergoing a much-needed fire sale. Pretty much anyone with any real value was traded. Yes, this is included Bondra, who got traded to the Ottawa Senators. In exchange, the Capitals got Laich and a second-round pick (which was later sent to Colorado).

For Bondra, who was past his prime, the Caps got a guy who was a very solid top-six forward for them in his prime. And once Laich got past that, he was still a valuable bottom six forward.

Teams who are sellers might hope for home runs when they do deadline trades, and rightfully so. But if you told them “you’ll get a guy who will play 742 games for you and give you 342 points”, they’d take that in a heartbeat.

Laich might not have helped the Capitals win the Stanley Cup directly. But he’s a guy who Caps fans surely wish would have been a part of the festivities nonetheless.

4. The Green Trade

Speaking of polarizing players, let’s discuss former Capitals defenseman Mike Green. He’s an offensive defenseman who played before players of his caliber were truly appreciated. Green, however, holds the dubious distinction of being the last Capitals defenseman to be named a Norris Trophy finalist. He lost in consecutive years to Zdeno Chara and Duncan Keith. Perhaps in the modern era, Green would have one at least one (maybe even two).

His defense, though not outstanding, was solid. Though Green had a tendency to turn the pucks over, it shouldn’t shock anyone that he handled the puck a lot. The more you handle the puck, the more you turn the puck over. Simple math. In his heyday, Green might have been the most dynamic defenseman in Capitals history. He could do things with the puck that no one else could.

Back in 2003-04, the Capitals traded forward Robert Lang to the Detroit Red Wings. In exchange, they got a first-round pick (later used to select Green) and Tomas Fleischmann. The latter was simply icing on the cake. He never lived up to his true potential of being a consistent top-six forward, but he had a decent career. Ironically, Green would later sign with the Red Wings in free agency.

For many Caps fans, the Rock The Red Capitals reignited their passion and love for hockey. Green was a significant part of it. Though he had his warts, it’s hard to tell the history of the Capitals without him.

3. The Oshie Trade

After the 2014-15 NHL season, the Washington Capitals were looking to upgrade. The first day of the offseason wasn’t going their way, as they saw the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins each make huge moves. However, they later signed Justin Williams in the evening.

The very next day, the Capitals made a huge trade by sending Troy Brouwer, goaltender Pheonix Copley (who they later got back in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade), and a third-round pick (one the Caps later got back) to the St. Louis Blues. In exchange, they received forward T.J. Oshie.

Oshie has been nothing but fantastic for the Capitals. In his first three seasons in Washington, he scored 26, 33 and 18 goals during the regular season. Additionally, Oshie has averaged nearly a point per game in the postseason, putting up 42 points in 49 playoff games with the Capitals.

During their Stanley Cup run, Oshie scored eight goals (including two game-winning goals and a playoff-best six power play goals) and had 21 points in 24 games. He played a huge role in helping them win a Stanley Cup. And try not to cry as Oshie talks about his dad.

With the Capitals, Oshie has proven he’s more than just a shootout specialist (though he is still virtually unstoppable in skills competitions). Without him, the Caps never would have won the Stanley Cup.

1. The Langway Trade

This trade will likely always be the best trade in Washington Capitals history because, without it, the Caps might not even be in DC. When placed in context, there might not be a more meaningful trade in the history of DC sports.

Before the Rod Langway trade, the Capitals had meddled in mediocrity for their entire existence. Owner Abe Pollin was losing money and he had enough. So he set an ultimatum in the summer of 1982. Miraculously, the Capitals fans helped the team match the number of season tickets Pollin wanted and the city was able to give him a new arena deal.

The icing on the cake came in August, when the Capitals acquired star defenseman Rod Langway, along with Brian Engblom, Craig Laughlin, and Doug Jarvis from the Montreal Canadiens. It came at a hefty price, as they had to give up Ryan Walter and Rick Green. However, even if the return had been solely Langway, it would have been a bargain.

Under his leadership, the Capitals became a consistent playoff team. They didn’t miss the postseason again until the 1996-97 season. Langway won two Norris Trophies in his first two seasons with the Capitals and nearly won a Hart Trophy.

It’s a darn shame the Langway trade didn’t directly lead to a Stanley Cup win for the Caps. But I guess it indirectly did. After all, who knows where the Capitals would be right now had they not traded for Langway?