37 Road Losses and a Pair of Green Skates: A Look at NHL Expansion Draft History

1974 Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals didn’t exactly have the largest bounty of players to select from in the 1974 NHL Expansion Draft, but regardless found themselves in a tie early on in the first, in their first regular season game against the New York Rangers. New York was a powerhouse team at that time, with the likes of Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, Rick Middleton, and Brad Park making up their potent offense.

However, the unassuming Capitals, dressed in their garish white pants and red, white, and blue jerseys, had other plans, at least initially. Facing Rangers goalie Eddie Giacomin coming down the wing, AHL scorer Jim Hrycuik cut towards the net before putting the puck in off a rough play in front.

A former star scorer for the Hershey Bears in 1973-74, Hrycuik was an early offensive contributor for the Caps as their season got away from them early on. However, as he slowly fell into scoring droughts and a lack of confidence, those contributions vanished, and so too, did his spot on the roster, retiring after just one more AHL season in 1975-76.

Now, Hrycuik is more what I was looking for when I sat down to write this piece, which might catch a few of the less historically inclined viewers off-guard. I think it goes without saying that Vegas has certainly set a precedent for NHL Expansion teams that many are expecting Seattle to match, but, in spite of the numerous star players available to them, I feel as though it’s a bar that simply can’t be reached, at least immediately.

Then again, I don’t expect, rather, hope and, to an extent, pray that Seattle doesn’t play to the standards of that 74-75 Capitals team, though I don’t think any NHL, AHL, ECHL, or any professional or semi-pro league in the world ever could. With a dreadful 8-67-5 record that season, the Capitals set new standards for dismal performance which, for the most part, haven’t been matched.

Amongst other lows, a record 37-game road losing streak put things into perspective, before their first road win, a 5-3 decision over the similarly lousy California Golden Seals, and their similarly garish, green and white painted skates (yes really). Yet, as hard as it may be to believe, this is actually where NHL Expansion had it’s roots, and they were roots which were frequently torn up, buried, and replanted elsewhere.