Revenge Delayed, But Not Denied

Posted on February 24, 2010 | 2 Comments

This is a guest post from Eric McErlain, long-time hockey blogger who hails from the Washington, DC area. Eric gives us some perspective from the land of the Capitals, who sit on top of the NHL standings. You can follow Eric on Twitter.

For most outsiders considering the history of the Washington Capitals, there only seems to be two distinct eras: before Alex Ovechkin and after Alex Ovechkin. But for those who have been following the team for more than just the past four plus seasons since the talented Russian winger arrived in Washington, there are a number of distinct epochs. There was the early and painful years after expansion when the team was the league’s punching bag (Montreal especially enjoyed this period). That was followed by the David Poile era, one that really didn’t begin until the GM imported Rod Langway from Montreal and helped launch the team into a lengthy period of respectability.

But though the Caps qualified for the playoffs for 14 straight seasons, there were no Stanley Cups, with the closest whiff coming in 1990 when the team was swept in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Bruins. Before 1990, it was the dynastic Islanders who were Washington’s nemesis. On the other side, most of the pain was inflicted by Mario Lemieux’s Penguins.

Owner Abe Pollin’s patience with Poile’s lack of playoff success ran out when the consecutive streak of playoff appearances ended after the 1996-97 season. And though the late Pollin often earned the enmity of the team’s fan base, it was hard to argue when the duo he hired at the end of that season, General Manager George McPhee and Head Coach Ron Wilson, led the team to its first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in franchise history.

I still remember the incredibly empty feeling I had watching the Detroit Red Wings skate the Cup on Washington’s home ice after Game Four of the Finals. And it was equally hard to shake the feeling that what we had witnessed was something of a Red Wings home game, as it seemed like most of the rink’s upper bowl that night was filled with nothing but red and white.

Just one season after Wilson and McPhee led the team to the Finals, Pollin decided that it was time to part with the franchise, and he sold it to Ted Leonsis. Since then, the former AOL executive has done his level best to put his own mark on the franchise, transforming the team into a technology-fueled and fan friendly powerhouse.

But there was one more speed bump in between then and the glorious now. That came following the 2000-01 season, one that had ended with yet another playoff loss to the hated Penguins. It was then that Jaromir Jagr, then considered to be the best player in hockey, fell into the team’s lap in exchange for a relative pittance.

It seemed like an incredible stroke of luck, as the team had always seemed to be just one goal scorer away from playoff success for most of its history. But instead, the acquisition of Jagr was more akin to being injected with a computer virus that gradually takes up more and more of your system resources before causing a complete crash. In the case of Jagr, the first shoe dropped when the team gave him a 7-year, $77 million contract. But when the moody Jagr underperformed, the team responded by acquiring players they thought would complement his offensive style. Unfortunately, with all that cash tied up in Jagr and his supporting cast, other needs, like rejuvenating an aging blue line, went untended.

The result: just one playoff appearance in three seasons and a franchise left in a smoking ruin. To add insult to injury, the team had to agree to pay a significant portion of Jagr’s salary even after he was traded to the New York Rangers in the season immediately before the lockout. As most hockey fans know, it isn’t out of the ordinary to see fans wearing jerseys emblazoned with the names of heroes who have moved on to other cities. But that’s never been the case with Jagr in Washington. Once he was gone, he was gone. Out of sight, out of mind. Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

The great irony of course, is that the seeds of success that the team is currently enjoying were sewn in that disastrous 2003-04 season, as that horrible finish was rewarded with a lottery pick that became the savior of the franchise.

Even better, it was clear from the start that Ovechkin was the anti-Jagr. It’s one thing to be talented, but it’s quite another to be self-motivated. And though Ovechkin and his young teammates experienced growing pains of their own during his first few seasons in the league, it was more than clear that the worm had turned in D.C.

Which is why what happened on Sunday afternoon in Vancouver was all the more delicious. It was this hit on Jagr by Ovechkin that caused the turnover that led directly to an Evgeni Malkin goal that helped put the game away in a 4-2 victory. Revenge delayed, but not denied.

Ed note: due to IOC rules, the video linked to above is only viewable inside the US. If anyone knows of a version that can be played in Canada and the rest of the world, please let us know in the comments!

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