who was the captain of the washington capitals before ovechkin
Chris Clark
title: Alexander Ovechkin text: Alexander Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin (; born 17 September 1985), often referred to as "the Great Eight" or "Ovi", is a Russian professional ice hockey winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players in the history of the NHL. Prior to entering the league, Ovechkin played for Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Superleague for four seasons, from 2001 until 2005, and returned to play for them briefly during the 2012–13 NHL lockout. A highly touted prospect, Ovechkin was selected by the Capitals first overall in title: Washington Capitals text: Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Capitals are owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, headed by Ted Leonsis. From 1974 to 1997 the Capitals played their home games at the Capital Centre, in Landover, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.). In 1997 the team moved to the arena now called Capital One Arena, their present home arena in Washington, D.C. The Capitals were founded in as an expansion franchise, alongside the Kansas City title: Washington Capitals text: took place to revive the franchise. First, the team hired David Poile as general manager. Second, as his first move, Poile pulled off one of the largest trades in franchise history on September 9, 1982, when he dealt longtime regulars Ryan Walter and Rick Green to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Rod Langway (named captain only a few weeks later), Brian Engblom, Doug Jarvis and Craig Laughlin. This move turned the franchise around, as Langway's solid defense helped the team to dramatically reduce its goals-against, and the explosive goal-scoring of Dennis Maruk, Mike Gartner and Bobby Carpenter fueled the title: Washington Capitals text: Association's Washington Bullets/Wizards until his death on November 24, 2009). Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets (who formerly played in Baltimore) and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager. With a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the World Hockey Association (WHA), the available talent was stretched thin. The Capitals had few players with professional experience and were at a disadvantage against the long-standing teams that were stocked with veteran players. Like the other three teams who joined the title: Steve Konowalchuk text: Witt. In October 2002 it was announced that he would serve as the 10th full-time captain of the Capitals. He would hold the position until he was traded to Colorado by Washington with Washington's third selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Bates Battaglia and the rights to Jonas Johansson on October 22, 2003. On September 29, 2006, Konowalchuk announced his retirement after a regular examination detected Long QT syndrome. After his retirement, Konowalchuk remained within the Avalanche organization and served as an assistant coach to Joe Sacco during the 2009–10 and 2010–11 season. In June 2011,