Getting the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft is a bittersweet feeling. No fanbase ever wants their team to be bad enough to have a good chance to get it, but if they do win it via the draft lottery, it can be a celebration and start of an exciting time for that club. The Edmonton Oilers got Connor McDavid first overall in 2015, and he has been the face of the game for years now. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Auston Matthews first overall, and he helped start a new era in the organization alongside teammates William Nylander and Mitch Marner. The New Jersey Devils have both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier. The Buffalo Sabres are led on the blue line with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power as two first overall picks in their respective drafts. Getting the first overall pick hurts because of the season that just happened, but the reward after the fact helps make things more enjoyable going forward. The Washington Capitals have held the first overall pick three different times in their history. This is who they took and what they were able to accomplish with each.
Greg Joly
The Capitals started out as an expansion team in 1974. Before they played their inaugural season, they participated in their first NHL Amateur Draft. The Caps held the first pick, and with it, selected defenseman Greg Joly. Then-Capitals general manager Milt Schmidt called Joly the next Bobby Orr. He was coming from suiting up in three seasons for the Regina Pats (currently in the Western Hockey League or WHL). With that team, he posted these numbers below:
- 1971-72: six goals and 38 assists for 44 points in 67 games
- 1972-73: 14 goals and 54 assists for 68 points in 67 games
- 1973-74: 21 goals and 71 assists for 92 points in 67 games
In addition, Joly notched two goals and three assists for five points in three games during the Pats’ participation in the Memorial Cup in 1973-74.
As was the case with many expansion franchises back in those years, the Capitals had about as rough of a first season as possible. They finished with a 8-67-5 record, which is the worst season a franchise has had since entering the NHL. As mentioned in Bleacher Report’s “NHL History: The 10 Worst Teams of All Time,” written by Mike Shannon, they had a winning percentage of .131, which is the worst ever in the league. During that horrific first campaign for the D.C. franchise, Joly played in 44 games, where he had a goal and seven assists for eight points.
Fast forwarding to his sophomore season, Joly played some more games in the NHL, but he also spent time in the AHL with the Richmond Robins. With Washington, he tallied eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 54 games. In Richmond, he suited up for three games, where he got three goals and two assists for five points.
Related: 1974-75, the Capitals’ First (and Worst) Season
One of the issues for Joly was that multiple injuries hampered his chances to grow his game in his first two seasons. He dealt with an inflamed Achilles tendon during training camp and later had a knee injury, all in his first season in the league. He also had an ankle fracture the following season. The Caps decided that they were going to part ways with the young blue liner and thought he would be able to make a name for himself with a change of scenery and some better luck with staying healthy.
Joly was only a part of those two campaigns with the Capitals. He was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings in November, 1976. The deal was Joly for Bryan Watson, swapping defender for defender. Unfortunately for Joly, injuries followed him to Detroit. He finished his pro hockey career in 1986. His best statistical season came in 1977-78, when he accumulated seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 79 contests. As for Watson, he played in parts of three campaigns for Washington before leaving the NHL for the World Hockey Association’s Cincinnati Stingers.
There have been arguments about who the worst first overall pick is. There is the Alexandre Daigle argument with the Ottawa Senators in 1993, Patrik Stefan with the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and Nail Yakupov with the Oilers in 2012. Some people in the hockey world, such as The Hockey Writers’ Dayton Reimer, consider the player to hold that title is Joly. Things certainly did not play out how former Caps GM Schmidt or the organization planned. The expectations placed on him as “The Next Bobby Orr” probably hurt Joly more than it did help. Expectations like that can do damage for players if they are not met, and pressure was put on Joly while he was trying to figure things out as someone who was young. Between expectations and injuries, Joly’s career did not take off as much as it had the potential to. However, he will always be known as the first-ever drafted Capital.
Rick Green
The second time the Caps had the first overall pick was two years after getting Joly. In the 1976 NHL Draft, Washington chose defenseman Rick Green. He spent more time in D.C. than Joly did and put up better numbers. His rookie campaign saw him total three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 45 games. His best point total in his career came in the 1978-79 season, when he posted eight goals and 33 assists for 41 points in 71 games. Despite his individual contributions, the Caps teams he was on failed to make the playoffs every season he was there. He produced the following stats with the organization:
- 1976-77: three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in 45 games
- 1977-78: five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 60 games
- 1978-79: eight goals and 33 assists for 41 points in 71 games
- 1979-80: four goals and 20 assists for 24 points in 71 games
- 1980-81: eight goals and 23 assists for 31 points in 65 games
- 1981-82: three goals and 25 assists for 28 points in 65 games
After six seasons in Washington, Green, along with 1978 second-overall pick Ryan Walter, were traded to the Montreal Canadiens in what was a blockbuster trade. The Caps received Rod Langway, Craig Laughlin, Doug Jarvis, and Brian Engblom in return. Engblom was in D.C. for a short time, but the remaining three played at least parts of four seasons in Washington. Langway became one of the best defensemen in Caps franchise history in 11 seasons with the club and had his #5 retired, Laughlin suited up for parts of six seasons with the Caps and tallied 30 goals and 75 points for the team in 1985-86, and Jarvis was a nice depth scoring talent for them for parts of four campaigns.
The trade worked out for both Green and Walter as well. They both were part of the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup championship in 1986. In this instance, Green and the Caps worked alright together, but both sides ended up benefiting from moving on. The Caps received significant talent from Montreal, and the change of scenery for both Green and Walter led to a Cup championship for them.
Alexander Ovechkin
Then, there is the most recent first overall pick the Caps have selected. He is one of the best players to ever compete in the NHL. He is chasing down Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. He was chosen with the first pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. He’s the one and only #8, Alexander Ovechkin. That draft in 2004 changed everything for the organization as they were transitioning into the next chapter. They traded away talented players such as Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar, and Robert Lang. They were ready to see what the future held and winning the Ovechkin sweepstakes really put a stamp on that. The rest, as they say, is history. The Caps scouted and brought in other superbly talented individuals such as Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and Evgeny Kuznetsov, and others, creating a cast of talent who worked together and finally brought a Stanley Cup championship to D.C. in 2018. Ovechkin kicked all of this off though. If he went anywhere else, such as the Florida Panthers, the Caps may not have as much success as they have had the last 20 years.
Then, there are Ovechkin’s achievements and stats. Let’s start with the stats, which speak for themselves:
- 2005-06: 52 goals and 54 assists for 106 points in 81 games
- 2006-07: 46 goals and 46 assists for 92 points in 82 games
- 2007-08: 65 goals and 47 assists for 112 points in 82 games
- 2008-09: 56 goals and 54 assists for 110 points in 79 games
- 2009-10: 50 goals and 59 assists for 109 points in 72 games
- 2010-11: 32 goals and 53 assists for 85 points in 79 games
- 2011-12: 38 goals and 27 assists for 65 points in 78 games
- 2012-13: 32 goals and 24 assists for 56 points in 48 games
- 2013-14: 51 goals and 28 assists for 79 points in 78 games
- 2014-15: 53 goals and 28 assists for 81 points in 81 games
- 2015-16: 50 goals and 21 assists for 71 points in 79 games
- 2016-17: 33 goals and 36 assists for 69 points in 82 games
- 2017-18: 49 goals and 38 assists for 87 points in 82 games
- 2018-19: 51 goals and 38 assists for 89 points in 81 games
- 2019-20: 48 goals and 19 assists for 67 points in 68 games
- 2020-21: 24 goals and 18 assists for 42 points in 45 games
- 2021-22: 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points in 77 games
- 2022-23: 42 goals and 33 assists for 75 points in 73 games
- 2023-24: 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points in 79 games
On top of that, Ovechkin currently has 72 goals and 69 assists for 141 points in 151 postseason games.
Now, discussing his accomplishments, it is a matter of where to start. He was a huge factor in the Capitals winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. In addition to winning the Cup, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the MVP of the playoffs that season. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy for Rookie of the Year in 2005-06. He received the Art Ross Trophy during the 2007-08 season for most points by a player in the league for that season. He is a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner for being the MVP to the Caps. He has claimed nine Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies for scoring the most goals of anyone in the league for those seasons and also has three Ted Lindsay Awards for the most outstanding player in a season (as decided by members of the NHLPA.) He has also played in eight NHL All-Star Games and was listed as one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players. The list really goes on and on. This is not even mentioning the countless people who picked up a hockey stick themselves because he got them into the sport. That is the most rewarding stat of the entire list: he inspired people to play the game and fall in love with it. His impact on the game of hockey spans beyond his career.
Looking at future honors and achievements, Ovechkin is on a chase to surpass Gretzky’s record for the most goals by a player in NHL history. Ovechkin currently has 853, while Gretzky retired in 1999 having accrued 894 goals. Ovechkin should be able to beat that record as long as he continues to play long enough. He turns 39 in September and needs to get 42 more goals to claim the record. He potted exactly 42 goals back in 2022-23, and his teammates have his back. If he gets close to achieving the record, they will start feeding him the puck more to ensure he gets it.
Besides the goal record on the horizon, Ovechkin also will be a first ballot Hockey Hall of Famer. His #8 should be immediately retired by the organization in the first home game they play after retires. There is no need to wait in getting that number in the rafters considering everything Ovechkin has done for the organization and for the league. They need to give him the highest honors for his time and performances night in and night out. He deserves every bit of it.
Looking at the Capitals’ history of first overall selections, it is a mixed bag. Joly was supposed to be the player who helped kick off the new hockey team in D.C., but things did not happen as planned for multiple reasons. Washington got Green a couple years later, and he did alright but also had a lasting impact due to the big trade he was involved in. Lastly, the Ovechkin pick was everything for the franchise. He is the best to ever lace them up for the team and will forever be immortalized once his number is raised and he is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Overall, things kind of evened themselves out between how Joly, Green, and Ovechkin did for Washington. Things have all turned out for the best though, and they have had their best era so far thanks to one of their first-overall talents. The only thing to do now is see what is next.
