Explore the Washington Capitals’ 2003-04 rebuild and its similarities to the Blackhawks’ approach in 2022.
Jan 25, 2006; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin (8) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena.
Photo Credit: Photo: Tom Szczerbowski/Imagn Images
In the 2003-04 season, the Washington Capitals embarked on a rebuild that immediately landed them Alex Ovechkin, the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. 14 seasons later, the rebuild paid dividends in the form of the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. A long road that wasn’t without its bumps. Although the rebuild began before the salary cap, the extent of the roster teardown closely resembles what Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson initiated in 2022.
Let’s compare the two rebuilds.
The Ovechkin Era
2003: A stunned Washington Capitals fan base watched their team lose its fourth consecutive game in the first round to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was a team that outscored Tampa 9-3 in the first two games. A team stacked with talent, like Jaromir Jagr and Peter Bondra. A team that finished second in the Division with 92 points.
What happened? And what was next for the nation’s capital’s NHL team?
Following their playoff letdown, the 2003-04 season flopped. The Capitals won two of their first 10 games, and by the end of the year, they lost 28 of 34. General manager George McPhee decided to rebuild and ripped the roster apart. Jaromir Jagr, Robert Lang, fan favorite Peter Bondra, and Sergei Gonchar were all traded by the deadline. Washington finished the season with 59 points, their lowest since 1976.
Washington won the 2004 draft lottery and selected Alex Ovechkin, the consensus number one overall pick. Ovechkin joined a roster stripped of its talent, but he had a young supporting cast. Strong drafting (except for 2003) produced Alexander Semin (13th overall in 2002), Boyd Gordon (17th overall in 2002), and Mike Green (29th overall in 2004).
The first two seasons in Alexander Ovechkin’s career were ugly for the Capitals. They missed the playoffs both years and finished with 70 points in each season. But Ovechkin scored at a phenomenal rate, and Alexander Semin scored 73 points in the 2006-07 season. Finishing at the bottom positioned the Capitals to continue drafting high-end talent like Nicklas Backstrom (4th overall in 2006) and goaltender Semyon Varlamov (23rd overall in 2006).
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The Capitals’ rebuild ended after the 2007-08 season when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the playoffs. From 2008 until 2014, the Capitals refined their positional needs and continued to draft well: Evgeny Kuznetsov (26th overall in 2010), Tom Wilson (16th overall in 2012), defenseman John Carlson (27th overall in 2008), and future Stanley Cup goaltender Braden Holtby (fourth round in 2008). But despite consistently finishing in the top two spots in the division, the Capitals never cracked the Conference Final. Success isn’t linear. In 2014, the Capitals missed the playoffs, and general manager George McPhee was fired.
Throughout the next four years, general manager Brian MacLellan filled holes with smart free-agent signings and kept the Capitals’ core together. When Washington won the Stanley Cup in 2018, 14 players on that roster were acquired through the draft.
Jun 7, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) hoists the Stanley Cup after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in game five of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Blackhawks Parallels
Both Davidson and McPhee gutted their rosters to reach the bottom and be in the best position to draft high-end talent. Both teams followed their surgical tear-downs with historically bad seasons.
By Ovechkin’s third year pro, the Capitals were back in the playoff mix (keep in mind, the 2004 season was a lockout). One aspect of this is that the Capitals had a young supporting cast. Connor Bedard has yet to play with a consistent linemate; the only drafted Blackhawk to spend meaningful time with Bedard was Philipp Kurashev. Kurashev is now a San Jose Shark after a disappointing season.
The Blackhawks’ prospect pipeline was barren before their 2022 rebuild. Even if the Blackhawks selected a different route, they had no future assets to trade. Poor drafting and questionable trade decisions from Stan Bowman hurt this team a lot more than people realize.
The Blackhawks don’t have an Alexander Semin for Bedard. They have yet to find Bedard’s Nicklas Backstrom. But the Blackhawks have drafted promising defensemen and have promising middle-six forwards. Frank Nazar has the potential to be a solid 2C. Defenseman Sam Rinzel impressed in a limited nine-game sample size. Alex Vlasic and Wyatt Kaiser, draft picks from the Bowman era, have looked promising on the blueline.
The rebuild is entering its fourth season, and the Hawks are poised to finish in the bottom five again. The Capitals were in the playoffs at the end of year four but had young players in place to supplement Alex Ovechkin. By year 10, the Capitals fired their general manager and retooled to win a Stanley Cup in year 14.
No two rebuilds are ever the same. But is there an example of a rebuild that started in the salary cap era? A rebuild that had a faster turnaround? Could the Colorado Avalanche be a better example of a modern blueprint?
In our next article, we turn to Colorado.
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