The Capitals Dream Team

As we continue killing time before the season starts, we came up with the Capitals Dream Team using the best possible lineup of current or former Caps while in their prime with the team (so no Red Wing Sergei Fedorov). There are a few ways of doing this. The first is to pick the best lineup of players, in their natural positions, who would compliment each other. These are not necessarily the top 20 players in Caps’ history, but ones that together would make one heck of a team. First, the forwards (after the jump).

Forwards

I already hear the groans. Why did we include Jagr? Sure, he puts up points, but his time with the Caps was a debacle, so now we present:

The Sans-Jagr Forwards

(And while we’re having fun, we’ll also move some players out of position because the lines look better that way.)

While Maruk nominally plays center, he’s left-handed so we’ll try him on that side, and dropped Duchesne to make room. Ciccarelli would be a great net-crasher on the top line with Oates and Ovie. The fourth line of Kono, Hunter and May is one heck of a grinding line. May is also playing out of position, but he could make it work.

Defense

Defensive hockey was traditionally the Caps’ strength and we looked for the meanest, most efficient top two pairs.  Calle Jo wasn’t the meanest, but he may be the most well-rounded of the bunch. Green won’t get much ice time at even strength; he’s on the roster as a power play specialist. We’ll chose Green over Gonchar because he’s slightly less of a defensive liability than Gonchar was, and has a proven rapport with Ovechkin on PP.

Goalies

These are the best two goalies in Caps’ history. Jim Carey had an outstanding, Vezina-winning season, and was better than Beaupre in his prime. However, Beaupre in his prime would be a better veteran presence at backup than Carey, particularly in the playoffs, where Carey flopped.

Now we present…

The Skill-Only Team

Forwards

Defense

Goalies

Thoughts?

Picks by Abram Fox