Washington Capitals History 1974-75
Expansion Hockey Team’s First Season the Worst in NHL History
Oct 19, 2009
It’s not easy being a new franchise in any professional sport. Often the talent pool from which players are selected isn’t very deep and on top of that, immediate contribution from an entire roster of new teammates is expected. And although few maintain winning records in their first season, never has a new hockey team endured a low such as that of the 1974-75 Washington Capitals.
The NHL arrived in the American capital ready to inhabit a then-state of the art arena in the Capital Center, in Landover, Maryland. While the new NHL arena was eye-catching and awe-inspiring, the same couldn’t be said for the hockey team that skated on its ice.
Eight Wins in Eight Months
The NHL season was 80 games long in 1974-75 but for one of the league’s two newest teams – the other was the Kansas City Scouts – the ultimate 8-67-5 record likely felt like an eternity.
It all began on October 9, 1974, with the Capitals paying a visit to one of hockey’s most storied arenas, Madison Square Garden, to face the New York Rangers. The night ended like the majority did that season, in a 6-3 loss. It was the first in a series of dubious records the Capitals would set; the next came in their second game, a 6-0 shutout at the hands of the Minnesota North Stars. That scoreless defeat would be No. 1 in a team-record 12 over the course of the campaign.
A few nights later, Washington-area hockey fans were treated to the Capitals’ first NHL home game against the Los Angeles Kings. Their team headed into the contest with an 0-2 record and had been outscored 12-3. That night, the two clubs skated to a 1-1 draw.
It wouldn’t be long until the team and its fans would get to savor its first win. Just over a week into their NHL schedule and in just their second game at home, the Washington Capitals were victorious for the first time. The next one, however, wouldn’t come as quickly.
More than a month later, on November 19th, the Capitals finally find found the win column again, topping the California Golden Seals 6-4. And while the triumphs would be few and very far between – one per month except February, when they managed two – the team’s fans were “lucky” enough to witness seven of the eight.
One Road Win in 40 Games
Most teams generally perform better in their home arena than they do as the visitor. Washington struggled to win just about everywhere, but to say life on the road was tough doesn’t even come close to describing the huge bumps endured by the 1974-75 Capitals.
The schedule comprised of 40 games in other NHL arenas. In what would be good news for the home team, the Capitals went nearly the entire season without so much as a point as the visiting club. That changed on March 28, 1975 when Washington picked up a win against the California Golden Seals. The triumph snapped an incredible 17-game losing streak; overall, it was the team’s second-to-last victory of the season.
Capitals Set a New Record in NHL History
Though the season of futility was far from easy to swallow for the Washington Capitals and their fans, those that had been a part of the 1972-73 New York Islanders were likely smiling somewhere. Before the Capitals joined the NHL, the Islanders were the owners of the league’s worst record in a debut season, going 12-60-6. Washington may have shattered the mark, but its porous inaugural season had yet to be matched through the NHL's expansion in the early 2000s.
In an odd twist of fate, two of the first three decade milestones that would have seen the Capitals celebrate the anniversary of their debut were both affected by NHL lockouts. The team’s 20th anniversary in 1994-95 was reduced to a 48-game schedule as a result of a labor dispute while the club’s 30th birthday was completely wiped out in 2004-05.
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