The last time the Washington Capitals played a regular season game without defenseman Karl Alzner in the lineup was April 11, 2010, the last game of the 2009-2010 regular season. Since then, Alzner has appeared in each and every one of the Caps’ 540 regular season games. He was the most durable player in the history of the franchise, the team record holder for consecutive games played.
“Was” the most durable player. On Saturday, July 1st, Alzner
signed a five-year/$23.2 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens. The deal ends Alzner’s stay in Washington at
591 games played for the franchise, 20th on the club’s all-time list. He is one of 12 top-five draft picks in club
history, having been taken with the fifth-overall pick in the 2007 draft. He is the last such pick the Caps have had.
Alzner also appeared in 64 postseason games for the Caps, 16th
in club history. It was there, though,
that his unrelenting endurance betrayed him in the last two seasons with the
club. He played through injury in 2016,
finally succumbing to a lower body injury that caused him to miss most of the season-ending
Game 6 in the second-round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2017, injuries forced him to miss six of
the Caps’ 13 postseason games and limited his duty when available to more or
less seventh-defenseman duty when the Caps dressed seven blueliners.
Alzner's contributions in the offensive end were modest,
scoring as many as five goals in a season only once (2014-2015) and topping the
20-point mark twice (21 points in 2014-2015 and in 2015-2016). His contributions were more of the technical sort
in the defensive end, where he could use positioning, angles, and adept use of
his stick to thwart opponents.
Alzner was a consistent and even-keeled player on the ice, but
he leaves Washington as one of the team’s more interesting and endearing
personalities. He seemed to be a ready
and willing quote for the media with an ability to speak in an unfiltered way
about his own and his club’s shortcomings, but not in a mean or edgy way. He also seemed to be a quirky sort who could
make a memory in the moment. The
pictures tell the story…
There was the prize for being named most valuable player in
the opening game of the 2007 “Super Series” between junior players from Canada
and Russia…
Photo: Paul Chiasson/AP
…Alzner’s only NHL fight, back in 2012 against Tampa Bay’s
Steve Downie…
…there was the changing fashion in facial hair…
…the sense of adventure…
Photo: Capitals Outsider
…the commentary on an opponent’s behavior…
…learning that a triple-overtime loss would not be the end of his woes one spring evening, inspiring a bit of Twitter devotion...
…but his pals getting even, so to speak…
In the end, though, despite being a quiet, stay-at-home
defenseman, Karl Alzner was about as cool as it gets.
It was a good run in Washington, and he will be missed. Good luck in Montreal, Karl…well, except, you
know…when you play the Caps.
