Washington Capitals: What If This Day In Caps History Didn't Happen Like This Day In Caps History -- June 22

When we ask ourselves, “what if this day in Caps history didn’t happen like this day in Caps history,” we think about game moments, wins and losses, or perhaps big personnel deals.  We do not think about fabric.  And we do not think about that subject and the same date in two years 12 years apart.

However, on June 22, 1995, the Washington Capitals announced a change in their logo and color scheme.  Gone were the red, white, and blue that served as the basic color scheme for the first 21 years of franchise history, and gone was the lower case “capitals” logo with a hockey stick serving as the letter “t.”

In their place, the Caps went with a teal, bronze, and black color scheme and a “swooping eagle” as the logo.  An all-caps “CAPITALS” diagonally displayed on the front of the uniform and a new secondary logo of the United States Capitol building with crossed hockey sticks displayed on the shoulders and “CAPITALS” overlaid on the image completed the new look.

It turns out that the Caps were not the only team to unveil a new color scheme and logo for the 1995-1996 season, nor were they the only one to do it on June 22^nd.  They were not even the only team to make a switch to teal as a primary color.  The New York Islanders went with a depiction of a fisherman in teal gear angrily brandishing a hockey stick with “ISLANDERS” displayed across the bottom of the logo. 

They kept the orange of their original logo, which left one with the dim image of a Miami Dolphins color scheme rip-off.  The new look was dubbed the “Gorton’s Fisherman Jersey,” which is where we will leave this piece of hockey history.

As for the Caps, the eagle would figure prominently in the early history of the new threads, both in terms of imagery (it always seemed to us a bit out of proportion in size to the jersey) and marketing.  For example, in the unveiling of the new logo, “an unofficial count revealed that seven members of the Capitals' organization used the phrase ‘We hope to soar like an eagle’ 17 times."

If the saying “clothes make the man” applies to hockey (as hinted at in the linked article announcing the change), the updated logo did not have the intended effect.  The teal/bronze/black color scheme would last 11 seasons (including nine with a black alternate jersey featuring the “Capitol” logo on the jersey front), over which the Caps went 383-387-43 (with 89 ties) in the regular season.  Twice in those 11 seasons they finished first in their division – 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 in the Southeast Division.  Five times they reached the postseason, the zenith being their having reached the Stanley Cup final for the first time in team history in 1997-1998.

Playoff frustration was color blind, though.  In those five visits to the postseason in the “teal and bronze era,” the Caps went 19-25 in 44 playoff games, a record that looks even worse (7-16) when that Stanley Cup run in 1998 is accounted for.  And in none of those other four playoff visits did the Caps advance past the first round.  In fact, the failed to force as much as a seventh game in any of those series, losing three times in six games and once in five games. 

In those 11 seasons in teal and bronze, the Caps went through four head coaches:

• Jim Schoenfeld (72-72, with 20 ties in the regular season, 2-4 in the postseason)
• Ron Wilson (192-159-8, with 51 ties in the regular season, 15-17 in the postseason)
• Bruce Cassidy (47-47-7, with 9 ties in the regular season, 2-4 in the postseason)
• Glen Hanlon (72-108-29, with nine ties in the regular season, no postseason appearances)

Twelve years to the day that the Caps adopted the teal, bronze, and black look, they retired it in favor of a return to a red, white, and blue scheme.  It was a modern take on the original color and logo scheme, and one that coincides with the golden age of Capitals hockey.  Since the team re-adopted their red, white, and blue scheme, the Caps are 596-308-115 in 13 regular seasons, including the one recently suspended for 2019-2020.  Over that span, only the Pittsburgh Penguins have won more games than the Caps (598), and the Caps have earned more standings points (1,307) than any other team.

Six head coaches have manned the bench for the Caps in the 13 seasons since returning to their red, white, and blue roots:

• Glen Hanlon (6-14-1 in the regular season, no postseason appearances)
• Bruce Boudreau (201-88-40 in the regular season, 17-20 in the postseason)
• Dale Hunter (30-23-7/7-7)
• Adam Oates (65-48-17/3-4)
• Barry Trotz (205-89-34/36-27)
• Todd Reirden (89-46-16/3-4)

The Caps reached the postseason 12 times in 13 tries in their red, white, and blue threads, including this season in which they qualified for a round-robin series to determine seeding for the first round of the playoffs, yet to be finalized.  In 11 postseason appearances to date since adopting their current look, the Caps are 66-62 in 128 games, advancing past the first round seven times and winning their first Stanley Cup in 2018.  The current Capitals theme is as “winning” a theme as there is in the NHL these days.  It just took a winding road and a changing color palette to get there.