5 random players you forgot were on the Washington Capitals

These five players are the most easily forgotten short-term Washington Capitals players.

Upon winning their first Stanley Cup in 2018, the Washington Capitals supplied a cathartic wave for two generations of fans.

Every peak era for the Pittsburgh Penguins has featured its share of head-to-head takedowns of their perennial Patrick/Atlantic/Metropolitan Division rival. The motif of disproportionate springtime success all but made Pens-Caps hockey’s counterpart to the pre-2004 Yankees-Red Sox dynamic. Pittsburgh won five Cups before Washington won one, and triumphed in nine of their first 10 postseason meetings, including in all of its banner years.

But since the 1980s, there were other Patrick/Atlantic/Metro and, in between, Southeast tenants getting a greater share of relish. They too either routinely went deeper in the playoffs, often flicking the Capitals aside along the way, or got their glory with the help of a former or future Washington skater.

Some of those players, like the following five, personified the poorer ceiling in D.C. and the richer rafters elsewhere through their track records between various NHL markets.

Washington Capitals: Keith Acton

In 14 full seasons, Acton logged 1,023 NHL games for six teams, spending a whole year with four and playing at least 71 games apiece for five.

Statistically, Acton peaked early, totaling 88 points and a plus-42 rating as a second-year regular on the 1981-82 Montreal Canadiens. He went to the All-Star Game that winter and earned Selke Trophy votes for the first time.

Acton returned to the two-way forward of the year ballot three more times; once as a North Star (1984-85) and twice as a Flyer (1989-90 and 1990-91). In between he joined the Oilers on their run to the 1988 Cup. A year later, he was traded in time to help Philadelphia beat Washington in the first round.

Two years after Acton’s last Selke candidacy, the Flyers let him slip through free agency. He signed with the Capitals in late July, but only stuck for three months, including the balance of that summer.

After six uneventful outings, Washington waived Acton, who landed on Long Island to finish that 1993-94 season and his NHL career. He turned in nine points over 71 regular season appearances with the Islanders, then went silent through a first-round sweep by the Rangers.

By co-hosting Acton’s relatively quiet swan song, the Capitals and Islanders were the only teams not to get at least 10 points out of him. In addition, each of his four prior stops yielded a team title or mild individual accolades.

With that said, the Capitals were the only team not to get any points out of Acton, and the only one to dress him for less than a month’s worth of action.