Who captained the Washington Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup?

Alex Ovechkin captained the Washington Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin had been Washington’s captain since 2010 and led the franchise through its breakthrough championship season. In the 2018 Final, the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights four games to one, overcoming a Game 1 loss and winning four straight contests.

The Cup victory was especially significant because Washington had reached the Final once before, in 1998, but was swept by Detroit. After the 2018 clincher, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Cup to Ovechkin, making the captain the public face of the franchise’s first championship.

Ovechkin’s leadership was matched by his play: he scored 15 goals during the 2018 playoffs and received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason’s most valuable player. John Carlson, Braden Holtby, and Nicklas Backstrom were important Capitals, but none was the team captain.