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With the Washington Capitals celebrating their 50th anniversary, NoVa Caps is summarizing each season of the team, from earliest to most recent. The series continues with the 1992-1993 season, their 19th season.
The Capitals record was 43-34-7 in 80 games for 93 points and second place in the Patrick Division. They ranked 10th out of 24 for goals scored and 10th out of 24 for goals given up. [Note: the NHL added two new expansion teams, the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.]
Positive news: This was among the most balanced attacks in Capitals history. Nine players scored at least 20 goals, and Kelly Miller was just shy of that with 18. Three of them were defensemen: Kevin Hatcher, Al Iafrate, and Sylvain Cote.
The downside is that there’s just one play anyone remembers from this year, and it occurred in the season-ending loss to the Islanders in Game 6 of the opening round. After Pierre Turgeon scored to give the Islanders a 5-1 lead and all but end the competitive portion of the series, he raised his hands in the air to celebrate. Dale Hunter took that as a signal to level Turgeon from behind.
That hit sidelined Turgeon for the next series (though he returned for the Eastern Conference finals against Montreal), and the ensuing suspension cost Hunter the first 21 games in 1993-94.
On the transactions front, the Capitals acquired Kevin Miller before the start of the season, which you assume would have made alternate captain Kelly Miller happy since they’re brothers. But the Kevin Miller era lasted just 10 games before he was shipped off to St. Louis, which felt more painful because the Caps sent future Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli to Detroit to acquire Miller and received Paul Cavallini when they sent him on to St. Louis. Shockingly enough, this example of asset management does not appear on GM David Poile’s Hall of Fame profile.
Notable Draftees in 1992 NHL Draft
- Sergei Gonchar (D) – (1st round — #14 overall)
- Jim Carey (G) – (2nd round — #32 overall)
- Stefan Ustorf (LW) – (3rd round pick — #53 overall)
- Martin Gendron (RW) – (3rd round pick — #71 overall)
General Manager: David Poile
Head Coach: Terry Murray
Captain: Rod Langway
Leaders
Goals: Peter Bondra (37), Kevin Hatcher (34), Dmitri Khristich (31)
Assists: Dale Hunter (59), Mike Ridley (56), Michal Pivonka (53)
Points: Peter Bondra (85), Mike Ridley (82)
Penalty Minutes: Alan May (268), Dale Hunter (198)
Major Trades
- June 15, 1992
- Capitals acquire: Mark Hunter
- Whalers acquire: Nick Kypreos
- June 20, 1992
- Capitals acquire: Kevin Miller
- Detroit Red Wings acquire: Dino Ciccarelli
- June 20, 1992
- Capitals acquire: 1992 2nd round pick (#32 used to pick Jim Carey), 1992 3rd round pick (#53 used to pick Stefan Ustorf), and 1993 4th round pick
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: 1992 1st round pick (#23 used to pick Grant Marshall), 1992 4th round pick
- October 1, 1993
- Capitals acquire: Pat Elynuik
- Winnipeg Jets acquire: John Druce
- November 1, 1992
- Capitals acquire: Paul Cavallini
- St. Louis Blues acquire: Kevin Miller
- March 22, 1993
- Capitals acquire: Rick Tabaracci
- Winnipeg Jets acquire: Jiri Hrivnak, 1993 2nd round pick
Previous Summaries
1974-75 Season
1975-76 Season
1976-77 Season
1977-78 Season
1978-79 Season
1979-80 Season
1980-81 Season
1981-82 Season
1982-83 Season
1983-84 Season
1984-85 Season
1985-86 Season
1986-87 Season
1987-88 Season
1988-89 Season
1989-90 Season
1990-91 Season
1991-92 Season
By Ethan Berman
