50 free Washington Capitals trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Washington Capitals opened with the worst season in NHL history, needed a 'Save the Caps' campaign to stay in town, and spent decades blowing 3-1 series leads before Alexander Ovechkin finally lifted the Stanley Cup in 2018 and later passed Wayne Gretzky's goal record. This Capitals trivia quiz covers all of it: Abe Pollin and the Capital Centre, the 8-67-5 season, the Langway trade, the Easter Epic, the Joe Sakic pick that became Dale Hunter, the 1998 Final, Jaromir Jagr's record contract, the Ovechkin lottery, Bruce Boudreau, three Presidents' Trophies, Barry Trotz and the run through Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Vegas. Questions run from easy ones any fan should know to hard ones about the 1976 tour of Japan, the screaming eagle jerseys, the three-stars logo, Slapshot the mascot and the only NHL season in which three teammates hit 1,000 points. There are questions on Capital One Arena, the Winter Classics and the rivalries too. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedic and reference sources before publishing, and each question carries a citation. For more, try our NHL trivia and hockey trivia pages.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Capitals entered the NHL in 1974 alongside which other expansion team?
Kansas City Scouts
Both clubs toured Japan for exhibitions in 1976, the NHL's first games in Asia.
Q 02Which owner, who also owned the NBA's Bullets, founded the Capitals?
Abe Pollin
He built the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, to house both teams.
Q 03Which Hall of Famer was hired as the Capitals' first general manager?
Milt Schmidt
He ended up coaching too after two coaches quit or were fired during the miserable first season.
Q 04How many games did the Capitals win in their 8-67-5 inaugural season?
Eight
Their .131 winning percentage remains the worst in NHL history, and they lost 39 of 40 road games.
Q 05First-year coach Jim Anderson said he would rather learn what than keep losing?
That his wife was cheating on him
'At least I could tell my wife to cut it out,' he added; he was fired 54 games in.
Q 06Which country hosted the Capitals and Scouts for four exhibition games in 1976?
Japan
Games in Tokyo and Sapporo were the NHL's first in an Asian country.
Q 07Which Capital scored 60 goals in 1981-82?
Dennis Maruk
He was later traded to Minnesota for a second-round pick.
Q 08The 1982 'Save the Caps' campaign fought a proposed relocation triggered by what?
An amusement tax on the rink
The tax measure was defeated on November 4, 1982, and a playoff turnaround ended the talk for good.
Q 09Which defenseman, named captain weeks later, arrived from Montreal in David Poile's 1982 blockbuster?
Rod Langway
Ryan Walter and Rick Green went the other way; Langway's No. 5 is one of four retired numbers.
Q 10Which future superstar went to Quebec in 1987 for Clint Malarchuk and a future captain?
Joe Sakic
Clint Malarchuk came too; Hunter's No. 32 was later retired in Washington.
Q 11Which two stars went to Minnesota in 1989 for Dino Ciccarelli and Bob Rouse?
Mike Gartner and Larry Murphy
Gartner and Murphy are both Hall of Famers who played five-plus seasons in Washington.
Q 12Whose 1993 hit on Pierre Turgeon earned a 21-game suspension?
Dale Hunter
It came seconds after Turgeon's goal made it 6-1 for the Islanders.
Q 13Which Penguin ended the Capitals' 1996 season with a fourth-overtime goal in Game 6?
Petr Nedved
Pittsburgh knocked Washington out in both 1995 and 1996, once after a 3-1 Caps series lead.
Q 21Which Hershey Bears coach replaced Glen Hanlon in November 2007 and won the Jack Adams Award?
Bruce Boudreau
Washington won 11 of its last 12 to become the first team to make the playoffs from 14th or lower at midseason.
Q 22Ovechkin's January 2008 extension was worth $124 million over how many years?
13
Only Rick DiPietro's 15-year deal was longer at the time.
Q 23In 2007-08 Ovechkin became the first player to win which four awards in one season?
Art Ross, Rocket Richard, Hart and Lester B. Pearson
He scored 65 goals; Mike Green led all defensemen with 18.
Q 14Which three stars did Washington get from Boston in a 1996-97 trade for Allison, Carey and Carter?
Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet and Bill Ranford
Poile was fired anyway when the team missed the 1997 playoffs.
Q 15Which team swept the Capitals in the 1998 Stanley Cup Final?
Detroit Red Wings
Esa Tikkanen's miss on an open net in Game 2 became the series' turning point.
Q 16Which three Capitals each hit their 1,000th career point in 1997-98, an NHL one-season first?
Oates, Housley and Hunter
Peter Bondra led the team with 52 goals that year.
Q 17Ted Leonsis, who bought the Capitals in 1999, made his fortune at which company?
America Online
His Monumental Sports & Entertainment later took over both the Capitals and the Wizards.
Q 18Jaromir Jagr's 2001 Capitals contract was worth how much over seven years?
$77M
At $11 million a year it was the largest deal in NHL history to that point.
Q 19Which team did Washington beat in the 2004 draft lottery to land Alexander Ovechkin?
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh had the worst record and settled for Evgeni Malkin at No. 2.
Q 20Ovechkin became the first rookie since whom to score 50 goals in a season?
Teemu Selanne
His 52 goals and 106 points won the 2006 Calder Trophy.
Q 24Which defenseman set a record in 2008-09 with goals in eight straight games?
Mike Green
He led NHL defensemen in goals and points that season.
Q 25Which eighth seed upset the 121-point Presidents' Trophy Capitals in 2010?
Montreal Canadiens
Washington blew a 3-1 series lead in the process.
Q 26Whose overtime goal in Game 7 eliminated the defending-champion Bruins in 2012?
Joel Ward
Every game of that series was decided by a single goal, an NHL first for a series that long.
Q 27Which Capitals legend took over behind the bench when the coach was fired in November 2011?
Dale Hunter
He stepped down after one season and was succeeded by Adam Oates.
Q 28Whose franchise points record did Ovechkin pass in November 2014?
Peter Bondra
It came in his 691st NHL game, against Calgary.
Q 29Where did the Capitals beat Chicago 3-2 in the 2015 Winter Classic?
Nationals Park
They had also won the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field against Pittsburgh.
Q 30Which winger did the Capitals acquire from St. Louis in 2015 for Troy Brouwer and Pheonix Copley?
T. J. Oshie
Washington then won two straight Presidents' Trophies in 2016 and 2017.