Summary of the Washington Capitals 1975-76 Season: Coca Cola Cup Champs

Photo: Hockeygods.com Blog

With the Washington Capitals celebrating their 50^th anniversary, NoVa Caps is summarizing each of the team’s previous 49 seasons, from their earliest to their most recent.

The 1975-76 season was the second season for the Washington Capitals. They improved slightly from their inaugural season, but they were still bad. Their record was 11-59-10 in 80 games for 32 points which was the worst record in the NHL. They were four points behind the Kansas City Scouts who also entered the league as an expansion team for the 1974-75 season. The Capitals ranked 16^th out of 18 for goals scored and 18^th out of 18 for goals given up.

They never won two games in a row and had several extended losing streaks, including a 17-game losing streak near the end of the season. They had three other losing streaks of 7 or more consecutive games. When the season ended, the Capitals traveled to Japan to play the Kansas City Scouts in a four-game exhibition series. By winning three of the four games, the Capitals won the Coca-Cola Cup.

Notable Capitals Draftees in 1975 NHL Draft

This draft was notable for the Capitals trading the first overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for Center Bill Clement and the Flyers first-round pick (#18). Capitals used that pick to draft Alex Forsythe, who played just one NHL game. Only one player that the Capitals drafted in 1976, Peter Scamurra, played in more than 100 NHL games. However, Scamurra never established himself as an NHL regular.

General Manager(s):

• Milt Schmidt — through December 29
• Max McNab – since December 31

Head Coaches:

• Milt Schmidt – through December 29
• Tom McVie – since December 31

Captain:  Bill Clement, Yvon Labre

Leaders

Photo of Nelson Pyatt: Third String Goalie Blog

Goals: Nelson Pyatt (26), Tony White (25)
Assists: Hartland Monahan (29), Nelson Pyatt (23)
Points: Nelson Pyatt (49), Hartland Monahan (46), Denis Dupere (35)
Penalty Minutes: Yvon Labre (146), Blair Stewart (113)

Photo of Bill Clement: Third String Goalie Blog

Notable Trades

• June 3, 1975 – Traded 1975 first-round pick (#1 overall) to Philadelphia Flyers for Bill Clement, Don McLean, and Flyers’ first-round pick (#18 overall)
• December 15, 1975 – Capitals acquire defenseman Bob Sirois for future considerations
• January 22, 1976 – Traded Bill Clement to Atlanta Flames for forward Gerry Meehan and defenseman Jean Lemieux

Previous Summaries

1974-75 Season

By Diane Doyle