Photo: Hockey Gods.com Blog
With the Washington Capitals celebrating their 50th anniversary in the NHL this season, NoVa Caps is summarizing each of their previous seasons, from earliest to most recent.
The 1976-77 season was the third NHL season for the Washington Capitals. They improved greatly from the previous season but were still far from making the playoffs.
The Capitals record for the 1976-77 season was 24-42-14 in 80 games for 62 points which was fourth in the Norris Division and third worst in the NHL. They finished ahead of the Detroit Red Wings in the Norris and had a better record than their expansion twins, the Colorado Rockies, who moved from Kansas City that off-season. The Capitals ranked 17th out of 18 for goals scored and 14th out of 18 for goals given up.
During this season, the Capitals won at least two consecutive games for the first time, winning three games in a row from November 7-10. They also won three in a row in January and four in a row in late March, setting the franchise record.
Their longest losing streak was five games, which took place in late December through January as they avoided the extremely long losing streaks they had experienced during their first two seasons.
Photo: Getty Images
Notable Capitals Draftees in 1976 NHL Draft
- Rick Green (1st round — #1 overall)
- Greg Carroll (1st round — #15 overall)
- Tom Rowe (3rd round — #37 overall)
- Jim Bedard (6th round — #91 overall)
General Manager: Max McNab
Head Coach: Tom McVie
Captain: Yvon Labre
Leaders
Goals: Guy Charron (36), Gerry Meehan (28)
Assists: Guy Charron (46), Hartland Monahan (36)
Points: Guy Charron (82), Gerry Meehan (64)
Penalty Minutes: Gordon Lane (207), Yvon Labre (169)
Major Trades
- August 31, 1976 – Traded Nelson Pyatt to the Colorado Rockies for Guy Charron
- November 30, 1976 – Traded Greg Joly for Bryan Watson
Previous Summaries
By Diane Doyle
