Washington Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis addressed the Capitals’ 2021-22 season and thanked fans for their support in a heartfelt writeup on his blog Ted’s Take, Monday.

The Capitals finished with a 44-26—12 record and finished the season with 100 standings points, good for the second wild-card spot (8th place) in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals were eliminated for the fourth consecutive season in the first round. They have not won a playoff series since 2018 when they won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.

The 2021-22 campaign was highlighted by Alex Ovechkin’s ninth 50-goal season. Ovechkin now has 780 career goals and sits 21 behind Gordie Howe and 114 behind Wayne Gretzky with four seasons left in the five-year extension he signed last summer.

.@Capitals fans are the best in the NHL & your support all season long was strongly felt. While I’m sorry we did not achieve our ultimate goal, we can’t wait to be back with you @CapitalOneArena next season. Read my thoughts on the 21/22 season here.https://t.co/KkxaKZdIMJ

— Ted Leonsis (@TedLeonsis) May 16, 2022

“An exit in any round is incredibly disappointing,” Ted wrote. “I try not to lose sight of all the great individual performances, numerous NHL debuts by our young players, and the adversity that was presented to us this season due to injuries. Still, in the end, we are judged by our performance in the playoffs, so we will use this offseason to make the necessary adjustments and prepare for a successful future- one that will continue to allow us to compete for the Stanley Cup.”

Leonsis’s comments follow Brian MacLellan’s quotes that the team will retool and not rebuild after the disappointing result in the playoffs.

“We’ve lost in the first round the last four years,” MacLellan said. “We’re going to explore changes. I don’t think anything is off the table. We’re going to talk to different teams and monitor the trade market. We’re going to identify free agents. We gotta figure out our goalie situation. We’ve got two RFA guys. We have to make a decision on what to do there and fit it under the cap.”

Ted also took time to show his appreciation to fans who returned in droves to support the team as vaccinations tamped down the danger of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Capitals fans are the best fans in the NHL, and your support all season long was strongly felt,” Leonsis wrote. “Throughout the season, your commitment and energy fueled our team – as it always does – from practices at Medstar Capitals Iceplex to home and road games and beyond, we were touched by your unwavering presence and support every step of the way. You are the heart and soul of our team, and we play for you.”

Leonsis has owned the Capitals since the spring of 1999. Since then the team has won 12 division championships, three Presidents’ Trophies as the best regular-season team, and a Stanley Cup. He also has been blogging longer than us, and for that, we are in awe.