Beloved Capitals greats Braden Holtby and Mike Green will make rare public appearances on December 9 as part of Prince Frederick Chrysler Jeep Dodge’s annual Toys4Tots drive.
Holtby and Green, along with former Capitals Craig Laughlin and Karl Alzner, will sign autographs inside the dealership on Saturday December 9th from 12 to 2 pm in Prince Frederick, Maryland.
To meet the players, Prince Frederick Chrysler Jeep Dodge says that fans must bring a toy (worth $25 or more) to donate or make a minimum $50 cash donation. The proceeds will go to Toys for Tots of Calvert County, Maryland.
Laughlin along with Dee Aud, the dealership’s comptroller and event coordinator, organized the event. A year after having Nicklas Backstrom appear at the the 2022 Toys4Tots drive, Dee was excited to bring another star-studded event to Southern Maryland.
“We worked very hard on this one for sure,” Dee said. “There are over 880 families that we are trying to bring Christmas magic to. I hope this will be our biggest yet. Big thanks to Locker for being relentless and pursuing these guys to make my wish come true to bring a Stanley Cup champion in for our event.”
Holtby, arguably the greatest Capitals goaltender in franchise history, spent 10 seasons with the Caps and helped lead Washington to its first and only championship in 2018. Celebrated for making The Save late in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final, Holtby led the Capitals to four consecutive wins over the Vegas Golden Knights which sealed the Cup victory.
Holtby, who has not played since the 2021-22 season but has not officially retired yet, has a career record of 299-143-50. The Lloydminster, Saskatchewan native won the 2016 Vezina Trophy as NHL goaltender of the year, after going 48-9-7 in 66 starts for the team. The 48 victories tied the Holtbeast with Martin Brodeur for the most goalie wins in a single season in NHL history. The five-time NHL All-Star would secure the Jennings Trophy the next year in 2017.
Off the ice, Holtby became a forceful advocate for vulnerable communities, participating in DC’s Capital Pride Parade several times and raising money and awareness for Black causes.
The goaltender has made several public appearances — Craig Laughlin’s fall golf tournament and Garnet Hathaway’s beer release party — since returning back to the DC area in 2022, but has mostly kept a low profile.
The same can be said about Mike Green, one of the greatest defensemen in Capitals history. A two-time finalist for the NHL’s Norris Trophy, Green had one of the greatest seasons from the backend in franchise history, scoring 31 goals and tallying 73 points in 68 games during the 2008-09 season.
Green was one of the Capitals’ four Young Guns, a group that also included Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alex Semin, that ushered in the Rock The Red Era in DC where the Capitals were perennial championship contenders. Green spent nearly his entire Caps career as a first-pairing defenseman, scoring double digit goals in five of his 10 seasons in DC. He owns the franchise record for most power-play goals by a defenseman in a season with 18 in 2008–09.
In the community, Green would frequently use his fame for good. Notably in 2012, he bought drinks for everyone at Front Page Arlington to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief. He also went to the White House to participate in a Let’s Move event with Michelle Obama.
Green also participated with RMNB in a unique fan-driven equipment drive in 2015. After struggling to score that season, Green began scouring the internet on third-party resale sites for his old discontinued Easton Stealth CNT stick — a super-light, blue twig that helped him author an eight-game goal streak in 2008. Once RMNB found out and wrote about Green’s mission, fans from across the area gave back some of the Easton Stealth CNTs he had given away in years past. Green would trade a new signed stick for an old one, looking like a kid on Christmas day when he got his old equipment back.
RMNB is told that there will be a one autograph per player policy so that the dealership can move through the line as quickly as possible.
Local firefighter Monk Wells of Above Average Graphing will also donate his time and hold a silent auction at the event (follow him AAG Sports Auctions for more), featuring unique Capitals memorabilia.
Also on hand will be the head of Toys4Tots Calvert County, Brenda King, who will help collect donations.
“We truly appreciate Prince Frederick Chrysler Jeep Dodge for affording this opportunity each year, we have over 880 children/teens to help,” Toys For Tots Calvert County said in a statement. “We could not do this without their support and the donations from the community. Let’s make this toy drive the biggest ever.”
An official flyer release featuring other event information like possible food trucks will be announced at a later date.
