The Washington Capitals introduced two new design elements into their branding when they released their third jersey on Monday.
The red, white, and blue Screaming Eagle sweater features a new “Caps” wordmark printed on the inner back neck, utilizing a font entitled “ALL CAPS.” The team also fully introduced the Washington, DC flag into one of their jersey designs for the first time in team history. The flag is stitched in a loop label located on the back hem, and is “a hidden discovery element while honoring the team’s home,” per a team release.
Over the years, the flag’s addition has been in high demand from some Capitals fans and jersey mock-up artists on social media.
The imagery has a strong connection to the city beyond the obvious. The flag is based on the coat of arms of George Washington, the United States’ first president, and the city’s namesake. The design features three red stars above two red bars on a white background.
The addition of the DC flag comes after Ted Leonsis’s Monumental Sports & Entertainment briefly attempted to move the Capitals and Washington Wizards to Northern Virginia in December 2023 before eventually coming to a $515 million agreement with the District of Columbia in March 2024. The deal between the two sides keeps the NHL and NBA franchises at Capital One Arena through 2050.
Over the last three decades, the Capitals have borrowed elements of the flag and paid homage to the city in different ways, but this is the first time they were audacious enough to include the whole flag.
History of DC iconography in Capitals jerseys
1995 – Capitol Dome logo
The first time the Capitals dipped into the city’s iconography, they created a shoulder patch utilizing the Capitol Dome during their first official rebrand in 1995. The logo combined an illustration of the Capitol, two crossed sticks, a puck, and the city name, integrating the colors black, bronze, and blue.
The Capitol Dome logo was used on the crest of an alternate black jersey first created in 1997, remaining as a third jersey for three seasons. In 2000, the black jersey became the team’s official away jersey, replacing the powder blue Screaming Eagle sweaters. The black Capitol Dome sweater was the home jersey during Alex Ovechkin’s first two seasons in the NHL before being taken out of the rotation entirely after the 2006-07 season.
The Capitol dome logo returned in 2020 as a shoulder patch when the Capitals introduced their original red Reverse Retro jerseys. The team also wore them as shoulder patches in 2022-23 for its Reverse Retro 2.0 jerseys and will wear them again on their red, white, and blue Screaming Eagle third jersey for 2025-26.
2007 – Weagle logo
The Capitals second major rebrand came in 2007 when Ted Leonsis brought the team back to red, white, and blue colors. The Caps introduced a new wordmark, inspired by the team’s original logo, and a shoulder patch featuring an eagle. In the subtractive space between the raptor’s wings, the Capitol Dome is formed.
2015 – ‘W’ logo
The Washington Capitals first debuted the ‘W’ logo in 2015 for the NHL’s Winter Classic, pitting the team against the Chicago Blackhawks outdoors at Nationals Park. The ‘W’ features a subtle silhouette of the Washington Monument peaking in the middle of the logo. The three stars above the W marked the first time the team borrowed from the DC flag.
A subtractive version of the mark was repeated on the hockey pants.
The Capitol Dome was also utilized in the DC-themed Winter Classic logo that year, which was sewn on as a shoulder patch.
The ‘W’ logo returned as a navy blue third worn from 2021 through 2024.
2018 – “CAPS” logo with 3 stars
The Washington Capitals introduced their first logo featuring their nickname “CAPS” at the 2018 Stadium Series game, where they took on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
The crest, per a team release, then incorporated three stars at the top, which “honors the Washington, DC city flag.” The thick red stripes and hem stripes were also created to “evoke thoughts of the city flag of Washington, DC.”
The numbers had a clever tribute to DC as a texture pattern: Pierre L’Enfant’s original grid plan for Washington, DC.
2020 – 3 stars (standalone)
The Washington Capitals began wearing three stars on their hockey pants and helmets starting in 2020. The stars are still utilized on the pants, but no longer on the helmets as they were replaced by a Capital One advertisement.
Worth noting: At times, the Capitals have claimed the three stars have different meanings. One interpretation, as stated above, is saluting the DC flag while another is a tribute to fans from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC — the three main geographic areas in the Capitals’ market.
