Monumental Sports Network cleaned up at the 68th Capital Emmy Awards on Saturday night in Bethesda, taking home top honors for Overall Excellence and Sport Excellence. But most important to Washington Capitals fans, Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin, the team’s longtime broadcasting duo of nearly 30 years, took home individual awards.
Beninati once again won in the Sports Play-by-Play category while Laughlin earned the Sports Analyst Emmy, beating out Brian Mitchell, Drew Gooden, Fred Smoot, and Santana Moss.
Laughlin was particularly moved by the honor, as it was his first in the category during his decades-long television career.
During his acceptance speech, Laughlin said he was “in disbelief that after all these years I get one of these, but better late than never. I’m happy as can be.”
He added on his Instagram Story, “So this happened tonight, I won my first ever solo @capitalemmys for Outstanding Sports Analyst. Special thanks to everyone behind the scenes at @monsportsnet who made this possible!! Beyond grateful.”
Monumental earned a record-setting 14 Capital Emmy Awards after receiving 23 nominations for content produced between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
Other winners familiar to Capitals fans include Alexa Landestoy, the host of the Capitals’ pre- and postgame show along with analyst Alan May, who took home the Emmy for Best Sports Program Host.
Tarik El-Bashir, as well as his team, collected an Emmy for Best Business/Consumer – Long Form Content, after he contributed to SBJ Inside The Industry.
Monumental’s Rachel Nichols and Chris Cillizza won Emmys as well, along with their production teams, for Best Interview/Discussion. Nichols’ episode focused on “The GR8 Chase.”
Monumental also got a nod for Best Sports Story – Short Form Content for “A Visual Journey to 895,” the Alex Ovechkin-focused production surrounding his NHL goals record chase.
Congratulations to all the winners. You can see the all the award recipients from each category here.
