Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s Ted Leonsis notched his 1,000th career victory as Washington Capitals majority owner after his Alex Ovechkin-led club defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2, Wednesday night. Ovechkin scored his 861st career goal in the third period, which would end up being the game-winner.
After the victory, Leonsis was presented with the milestone game puck by Ovechkin inside the locker room at Capital One Arena.
Leonsis hugged Ovechkin and then told his team, “You know I love you guys. I love the team. I love the community. I think we’re the fastest ownership group in the league right now to 1,000 wins so it’s a real accomplishment. It’s the organization that we built and I’m really, really proud of you. This is a feel-good moment. 25 years, 1,000 wins. Let’s do it again.”
According to the Capitals, Leonsis is actually the second fastest active NHL owner to reach the 1,000-win mark, doing so in his 1,907th game. The only owner to do it quicker was Jeremy Jacobs of the Boston Bruins.
“The longevity in what he’s built here as an owner, and I always appreciate the fact that it’s such a stable [organization],” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. “He has built something here from management to — of, ‘Here’s what we care about, here’s what we believe in, and I’m going to let people do their jobs and be the best at their jobs.’
“It’s been impressive because I’ve been able to, not just from being here two years, I remember this back in South Carolina when I was starting in 2011-12, coming up here and just noticing little things about the organization. And it all starts right at the top. You can just tell when you’re around the people in this organization, it starts right at the top, how they treat people, their work ethic, their commitment to excellence, their care for the community. You just feel it in our entire organization: it starts with him.”
Since taking ownership of the team ahead of the 1999-00 season, Leonsis has helped the Caps win a Stanley Cup (2018), three Presidents’ Trophies (2017, 2016, 2010) for the best regular-season record, 12 division titles, and 18 playoff appearances in 24 years.
The Capitals also rank third in the NHL in wins (1,000) and standings points (2,247) and are tied for second in home point percentage (.642) under Leonsis’s leadership.
Congratulations, Ted!
