Ted Leonsis

Ted Leonsis says Capitals will make ‘the necessary adjustments’ to continue competing for Stanley Cup

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.

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By Ian Oland 2 weeks ago

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Report: Ted Leonsis in talks to buy the Washington Nationals

On Monday, the Washington Post reported that the Lerner family is exploring selling the Washington Nationals MLB franchise.

On Tuesday, Jason Bishop of the Sports Junkies radio program said that Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has had discussions with the Lerners to buy the team.

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By Peter Hassett 2 months ago

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The Washington Capitals are the 11th most valuable NHL franchise according to Forbes

Forbes has come out with their yearly valuations of each NHL franchise and the Washington Capitals are still among the most valuable franchises in the league.

Forbes has the Caps as worth $930 million making them the 11th most valuable franchise in the league. The franchise, under Ted Leonsis’ leadership, has grown 24-percent in value since last year.

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By Chris Cerullo 6 months ago

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According to Sportico, the Washington Capitals are the 8th most valuable franchise in the NHL

Sportico, a resource for sports business news, came out with its valuations of every NHL franchise on Thursday. The Washington Capitals have become one of the most valuable franchises in the NHL under Ted Leonsis’s leadership.

The Capitals are valued as the eighth-most valuable franchise at $1.17 billion after having the most successful decade in franchise history.

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By Chris Cerullo 7 months ago

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Ted Leonsis: Alex Ovechkin ate 8 cantaloupes after being picked by the Capitals first overall in the 2004 NHL Draft

The Washington Capitals held a digital press conference with Alex Ovechkin on Thursday, celebrating The Great 8’s five-year contract extension that will keep him in the District through 2026.

Hosted by NBC Sports Washington’s Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin, the press conference served more like a live video podcast between Ovechkin and representatives from the Capitals organization, which included majority owner Ted Leonsis, president Dick Patrick, and GM Brian MacLellan.

The format allowed Leonsis, an emotional, sentimental, and articulate person, the opportunity to share several stories about Ovechkin from his past, including the first night he met him at the 2004 NHL Draft in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ovechkin apparently was very hungry.

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By Ian Oland 10 months ago

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Ted Leonsis on Alex Ovechkin’s contract negotiations: ‘I’m not concerned. He’s not concerned. Our concern is the Boston Bruins.’

Capitals majority owner Ted Leonsis spoke to the media on Friday morning and one of the biggest topics of the conversation was negotiations on Alex Ovechkin’s new contract.

After Brian MacLellan set expectations that a deal could be done as early as training camp, there seemingly has been no news.

Leonsis is not worried though.

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By Cara Bahniuk 1 year ago

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Current and former Capitals teammates say really nice things about Nicklas Backstrom

The Washington Capitals went all out to celebrate Nicklas Backstrom’s 1,000th NHL game on Thursday.

The team formed a stick tunnel for Backstrom to skate out to, players wore number 19 jerseys during warmups, and the organization held a pregame ceremony which included a touching tribute video.

The Capitals also debuted a splash page on their website dedicated to all things N1KY, including 20 sweet video messages from Nicky’s past and former teammates and coaches.

We transcribed them all and also dug out a few more tributes from social media.

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By Elizabeth Kong and Ian Oland 1 year ago

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The Capitals’ first home game with fans will be April 27 against the Islanders. Season-ticket holders will get priority on tickets.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment had their waiver approved last week by the DC government to reopen Capital One Arena for Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards games. Now, MSE is announcing its plans moving forward.

The Washington Capitals’ first game with fans will be their April 27th home game against the New York Islanders. 2,100 fans will be allowed to attend at a maximum, which is 10 percent capacity. The Capitals will give tickets to DMV first responders and frontline and essential workers of the COVID-19 response and honor them during the game.

“Our fans bring a lot of energy to our arena,” Jakub Vrana said recently. “They’re like an extra player for us. Even if it’s not going to be full, we’ll still be happy to see people in the stands cheering for us, giving us some extra energy. We’ve been missing that. Without them, it’s been quiet out there.”

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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Alex Ovechkin and TJ Oshie congratulate Nicklas Backstrom on reaching 700 assists, call him a ‘future Hall of Famer’

Lost in the chaos and controversy of the Capitals’ 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins was Nicklas Backstrom’s 700th career assist.

The apple put Backstrom in exclusive company, among a who’s who of Hockey Hall of Famers. Backstrom is the first Capital, the 10th European player, and the 54th NHL’er in history to reach the milestone.

After the game, the Capitals posted a tribute video and several teammates shared their congratulations for Backy.

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By Ian Oland 1 year ago

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