Veteran Value: Even With Playoff Hopes Slipping, Capitals Culture Stands Strong

Tom Wilson had a career high last Thursday night in Utah. But not one he or the coaching staff would typically be very happy about.

Penalty Minutes.

21 of them, to be exact. 

It's well documented that on a nightly basis, Caps head coach Spencer Carbery can't afford to have Tom Wilson in the box for that long, at least not if the team is to consistently play up to their potential. But on this particular night, Wilson and other veteran players on the Caps took penalties to set the tone and to flex the kind of urgency, leadership and character needed to push for a victory.

After seeing their teammate and alternate captain Matt Roy get his face pinned to the glass by Brandon Tanev, it took mere milliseconds for both Wilson and defender Trevor Van Reimsdyk to toss their gloves and stand up for their teammate. Even though this altercation ultimately put Utah on the power play, the message from Washington was clear: messing with our guys isn't going to go unpunished.

And if two players bum-rushing Tanev and bringing him to the ice wasn't enough, the Capitals most likely and prolific enforcer also made sure he had his say later in the game. Brandon Duhaime for the Nth time this season met the moment on his teammates' behalf, challenging Tanev before earning the adoration of the boys with a rare handshake line at the penalty box.

At that point the game was delicately poised at 3-3. In what was already turning into one of the games of the year, the Caps led by Tom Wilson would stay physical and rally offensively to ultimately win 7-4, banking a massive two points on the road to keep them just about in playoff contention.

This type of tone-setting impact has become par for the course for Duhaime.

Earlier this season in a January 5th tilt in D.C. against Anaheim, the 28-year-old winger out of Providence notably challenged the much larger Jacob Trouba to a bout. About a month prior the Ducks defender doled out a dangerous high hit that ended up injuring Capitals rookie Ryan Leonard.

The score at the time of Duhaime's bout with Trouba? 1-0 in favor of Anaheim.

The score at full time? That's right, the very same 7-4 in favor of Washington. While fights won't alone win you hockey games momentum matters, and so does being able to manufacture it for your team in different ways and in challenging moments.

Leonard, the 21-year-old who is beginning to grow into his physicality and had a rare fight of his own this week, expressed how important that moment was.

"It's unbelievable. It went without saying that you knew my teammate was going to step up for me. And that's just the type of brotherhood we have in there. It doesn't go unnoticed, and it means a lot".

Leno went on to say he is "really, really, really fortunate to be part of this group" for how they stand up for and support each other. 

Head coach Spencer Carbery preached to the locker room that night that standing up for one another was "the most important part of the f**** game."  

You might hear these types of statements from any well media-trained NHL player or coach, but if you take a look around the league it’s important to remember that actions speak louder than words.  

Particularly at a time where the locker room in Toronto will seemingly look the other way and keep on skating while their captain writhes in pain on the ice, Capitals culture stands out. I think it goes without saying that if Auston Matthews were a Cap, there is absolutely no way they would have let Radko Gudas escape accountability. It’s actually almost unfathomable when you consider the guys on this team, the type of bond they have, and their track record for standing up for each other.

This late in the year a healthy team dynamic may seem like consolation considering Washington’s place in the standings. But in what to some is becoming a lost season (Washington has a 1% chance to make the playoffs at the time of writing), Caps fans can at least take solace in the fact that the growing glut of young talent in the pipeline has the right kind of vets in the locker room to set an example. 

Coaches will come and go. With them so will systems and strategies.

Players will come and go. Lines will shake up and roles will shift.

But some teams around the league have culture that transcends the inevitable revolving door of personnel in the NHL. Washington is fortunate enough to be one of them.

But Washington is also a team in transition. Some of the long-time culture-setters like John Carlson and Nic Dowd are already gone as of the trade deadline. Soon enough Ovechkin, the spiritual leader and captain of the team, will hang it up. And one day however many years down the line, so will Tom Wilson. But Ryan Leonard won’t soon forget the type of teammates he had when he was making his transition into the NHL. Neither will Cole Hutson, or Justin Sourdif, or anyone else on the long list of talented prospects that are expected to slowly be more and more integrated into the team over the next few seasons (looking at you Miro, lil Pro, and others).

All that to say that one day Leno himself could be the guy setting the tone and standing up for the young guys, inspired by those that came before him and had his back when he needed it most.

Given the exciting prospect pool I think many would say the future is bright in Washington. But this is especially true if the young players of today can maintain and build on this culture, preserving it for the next generation of Capitals and continuing to inspire camaraderie, solidarity, and brotherhood.