When Abe Pollin delivered his franchise proposition to the NHL his odds of getting a franchise in the US Capital, according to Las Vegas bookmakers were not good. In May of 1972 he made his personal presentation to the NHL Board of Governors. Despite some stiff competition from several other cities, Pollin was granted the franchise on the condition that a suitable arena would be constructed by the 1974-75 season.

Pollin already owned the NBA Baltimore Bullets and decided that he would opt for a facility that could house both sports. After wrangling with the various governing bodies and bureaucratic delays he decided to build the new facility in Landover, Maryland, and called it the Captial Center. The facility was completed in 15 months and had capacity for seating 17,962, and boasted the fact that no seat was further than 200 feet from the ice surface. Pollin was one of the first owners to build in premium luxury suites in the upper levels.

The Capitals hired Jimmy Anderson as their first coach and Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as their first coach. The Capitals joined the league while the WHA was hot for new players and offered big money, and at a time when the NHL's Kansas City Scouts were all after an already tapped hockey market. The result was a lacklustre line up. The "Caps"opened their inaugural season on October 9, 1974 with a 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers in front of 17,500 fans. The Capitals finished the season with several firsts…unfortunately they were the type of firsts that no team wants a part of. Their record for the first season was 8-67-5, and with that they set records for the fewest wins, most losses, most consecutive losses and most goals against.

Their second season wasn't much better, finishing 11-59-10. Max McNab was brought in as the new general manager and he in turn hired Tom McVie as the new coach midway through the season. For their first 8 seasons, the Capitals didn't make it into the playoffs. They finished no better than 4th in their division, and in their best season they managed only 70 points. Certainly there was reason for the many coaching and general manager changes that were made. In the coaching department, Tom McVie was replaced by Danny Belisle who was replaced by Gary Green, then Roger Crozier and finally Bryan Murray took over in the 1982 season to 1988-89.

In the general managers spot, Max McNab was replaced by Roger Crozier and in 1982 David Poile, son of Norman "Bud" Poile took over as the youngest general manager in NHL history. Prior to the beginning of the 1982 season Poile traded Rick Green and Ryan Walter to Montreal in return for Dough Jarvis, Craig Lauglin and Rod Langway. That season the Capitals vaulted to 3rd place in the Patrick Division with 94 points on a 39-25-16 record.

In their first post season series, they faced the New York Islanders and bowed out in 4 games in a best of 5 series. There was more good news for the Caps. Langway won the Norris Trophy, and Scott Stevens, a rookie defenseman was already making a name for himself.

The 1983-84 season saw a further improvement in the standings for the Capitals. They moved up to second in the Patrick Division with a 48-27-5 record. Individuals also continued to improve and take home more hardware at the awards night. Langway won his second Norris Trophy, Jarvis won the Selke Trophy and goalies Al Jensen and Pat Riggin won the Jennings Trophy. Coach Bryan Murray won the Jack Adams award. Despite all of this improvement, the New York Islanders eliminated them in a best of 7 series, 4-1.

The 1985-86 season saw the Capitals finish their first season with 50 wins and 107 points, their best season up to the end of the 1999-2000 season. With players like Dave Christian, Mike Gartner, Bob Carpenter and crack goaltending by Al Jensen, it would have appeared that the Capitals were destined for another march toward the Stanley Cup. Once again however, the Capitals were eliminated, this time by the other New York team, the Rangers.

The following season brought about one of the most memorable games in Capitals history. With a 38-32-10 season they advanced to the playoffs to meet their arch rivals, the New York Islanders. In the 7th game, during the 4th OT period the Islanders finally scored. The Capitals were becoming known as "playoff chokers". It was time for another coaching change and Poile brought in Terry Murray, Bryan's brother as head coach.

The Caps finished the 1989-90 season in 3rd place in the the Patrick Division and went all the way to the third round before being eliminated by the Boston Bruins in 4 straight.

The early '90's saw some changes in the Capitals. Peter Bondra was beginning to show some promise, Kevin Hatcher, Mike Ridley and Michal Pivonka were contributing in a big way. The Caps acquired Joe Juneau from Boston and rookie goaltender Jim Carey captured the Vezina Trophy in 1996. As well, Jim Schoenfeld replaced Terry Murray as head coach in 1993. But those changes were not enough. The fans were getting restless and clamoured for a change. Pollin finally relented and replaced Poile with George McPhee in June of 1997. He also let traded Jim Carey, Anson Carter and Jason Allison to Boston for Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet and goalie Bill Ranford.

One of McPhee's first orders of business was to hire Ron Wilson as coach. Wilson's coaching experience had been with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and he had coached Team USA to victory in the World Cup. His NHL service was with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota North Stars. Over a 10 year career he had 93 points, showing that you don't have to be a great player to make a great coach.

After playing 24 seasons in Landover Maryland, the Capitals moved into a new arena, the MCI Center, located in downtown Washington for the 1997-98 season. The Caps finished the season with a 40-30-12 record and were in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division. Washington took Boston in 6 games, eliminated Ottawa in 5 games and then Buffalo in 6 games. They met the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals and Detroit took out Washington in 4 straight.

The following season, the Capitals didn't make the playoffs. In May of 1999 the Capitals were sold to an investment group let by AOL President Ted Leonsis. Like a yo-yo, the Capitals went from 68 points in 1998-99 and finished the 1999-2000 season with 102 points and lead the Southeast Division. Players like Peter Bondra, Chris Simon, Sergei Gonchar, Adam Oates and goalie Olaf Kolzig rose to the occasion. Oates led the team in scoring and Kolzig won the Vezina Trophy. The Caps met the Penguins in the playoffs and were eliminated in the first round. Bondra, Gonchar and Oates continue to lead the Capitals into the 2000-01 season and Ron Wilson still uses some unconventional coaching methods, and George McPhee continues his position as general manager.