In an effort to beat the summer doldrums, we're undertaking to rank - with your help - the Washington Capitals, from Ovechkin to, well, we'll see (only players under contract will be considered). The criteria is simple: who at this moment is the most valuable player in the organization who hasn't already been ranked? Put another way, if you could only keep one of the remaining players - because of what he brings on the ice or off it, his upside, what he could fetch in trade, and so on - who would it be? Consider age, potential, contract status, organizational depth, etc. - it's your call. And after you vote and defend your selection in the comments, help us out and suggest a name to add to the next poll. [Note: previous "Ranking the Capitals" posts can be found here."]

Welcome Trevor Bruess to the list...

1. Alex Ovechkin
2. Nicklas Backstrom
3. Mike Green
4. Alexander Semin
5. Semyon Varlamov
6. Brooks Laich
7. Karl Alzner
8. Mike Knuble
9. Tom Poti
10. David Steckel
11. John Carlson
12. Jeff Schultz
13. Brendan Morrison
14. Tomas Fleischmann
15. Michal Neuvirth
16. Eric Fehr
17. Boyd Gordon
18. Jose Theodore
19. Oskar Osala
20. Shaone Morrisonn
21. Brian Pothier
22. Matt Bradley
23. Anton Gustafsson
24. Milan Jurcina
25. Chris Bourque
26. John Erskine
27. Chris Clark
28. Mathieu Perreault
29. Braden Holtby
30. Stefan Della Rovere
31. Tyler Sloan
32. Keith Aucoin
33. Francois Bouchard
34. Quintin Laing
35. Jay Beagle
36. Alexandre Giroux
37. Andrew Gordon
38. Sean Collins
39. Josh Godfrey
40. Joe Finley
41. Trevor Bruess