In an effort to beat the summer doldrums, we're undertaking to rank - with your help - the Washington Capitals (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: here's a recap of last year's rankings; previous "Ranking the Capitals 2010" posts can be found here.]

Welcome Andrew Gordon to the list and Trevor Bruess to the poll...

1. Alex Ovechkin
2. Nicklas Backstrom
3. Mike Green
4. Alexander Semin
5. John Carlson
6. Semyon Varlamov
7. Jeff Schultz
8. Brooks Laich
9. Karl Alzner
10. Mike Knuble
11. Eric Fehr
12. Michal Neuvirth
13. Tom Poti
14. Tomas Fleischmann
15. Marcus Johansson
16. Jason Chimera
17. Matt Bradley
18. Mathieu Perreault
19. Boyd Gordon
20. David Steckel
21. Braden Holtby
22. Cody Eakin
23. Andrew Gordon