If there’s one thing upon which we all can agree, it’s that Twitter sucks now. To an extent, of course, Twitter always has sucked for a myriad of reasons we don’t need to get into here – but the social media platform has also always had its moments. Still does, if you can sift through the Nazis and bots. Besides being a good source of real-time information (trustworthy or otherwise), “there’s always a tweet” to fit a mood or a situation.
And so for no good or particular reason, here’s a non-hockey tweet for every Caps season of the Alex Ovechkin Era. Just go with it.
2005-06
They tore it all down and had their cornerstone, but there was no way that season wasn’t going to feature a whole hell of a lot of losing… and only three teams ended up with a lower points percentage (which, of course, allowed them to draft their other cornerstone, so… mission accomplished).
2006-07
Rebuilds take time, and for the second-straight season they finished 27th in the League while reigning Calder Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin “only” scored 46 goals.
2007-08
The ascension begins as Nick Backstrom and Bruce Boudreau arrive, George McPhee bolsters the team at the trade deadline, and a near-miracle run to the playoffs whets the appetite for what the future might hold.
2008-09
The “Rock the Red” Caps might not have been your father’s Washington Capitals, but they were still fully capable of blowing two-game series leads to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Alas.
2009-10
After taking a 3-1 first round series lead over Montreal, the Presidents Trophy-winning Caps… well, you know what they did.
2010-11
In the wake of successive playoff flameouts and an in-season losing streak, the Caps change things up that maybe shouldn’t have been changed up and get similar results. At least they tried?
2011-12
There’s only one coach in the last 20 years who has truly been able to contain Alex Ovechkin (Kirk Muller notwithstanding), and unfortunately he did so from behind the Caps’ bench for the season’s last 60 games. That said, the Caps pulled off a fun first-round upset of Boston and nearly took down the Rangers in the second round as Braden Holtby arrived on the scene, so it wasn’t all for naught.
2012-13
For a second-straight postseason, the Caps bow out to the New York Rangers, as Adam Oates tries out his hand at head coaching in a lockout-shortened season. At least he got Ovi back on track?
2013-14
The Oates Era comes to a screeching halt (and takes McPhee with it). Clean(ish) slate time.
2014-15
2015-16
The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Caps face the Eastern Conference’s second-best team – and eventual Stanley Cup Champions – in the second round of the playoffs because of a deeply flawed tournament structure that hopefully never changes because if the Caps got screwed by it, so should everyone else.
2016-17
Lather, rinse, repeat. Probably the most painful moment of the Ovechkin Era, and one that certainly felt like the Caps’ last best chance at glory. Until…
2017-18 – Round 1
Bonus round-by-round tweets for 2017-18, starting with the Caps dropping the first two games of Round 1 at home and being a lucky bounce (two, actually) from finding themselves down 3-0 in the series before rallying. It is literally never easy with the Caps.
2017-18 – Round 2
The demons have been exorcised with the biggest goal in club history.
2017-18 – Round 3
2017-18 – Round 4
Had to smuggle a hockey tweet in here.
2018-19
Time to pay the piper, as players and a special head coach head out of town and the Caps are left with a Cup hangover. Worth it.
2019-20
Yeah, as it turns out, something was missing. Maybe someone was missing. But the vibes were off (also, COVID happened), and a second-straight first-round exit for a divisional one-seed spelled the end for Todd Reirden.
2020-21
Enter seasoned veteran coach Peter Laviolette and Holtby’s heir apparent to fix things. Things were not fixed.
2021-22
Another slog for a team that was really starting to show its age and whose future was growing dimmer by the day.
2022-23
Reality and self-awareness return to D.C. and Laviolette exits.
2023-24
A late-season playoff push notwithstanding, this year’s Caps weren’t a great (or maybe even good) team. But squint and you can see the vision and a plan for the first time in a while. It may well get a little worse before it gets better, but it will get better.