When it comes to jersey number history for teams, the retired numbers often have the greatest meaning for fans. For the Washington Capitals, these jerseys include numbers five (Rod Langway), seven (Yvon Labre), 11 (Mike Gartner), 32 (Dale Hunter), and soon-to-be eight (Alex Ovechkin) and probably 19 (Nicklas Backstrom).
While these players and their jersey numbers have been a big part of memories for fans, it’s also interesting to look at a different side of it and examine which numbers fans remember because of the number of times they’ve been worn. In this article, I do just that by looking at the most worn numbers in Capitals’ history. A quick fun fact before starting: none of the four most popular jersey numbers have been worn by goalies.
Number 24
The fourth most worn number in Capitals’ history is number 24. Ironically, it’s been worn by a total of 24 players. There have been 17 forwards and seven defensemen representing these digits in the team’s history. The most recent player to wear this number was Connor McMichael, who’s worn it for the past three seasons in the stints he’s had with the Capitals.
There are no big-name players that wore this jersey number, but there are some names many would recognize from across the league. Matt Cooke wore this number with the team in his brief 17-game stint in the 2007-08 season. Within the organization, defensemen Robert Picard and Mark Tinordi are both solid players with good NHL experience to have donned this jersey number. Tinordi wore this jersey for the most straight seasons, wearing it from 1994-95 to 1998-99.
Number 28
The third most worn jersey number in the team’s history is number 28, worn by 25 players including 15 forwards and 10 defensemen. The most recent player to wear this number was Connor Brown in 2022-23. He could’ve worn it for more than the four games he played in if it weren’t for injuries keeping him out all season.
When it comes to number 28 for the Caps, the list has one star player that stands out amongst the others. Alexander Semin represented number 28 pretty well in 2003-04 and from 2006-07 to 2011-12 by putting up 197 goals and 408 points in 469 games with the team. This includes three 30-plus goal seasons, including one where he hit 40 goals in just 73 games played. The lethal scorer, who played alongside Ovechkin during the Capitals’ prime seasons, was also the player who wore it for the most seasons.
Related: Washington Capitals Jersey History
Other than Semin, notable names such as Jeff Brown and current Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason, in his brief stint with the team, wore this jersey number for the Capitals. Jakub Jerabek was the player who wore number 28 when they won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Number 23
The second most worn jersey number in Capitals’ history is number 23 and was represented by 26 players. In total, 22 forwards and two defensemen have worn this number in the team’s history. The most recent player to wear 23 was Michael Sgarbossa, who claimed it for three straight seasons despite appearing in only 17 games for the Capitals during this time. No player was wearing it when the team won its Stanley Cup.
There aren’t many notable players to have worn this number for the Capitals. One big name is former 55-goal scorer Brian Bellows, but he wasn’t in the prime of his career. Bellows, who scored 485 goals and 1,022 points in 1,188 games spent the final two years of his career with the Capitals, scoring 23 goals and 45 points with the team during that time. He was also pretty important in the Capitals’ Stanley Cup Final loss in 1998, finishing fourth in scoring with 13 points in 21 games.
The Top Number: 25
The most commonly worn jersey number in Capitals’ history is number 25, which was worn by a grand total of 27 players. It was popular amongst forwards on the team, with 22 of them wearing the number, with the five others being defensemen. The most recent player was Dylan McIlrath, who dressed in six games last season.
Although the list of players having worn this jersey number isn’t star-studded, there are some names many fans remember. The player who wore it for the longest time was Jason Chimera, who gave the Capitals some decent years as a consistent third-line forward. A fan favorite in Devante Smith-Pelly succeeded him two seasons later as the player who wore it during their Stanley Cup-winning season. The most talented to arguably have worn this number is Andrew Cassels, who accumulated 732 points in his career in just over 1,000 games played.
In brief, if there’s one thing jersey number history has shown in teams, it’s that the flashiest numbers aren’t often the most memorable. While we’ve seen the number 25 being repped so many times on the ice for the Capitals, it’s the jersey numbers like 11 and eight that stick with fans forever.
