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1999-2000 Stat Leaders Stat  Leader  No.  Goals  Chris Simon  29  Assists  Adam Oates  56  Points  Adam Oates  71  +/-  Sergei Gonchar  26  Shots  Chris Simon  201  Ice Time (F)  Adam Oates  22:20  Ice Time (D)  Calle Johansson  23:55  Faceoff Pct.  Adam Oates  56.76%  Hits  Brendan Witt  322  PP Pts  Adam Oates  21   SH Pts  Jeff Halpern  4

Go ahead and try to get a handle on this team. We dare you. In 1997-98, the Capitals were the surprise success story of the league that ended up in the Stanley Cup finals. Then, for 1998-99, the team laid an egg, the surprise disappointment of the league that didn't even make the playoffs. In the offseason Abe Pollin sold the team to Ted Leonsis and Jonathan Ledecky.

For their new owners in 1999-2000, the Caps performed the Tale of Two Seasons show. On Dec. 31, Washington owned a 13-16-7 record. But who knew that a 1-1 tie with St. Louis on New Year's Day would spark a 31-win second-half run? Washington barreled into the playoffs with these distinctions behind them: 44 wins, 102 points, the No. 2 seed, the NHL's best record in January and the league's best home record.

But you know what caught up with the Caps? Playoff games aren't in January and, reacting to a first-round scheduling quirk that favored the underdog Penguins, Ron Wilson brazenly declared that Washington could play its entire first-round series on the road and win. The master motivator miscalculated and the No. 7 seed handed him his hat.

Since then, the argument that Washington has become a better team is less compelling than the argument that they're just a year older.

For more on the Capitals, bookmark this page and check back Wednesday, Oct. 11 for a Sports Illustrated Scouting Report.

BRIGHT SPOTS		GRAY AREAS
Olaf Kolzig found his Godzilla form. In 73 games, he paced the NHL's fourth-ranked goaltending team with a 41-20-11 record, 2.24 GAA, .917 save percentage and five shutouts. Sergei Gonchar finished sixth in points (54), fourth in plus-minus (27) and tied for second in goals (18) among defensemen. Richard Zednik scored a career high 19 goals and 35 points and former Princeton standout Jeff Halpern scored 18 goals in his rookie season. Chris Simon is a force. He creates his own room around the net and his touch gives him a shot at scoring a lot inside 15 feet. With this being an election year, maybe more people will be talking about Washington.		Kolzig is recovering from minor arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, performed Sept. 26, and he'll miss up to five regular-season games. Washington's backup is Craig Billington. Free agent negotiations have been troublesome with Simon. Future of Peter Bondra is unclear. He'd like to be traded and since he's an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, the Caps probably agree. Adam Oates is one of the NHL's most automatic point-producers, but he's 38 and he plays a ton. Anemic power play ranked 21st overall, and only three teams scored fewer power-play goals.

Comings
Player	Pos.	From	Via
Craig Berube	LW	Philadelphia	Free agent
Craig Billington	G	Washington	Re-signed
Sebastien Charpentier	G	Washington	Re-signed
Sylvain Cote	D	Dallas	Free agent
Matthew Herr	LW	Washington	Re-signed
Ken Klee	D	Washington	Re-signed
Joe Murphy	RW	Washington	Re-signed
Andrei Nikolishin	C	Washington	Re-signed
Mike Peluso	RW	Washington	Re-signed
Stephane Richer	RW	St. Louis	Free agent
Todd Rohloff	D	Chicago	Free agent
Remi Royer	D	Chicago	Trade
Joe Sacco	LW	Washington	Re-signed
Brendan Witt	D	Washington	Re-signed
Rob Zettler	D	Washington	Re-signed

Goings
Player	Pos.	To	Via
Nolan Baumgartner	D	Chicago	Trade
Martin Brochu	G	Calgary	Free agent
Jim McKenzie	LW	New Jersey	Free agent
Barrie Moore	D	Columbus	Expansion
Greg Orekhovsky	D	Minnesota	Expansion
Steve Poapst	D	Chicago	Free agent
Jeff Toms	LW	N.Y. Islanders	Free agent

Prospect Watch
Kris Beech, C, 6' 3", 184
Born: Feb. 5, 1981 in Salmon Arm, British Columbia
Acquired: 1999 entry draft (No. 7 overall)
Considered by the organization as a potential franchise center, the former Calgary Hitmen star is got every chance to stick with the team at the age of 19. He was hampered by a sore shoulder throughout camp, but will start the season in Washington, perhaps on the fourth line. "Replacement for Adam Oates" is a daunting title to live up to, but the Capitals think Beech is worth it. In 1999-2000 in the WHL, he scored 32 goals and 86 points in 67 games.

Get the Highlighter
Saturday, Oct. 6 vs. Los Angeles. Playing host to the Kings on opening night.
Wednesday, Jan. 3 at Pittsburgh. In the place where it all came crashing down last season at about the time things picked up for the Capitals in 1999-2000.

Quoteworthy
"Overall, the goal this year is simple -- do better than last year. That doesn't necessarily mean getting more points than we did last year, getting 102 points is an awful lot. The goal is to stay healthy and perform better in the playoffs than we did last year."
—Ted Leonsis

Team-by-team previews compiled by CNNSI.com's Ken Klavon, Jamie MacDonald and Jimmy Traina.

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