2001–02 Washington Capitals season

The 2001–02 Washington Capitals season was the team's 28th season of play. The team finished second in the Southeast, but ninth overall in the Eastern Conference to miss the playoffs for the first time since the 1998–99 season.

Off-season On September 27, Steve Konowalchuk and Brendan Witt were named co-captains.

Regular season The Caps tied the New Jersey Devils for fewest short-handed goals scored, with just 2.

Final standings

Schedule and results

|1||October 6, 2001||6–1 || align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2001–02) ||1–0–0–0 ||

|2||October 8, 2001||0–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2001–02) ||1–1–0–0 ||

|3||October 10, 2001||5–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2001–02) ||2–1–0–0 ||

|4||October 12, 2001||1–2 || align="left"| @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02) ||2–2–0–0 ||

|5||October 13, 2001||2–5 || align="left"| @ Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02) ||2–3–0–0 ||

|6||October 16, 2001||3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (2001–02) ||3–3–0–0 ||

|7||October 19, 2001||4–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (2001–02) ||4–3–0–0 ||

|8||October 20, 2001||3–6 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02) ||4–4–0–0 ||

|9||October 23, 2001||1–1 OT|| align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02) ||4–4–1–0 ||

|10||October 24, 2001||4–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (2001–02) ||5–4–1–0 ||

|11||October 26, 2001||0–1 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02) ||5–5–1–0 ||

|12||October 30, 2001||0–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02) ||5–6–1–0 ||

|13||November 2, 2001||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Phoenix Coyotes (2001–02) ||5–6–2–0 ||

|14||November 3, 2001||1–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (2001–02) ||5–7–2–0 ||

|15||November 6, 2001||2–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02) ||5–8–2–0 ||

|16||November 8, 2001||2–3 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02) ||5–9–2–0 ||

|17||November 10, 2001||3–0 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02) ||6–9–2–0 ||

|18||November 13, 2001||5–11 || align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2001–02) ||6–10–2–0 ||

|19||November 15, 2001||0–5 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02) ||6–11–2–0 ||

|20||November 17, 2001||4–1 || align="left"| Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (2001–02) ||7–11–2–0 ||

|21||November 21, 2001||3–2 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02) ||8–11–2–0 ||

|22||November 23, 2001||6–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (2001–02) ||9–11–2–0 ||

|23||November 24, 2001||3–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (2001–02) ||9–12–2–0 ||

|24||November 27, 2001||5–5 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2001–02) ||9–12–3–0 ||

|25||November 28, 2001||2–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2001–02) ||9–13–3–0 ||

|26||November 30, 2001||6–2 || align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02) ||10–13–3–0 ||

|27||December 2, 2001||4–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02) ||11–13–3–0 ||

|28||December 4, 2001||5–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers (2001–02) ||12–13–3–0 ||

|29||December 6, 2001||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02) ||12–13–4–0 ||

|30||December 8, 2001||1–3 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (2001–02) ||12–14–4–0 ||

|31||December 11, 2001||2–2 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02) ||12–14–5–0 ||

|32||December 13, 2001||2–1 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (2001–02) ||13–14–5–0 ||

|33||December 15, 2001||5–2 || align="left"| Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02) ||14–14–5–0 ||

|34||December 19, 2001||2–5 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (2001–02) ||14–15–5–0 ||

|35||December 21, 2001||3–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02) ||14–16–5–0 ||

|36||December 22, 2001||4–4 OT|| align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02) ||14–16–6–0 ||

|37||December 26, 2001||1–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (2001–02) ||14–17–6–0 ||

|38||December 28, 2001||3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Dallas Stars (2001–02) ||15–17–6–0 ||

|39||December 30, 2001||5–5 OT|| align="left"| Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02) ||15–17–7–0 ||

|40||January 1, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (2001–02) ||16–17–7–0 ||

|41||January 3, 2002||1–4 || align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2001–02) ||16–18–7–0 ||

|42||January 5, 2002||4–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (2001–02) ||16–19–7–0 ||

|43||January 7, 2002||1–2 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (2001–02) ||16–20–7–0 ||

|44||January 9, 2002||6–3 || align="left"| Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02) ||17–20–7–0 ||

|45||January 11, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02) ||17–20–8–0 ||

|46||January 12, 2002||1–0 || align="left"| @ Florida Panthers (2001–02) ||18–20–8–0 ||

|47||January 14, 2002||1–0 OT|| align="left"| Boston Bruins (2001–02) ||19–20–8–0 ||

|48||January 16, 2002||0–2 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (2001–02) ||19–21–8–0 ||

|49||January 18, 2002||1–3 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (2001–02) ||19–22–8–0 ||

|50||January 19, 2002||1–5 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (2001–02) ||19–23–8–0 ||

|51||January 22, 2002||3–0 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Thrashers (2001–02) ||20–23–8–0 ||

|52||January 23, 2002||3–5 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (2001–02) ||20–24–8–0 ||

|53||January 26, 2002||3–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (2001–02) ||20–25–8–0 ||

|54||January 27, 2002||2–3 OT|| align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (2001–02) ||20–25–8–1 ||

|55||January 30, 2002||1–4 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (2001–02) ||20–26–8–1 ||

|56||February 6, 2002||2–1 || align="left"| Minnesota Wild (2001–02) ||21–26–8–1 ||

|57||February 8, 2002||3–3 OT|| align="left"| @ Nashville Predators (2001–02) ||21–26–9–1 ||

|58||February 9, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02) ||22–26–9–1 ||

|59||February 11, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02) ||23–26–9–1 ||

|60||February 26, 2002||4–3 || align="left"| Florida Panthers (2001–02) ||24–26–9–1 ||

|61||February 28, 2002||2–5 || align="left"| San Jose Sharks (2001–02) ||24–27–9–1 ||

|62||March 2, 2002||3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Ottawa Senators (2001–02) ||25–27–9–1 ||

|63||March 4, 2002||2–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02) ||25–28–9–1 ||

|64||March 6, 2002||3–2 || align="left"| Calgary Flames (2001–02) ||26–28–9–1 ||

|65||March 8, 2002||2–2 OT|| align="left"| @ Carolina Hurricanes (2001–02) ||26–28–10–1 ||

|66||March 10, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| Edmonton Oilers (2001–02) ||27–28–10–1 ||

|67||March 12, 2002||2–5 || align="left"| Dallas Stars (2001–02) ||27–29–10–1 ||

|68||March 15, 2002||4–5 || align="left"| @ San Jose Sharks (2001–02) ||27–30–10–1 ||

|69||March 16, 2002||1–4 || align="left"| @ Edmonton Oilers (2001–02) ||27–31–10–1 ||

|70||March 19, 2002||3–0 || align="left"| @ Colorado Avalanche (2001–02) ||28–31–10–1 ||

|71||March 21, 2002||4–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (2001–02) ||29–31–10–1 ||

|72||March 23, 2002||5–2 || align="left"| @ Columbus Blue Jackets (2001–02) ||30–31–10–1 ||

|73||March 24, 2002||2–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (2001–02) ||30–32–10–1 ||

|74||March 26, 2002||4–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (2001–02) ||31–32–10–1 ||

|75||March 29, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| @ New Jersey Devils (2001–02) ||32–32–10–1 ||

|76||March 30, 2002||4–2 || align="left"| New York Islanders (2001–02) ||33–32–10–1 ||

|77||April 3, 2002||4–1 || align="left"| Tampa Bay Lightning (2001–02) ||34–32–10–1 ||

|78||April 5, 2002||0–0 OT|| align="left"| Ottawa Senators (2001–02) ||34–32–11–1 ||

|79||April 6, 2002||4–5 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (2001–02) ||34–33–11–1 ||

|80||April 9, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| Chicago Blackhawks (2001–02) ||35–33–11–1 ||

|81||April 12, 2002||3–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (2001–02) ||36–33–11–1 ||

|82||April 13, 2002||3–4 OT|| align="left"| New Jersey Devils (2001–02) ||36–33–11–2 ||

Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Capitals only. Player Regular season 68 RW 69 31 48 79 0 30 12 RW 77 39 31 70 −2 80 77 C 66 11 57 68 −2 22 55 D 76 26 33 59 −1 58 10 LW 69 23 29 52 −5 8 9 C 71 17 26 43 5 38 13 C 80 13 23 36 −1 40 17 LW 82 14 17 31 −8 137 8 C 61 9 12 21 2 12 11 C 48 5 14 19 −9 29 20 C 33 1 16 17 3 6 2 D 68 8 8 16 4 38 3 D 70 3 11 14 −15 26 22 LW 28 2 12 14 −2 23 4 D 56 1 13 14 7 12 18 LW 61 7 3 10 −8 44 19 D 68 3 7 10 −1 78 36 C 38 5 3 8 −2 15 14 RW 65 0 7 7 −13 51 29 D 38 2 4 6 −7 41 24 D 49 1 4 5 3 56 51 RW 38 2 2 4 −1 85 58 D 36 1 3 4 −1 20 16 RW 16 1 2 3 −2 6 6 D 11 2 0 2 −4 8 40 D 11 1 0 1 3 4 23 RW 6 0 1 1 0 2 48 RW 8 0 1 1 −4 6 27 C 1 0 1 1 0 0 28 LW 4 0 1 1 −1 0 33 C 9 0 1 1 2 4 37 G 71 0 1 1 8 38 D 16 0 1 1 −2 14 23 C 24 0 1 1 −3 28 1 G 17 0 0 0 0 39 D 2 0 0 0 −1 2 35 G 2 0 0 0 0 34 D 2 0 0 0 −3 0 46 RW 8 0 0 0 −1 0 57 D 4 0 0 0 1 4 41 C 7 0 0 0 −3 2

Goaltending Player Regular season 37 Olaf Kolzig 71 31 29 8 1977 192 2.79 .903 6 4131 1 Craig Billington 17 4 5 3 295 36 3.04 .878 0 710 35 Sebastien Charpentier 2 1 1 0 78 5 2.46 .936 0 122

Awards and records

Awards TypeAward/honorRecipientRef League(annual) NHL Second All-Star Team Sergei Gonchar (Defense) League(in-season) NHL All-Star Game selection Sergei Gonchar Jaromir Jagr

Milestones MilestonePlayerDateRef First game Brian Sutherby October 6, 2001 Stephen Peat October 8, 2001 Chris Corrinet October 30, 2001 Mike Farrell November 23, 2001 Jean-Francois Fortin January 9, 2002 Todd Rohloff Nolan Yonkman January 14, 2002 Sebastien Charpentier April 12, 2002 400th goal scored Peter Bondra December 4, 2001 25th shutout Olaf Kolzig January 22, 2002

Transactions The Capitals were involved in the following transactions from June 10, 2001, the day after the deciding game of the 2001 Stanley Cup Final, through June 13, 2002, the day of the deciding game of the 2002 Stanley Cup Final.

Trades Date Details Ref To Washington Capitals To Tampa Bay Lightning To Washington Capitals To Pittsburgh Penguins To Washington Capitals To New Jersey Devils To Washington Capitals To Vancouver Canucks To Washington Capitals To Chicago Blackhawks To Washington Capitals To Philadelphia Flyers To Washington Capitals To Dallas Stars

Players acquired Date Player Former team Term Via Ref Peter Ferraro Boston Bruins 1-year Free agency Glen Metropolit Tampa Bay Lightning Waivers Colin Forbes Portland Pirates (AHL) 1-year Free agency Ivan Ciernik Ottawa Senators Waivers Trent Whitfield New York Rangers Waivers Benoit Hogue Boston Bruins Waivers Graham Mink Portland Pirates (AHL) 2-year Free agency

Players lost Date Player New team Via Ref Jamie Huscroft Contract expiration (III) Brantt Myhres Contract expiration (UFA) Jason Marshall Minnesota Wild Free agency (UFA) Jeff Nelson Schwenninger Wild Wings (DEL) Free agency Stefan Ustorf Adler Mannheim (DEL) Free agency (VI) James Black Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) Free agency (III) Derek Bekar Los Angeles Kings Free agency (VI) Glen Metropolit Tampa Bay Lightning Waiver draft N/A Steve Shirreffs Reading Royals (ECHL) Free agency (UFA) , retrieved March 11, 2023 Terry Yake Essen Mosquitoes (DEL) Free agency (III) Trent Whitfield New York Rangers Waivers Frantisek Kucera HC Slavia Praha (ELH) Free agency

Signings Date Player Term Contract type Ref Adam Oates 1-year Option exercised Ulf Dahlen 1-year Re-signing Todd Rohloff 2-year Re-signing Andrei Nikolishin 1-year Re-signing Trent Whitfield 1-year Re-signing Corey Hirsch 1-year Re-signing Dean Melanson 2-year Re-signing Sebastien Charpentier 1-year Re-signing Mark Murphy 1-year Re-signing Olaf Kolzig 5-year Re-signing Glen Metropolit 1-year Re-signing Brendan Witt 3-year Extension Jeff Halpern 2-year Re-signing Brian Sutherby 3-year Entry-level Jaromir Jagr 5-year Extension Sebastien Charpentier 1-year Option exercised