Spaced out over the rest of June, we will feature end-of-season profiles for every player on the Washington Capitals, a year-in-review of sorts looking at their statistics, story lines and such. The full list of published pieces can be found at the end.
This crossroads had greeted him before, a starring postseason role in his wake, unrestricted free agency in his future and an unknown destination lurking not far down the road. Four years ago, forward Joel Ward burst into the national spotlight with the Nashville Predators, registering 13 points in two rounds and, in the process, earning a new contract with the Washington Capitals, which they later admitted was pricier than market value, because of his playoff acumen.