On Frozen Blog

Even in the prime of his career, there was a fairly pervasive sense that Peter Bondra, today the holder of six Washington Capitals’ offensive records, was never a member of the NHL’s elite class of superstar. Or even if he was one.
He was.
Truly, he was one of sports’ most anonymous superstars of the 1990s. I cannot recall even a modest ESPN feature segment showcasing his ample arsenal of sniping skills. This for the scorer of more than 500 NHL goals — most of them in bunches. And ESPN was the NHL’s broadcast home for almost the entirety of Bondra’s career.
No matter. He may have scored in record-setting fashion without media fanfare, but he surely secured the career-long, passionate appreciation of Caps’ fans.
Approximately 95 percent of his 503 goals (472) were scored in a Caps’ sweater. He is remembered as fondly as he is by as many Caps’ fans as he is because in addition to scoring as frequently as he did, he did so with an endearing, infectious exuberance: there was artistry to his besting NHL goaltenders in elite fashion but also in the wide-eyed, even wider grinned, pressed-against-the-plexiglass manner which he celebrated with the home crowd.
Bondra’s place in the pantheon of all-time great Washington athletes is secure. He merits mentioning among the likes of Darrell Green, Walter Johnson, and Wes Unseld as a giant in athletic D.C.
A compelling case could be made for his classification as the Capitals’ all-time best player. Some of his offensive records (such as his 32 shorthanded goals) will withstand even Alexander Ovechkin’s special forces assault.
Peter Bondra retired from professional hockey this week. He was, from the finding of a single Caps’ scout (Jack Button), the greatest gift HockeyWashington ever received. Who would have imagined that such a slice of hockey heaven could be plucked from round seven (1990) of an entry draft?
Bondra ranks among the most popular players ever to wear a Caps’ sweater, and it was easy to understand his appeal: he didn’t just score lots and lots of goals, he did so with a sniper’s flair and a stallion’s speed. And in the immediate glow of the red lamp’s lighting and the shriek of the celebratory siren, he capped it off with his genuine exuberance. He invited the home crowd into his glee and in so doing nurtured a career-long connection with Caps’ fans. A half-inch of plexiglass ever separated Bonzai from them in the Capital Center and then MCI Center, but that physical barrier seemed only conceptual in his hundreds of celebrations over 14 years here.
In recent seasons I’d become distracted from my longstanding appreciation of Bonzai by some insiders’ reflections of intermittent acrimony between Bondra and the Caps as well as my conviction that he never should have worn any sweater but Washington’s. Management and the Bondra didn’t always see eye to eye, with blame likely shared by both sides. This, too, is part of his legacy in Washington. But now that I don’t have him any more, now that I can’t have him any more, I really miss him.

Never can I think of Peter Bondra without having evoked for me, at the warp speed at which he moved, images of his world-class skating. In his prime, over some years, he ranked among the NHL’s half dozen or so fastest skaters. Indeed, twice he won fastest skater competitions at All Star weekend skills events. But what impressed me more than his raw speed was his technical brilliance as a skater.
To watch Peter Bondra skate was to be convinced that he was genetically encoded to be one of the planet’s best skaters. That distinctive Bondra crouch, perfectly balanced, his weight perfectly distributed, locomotive-like in his sturdiness, Acela-like in his blur. Some in hockey believe that the game’s greatest skaters are born that way. Watching Peter Bondra in skates reinforced this theory for me.
This may be an appreciative writer’s embellishment, but my recollection was that public address announcer Wes Johnson placed a bit of an ALL CAPS bit of inflection to Bonzai’s tallies. “CAPITALS GOAL . . . scored by number twelve . . . P-E-T-E-R . . . B-O-N-D-R-AAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!”
It sure seemed so.
That sigh of relief you may have heard emanate from the American Southeast this week, that came from Tampa Bay. No team was tormented by Bondra quite like Tampa was. The Caps defeated Tampa 6-3 on February 5, 1994. Bondra had five of the goals. There was something about Bondra in February versus Tampa. On February 3, 1999, he aided the Caps’ 10-1 demolishing of the Bolts with four goals.
I liked seeing Bondra, in season, attending his children’s hockey games in the region. I liked better seeing him out on the ice as a parent instructor during youth practices. Imagine the thrill those youths must have experienced, looking up at Peter the Great sharing a sheet of ice with them.
On weekends a few years back I’d sharpen skates at a rink Bondra and his family frequented, and he was fond of coming by and asking if he could put a personalized edge on his son’s skates. Like I was gonna say no. I learned some terrific tricks from him about running blades along the horizontal stone and imparting a consistent razor’s edge on hockey skates. One Sunday at the rink Bondra was there watching one of his kids play while a birthday party was taking place in another portion of the facility. The birthday boy, aged 8, was wearing a Bondra Caps’ jersey and seated at the head of the party table, balloons engulfing him. He had about 12 of his friends in the room with him, and of course lots of parents snapping picture after picture. I went over to the stands where Peter was seated and informed him of what I thought might be a novel visit he could make. Five minutes later I watched as he waltzed into that party room, that goal-scoring smile on his face, and say to the stunned assembly, “Anybody in here a hockey fan?”
More recently I’ve wondered what kind of reception the Capitals had in mind for Peter once he was officially retired. I’m pretty sure I got an answer within hours of Bondra’s announcement this week. In his reflections on Bondra, Capitals’ owner Ted Leonsis noted, “Peter will be welcomed back into the Washington Capitals family.” I thought the speed of Ted’s announcement marvelous. He didn’t allow us time enough even to wonder.
Kind of like Bonzai rushing in from the right wing in full flight.