Approximately one hour before the Capitals' annual media luncheon on Tuesday, majority owner Ted Leonsis agreed to field questions we posed to him in his office at Verizon Center. Our favorite interviews of Mr. Leonsis are those that elicit asymmetric insights from our visionary hockey CEO, and we feel like we got plenty of those on Tuesday.

The owner addressed his organization's full emergence from a rigorous rebuild, to the point where this autumn he presides over a popular preseason pick for Cup contender status. He offered fresh thoughts on the slow death of old media. Asked if the atmosphere in Verizon Center can possibly get any better than that of last spring, he replied, in effect, "Oh yeah!" He explained what management did this offseason to address significant concerns about the quality of the ice surface at Verizon Center. He detailed, in a way we'd never heard before, just how thoroughly integrated the Caps are with their American League affiliate the Hershey Bears, "down to the minute" in individual practices. We also asked the owner, in light of Alexander Ovechkin's status as the greatest hockey talent today on the planet, to indulge us with his reminiscence of the summer of 2005, when he was in draft war room discussions with his general manager and scouts about the uber-exciting prospect from Russia. You won't want to miss that.

Speaking of the Hershey Bears, on Tuesday we recalled a trip Mr. Leonsis made on his jet to a Bears' playoff game a couple of seasons back, a stylish journey of some 17 minutes, and we asked him if he'd consider chartering AirTed for a trip back to Hershey this hockey season, filling the plane exclusively with Washington hockey bloggers. His answer might surprise you.

Over the next couple of days, leading up to the start of the Caps' season, we'll offer you a full reckoning of our visit with one of the NHL's most respected owners.