Speaking of the nickname for the new NHL franchise... The Washington Pandas? The Pink Violins? The Slapsticks?Those were among the 12,000 entries in a 1974 team-naming contest. According to a 20th Anniversary gameday program, "Comets" was the most popular nickname, with 250 entries, compared with 88 who wrote in "Caps" or "Capitals."
That's what owner Abe Pollin settled on, of course, but consider that he also could have chosen one of these: Domes, Cyclones, Streaks, Blades, Cheetahs, Turtles, Koo-Koos, Ice Skins, Snowflakes, Mosquitoes, Dum Dums, Chimney Sweeps, Watergate Bugs, Wing Pings, Cold Cuts, Catfish, Isms, Apes, Delegates, Whips, Lizards, Toppers, Troopers, Whippers or Colonials.
Back to the "Washington Pandas," just think of it. Instead of Winger, the mascots could have been Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, the giant pandas gifted by China to the National Zoo in 1972. After all, the pair met with about as much success as the Caps of the '70s. From animalplanet.com: "Hsing-Hsing, in his early years, attempted to mate with Ling-Ling's ear, wrist and foot."