For the fourth straight season, hockey journalist James Mirtle has released his annual compilation of team’s physical stats. The report details the average height, weight and age for all 31 NHL teams based on each team’s current rosters. So how do the Capitals stack up for the 2019-2020 season? Let’s take a look.

First, for further review and comparison, here are our Capitals reports from previous seasons:

• 2018-2019 “Capitals Tale Of The Tape” can be found here.
• 2017-2018 “Capitals Tale Of The Tape” can be found here.
• 2016-2017 “Capitals Tale Of The Tape” can be found here.
• 2015-2016 “Capitals Tale Of The Tape” can be found here.

The data utilized is sourced from the fine folks at Natural Stat Trick, and compiled by James Mirtle of The Athletic (pay).

AVERAGE AGE

The Capitals are currently the 10th oldest team in the league at an average age of 27.9 years of age. The average age of an NHL player is currently 27.3 years old. For the 2017-2018 season, the Capitals were the 7th oldest team, also with an average age of 27.9 years of age. The average age of an NHL player last season was 27.1 years of age. For the 2016-2017 season, the Capitals were the 13th oldest team in the league at 27.5 years of age. The NHL average was again 27.1 years of age.

AVERAGE HEIGHT

The Capitals are the 16th tallest team in the League this season at an average of 73.2 inches. The average height for the league is 73.1 inches, or 6’-1”. Last season the Capitals were the 15th tallest team at an average of  73.2 inches. For the 2016-2017 season, the Capitals were the 6th tallest team in the league at 73.4 inches – the NHL average was 6′-1″)

AVERAGE WEIGHT

The Capitals are the third heaviest team in the league this season at an average weight of 204.8 pounds. The league average is 199.3 pounds. Last season the Capitals were the fifth heaviest team in the NHL at an average of 204.3 pounds. The NHL average was also 199.3 pounds.) For the 2016-2017 season, the Capitals were the third heaviest team in the league at 205 pounds).

CAPITALS TRENDS

So how are the Capitals and the league trending? The Capitals average age of 27.9 years is the same as last season, a half year above the league average of 27.3 years of age, which is up from last years league average of 27.1 years of age. So the Capitals age cross section basically remains the same while the league average has climbed a bit.

The Capitals remain in the middle of the pack when it comes to average player height – just a tic taller than the league average.

The Capitals remain one of the leagues heaviest teams, up a half of a pound from last season.

LEAGUE TRENDS

According to Mirtle, defensemen continue to decrease slightly in height. Fifteen percent of all defencemen to skate in a game this season are under 6-feet tall. On average, blueliners are still taller than forwards, but that gap appears to be narrowing. Goalies continue to grow, to the point that they’re now averaging nearly 6-foot-2.5 and more than 200 pounds.

Mirtle also notes that after years of a general trend of the league getting younger, the NHL seems to have found its equilibrium around 27 years old. In fact, the players who have played in the league so far this year are slightly older than last year’s group (which had an average age of 27.1).

By Jon Sorensen