What is in a Name?

By Scott Hurrey | October 9th, 2009

While traversing the web today reading up on the Washington Capitals, I stumbled across a piece by Chris Needham on NBCWashington.com. The article was mainly a response to a blog written by our friends at OnFrozenBlog.com, regarding the possibility that the Caps’ current top line of Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin could be one of the greatest of all time.

As Chris points out, it is quite early in the careers of these guys to start calling them the greatest ever. They are fantastic together — after four games, they have combined for 28 points – but longevity and consistency and success are all necessary ingredients to make that claim stick. It would be hard to argue, however, that they aren’t the greatest right now.

That being said, the real reason I wanted to blog about this is to address a piece at the bottom of Needham’s blog:

Meanwhile, if they’re going to be in the discussion, as OFB notes, they need a snazzy nickname.  When hockey fans hear the Legion of Doom, the Production Line or the French Connection, their mind instantly races to some awesome combos.

So what would you call these guys?

Japers’ Rink suggests the SOB Line.  Passable, but not quite the ring we’re going for.  The Rush’n Attack (with apologies to the old and terrible NES game)?

The Semin… hmm…  That probably won’t work.

If they’re going to be the best ever, that catchy nickname is something all Caps fans will have to work on.

So what do you think Caps’ fans? I have been anticipating these three guys on the ice together since Backstrom was drafted. My first thought at the beginning of last season was the SOB line, as Japers’ Rink suggests. I also thought about the BOSS line, as one of Needham’s commenters posted. But I don’t think they are flashy or descriptive enough. It has to be something that describes their style of play, their ability to come through in the clutch and their dominance.

You could go European (I think going Russian is a disservice to Backstrom ala Rush’N Attack from above). You could go conceptual, something like ‘The Line Your Mama Warned You About’. You could go Washington-ese, with something along the lines of ‘Capital Punishment’ or ‘The Department of Offense’. Let’s see what you’ve got. Leave your comment with your ideas. If you like one of mine, please feel free to stroke my ego and say so.

Perhaps in a week or so, we will take a vote. Who ever comes up with the winning nickname, will win a prize. ** I look forward to reading your responses!

** Not really, but it sounded good.