Color of Hockey: Capitals' jersey, song remix to mark Black History Month

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles the Washington Capitals Black History Month specialty jersey and a remix of a song/video that honors the 12 Black players in the franchise’s history.

The Washington Capitals are celebrating Black History Month with new duds and a fresh take on a hit old tune.

The Capitals unveiled a specialty jersey earlier this month ahead of the team’s “Celebrating Black History” game against the Vegas Golden Knights at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MNMT, NHLN, SNP, SNW, TVAS).

“It’s a time to shine a light on our year-long commitment to growing the game and just Black achievement in sport,” said Amanda Tischler, the Capitals senior vice president of marketing. “This year, we were able to have a lot of fun through the partnership with Bailiwick Clothing, a company which has a lot of strong D.C. roots.

"So you'll see a variety of different elements, all of the symbolism (Bailiwick) has there, but also just how strong of a design representation it is for the Capitals brand.”

The jersey is a nod to Black culture, but also has a distinct D.C. flavor.

The red jersey features the Capitals Screaming Eagle crest with the eyes, beak and tongue in red, green and yellow to symbolize Black History Month.

The five stars on the eagle signify the Capitals' 51 years in the NHL and their commitment to diverse community outreach, and the gold outline reflects the organization, which has had 12 Black players in its history, as setting the gold standard within the League when it comes to diversity.

Numbers on the back of the jersey feature a pattern that represents small Boundary Stones and laid out diagonally to emulate the diamond geographic shape of Washington, D.C.

The sandstone boundary markers are significant; they were plotted and surveyed by Benjamin Banneker, a Black astronomer and mathemetician who helped lay out the original plan for the District of Columbia in 1791, with the project completed a year later. The stones are the oldest federally placed monuments in the country.

A patch on the left shoulder features the Capitals’ “ALL CAPS” tagline in colors that reflect different skin hues. The patch’s perimeter has the names the 12 Black current and former Capitals players: Mike Marson (1974-79), who became the second Black player in the NHL, 16 years after Willie O'Ree debuted with the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958; Bill Riley (1974-79); Reginald Savage (1990-93), Anson Carter (1996-97, 2003-04), Mike Grier (2002-04), Jason Doig (2002-04), Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre (2003-04), Donald Brashear (2006-09), Joel Ward (2011-15), Madison Bowey (2017-19); Devante Smith-Pelly (2017-19); and rookie forward Justin Sourdif.

“I think it’s pretty cool the patch has all the names of the Black players who have played for the Capitals,” Sourdif said. “They did a good job with it. I think some of those guys would be pretty excited to see that.”

The right patch represents Washington's 51st season and its design was inspired by D.C. vintage Go-Go music posters. The captain’s "C" and sleeve numbers each contain 12 small stripes and a red, green and yellow pattern.

The stripes are another salute to the 12 Black players, while the red, green and yellow pattern represents Black History Month and the Pan-African Flag.

JC Smith, co-founder of Bailiwick with his brother, Jeff, said he was proud and thrilled when the Capitals contacted him in October about designing the Black History Month jerseys.

“I moved here from Ohio years ago and fell in love with the Capitals,” he said. “And then I started researching their history and found out they had the (NHL’s) second and third Black players in their inaugural season, and just realizing that they are among the teams with the most Black players, I thought was a pretty cool thing.”

“Celebrating Black History” Jerseys signed by all players on the Capitals 2025-26 roster are being auctioned off by Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation to benefit the Capitals Capital Impact Fund.

The jerseys are just one element of the Capitals Black History Month celebration at Capital One Arena on Friday.

The team will debut the remix of “Caps 11,” a 2023 song and video performed by the Canadian rapper Saukrates that honored the team’s Black hockey legacy on the arena’s giant scoreboard.

The updated version is titled “District Dozen” and recognizes Sourdif, who has 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 55 games this season. The 23-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers on June 26 for a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

The Richmond, British Columbia, native made Capitals history when he became the first Black player to score a hat trick for them in a 7-4 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 5. He added two assists to finish the game with an NHL career-high five points.

“It's beautiful that he's getting a shot to play, especially with the Great 8 (forward Alex Ovechkin) and all the all the other guys,” said Saukrates, who wrote music for filmmaker Kwame Mason’s 2016 documentary "Soul on Ice: Past, Present & Future."

Saukrates vowed the original “Caps 11” wouldn’t be a one-hit wonder; it was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2023 for short form content, and Saukrates said he appreciates that the Capitals liked the tune enough to let him update it.

“I love the fact that their team is committed consistently,” she said. “Whether they chose me or anybody to do a song, that alone shows a lot of sharing and character within your community. We don't necessarily see that on the news.”