Heads up, D.C., I’m coming in hot.

This lifelong Chicagoan is making the move to the nation’s capital to cover the Capitals for The Athletic.

Since news of my joining The Athletic to chronicle the continuing adventures of the Stanley Cup champions recently surfaced, many of the comments from Caps fans I’ve seen on social media usually refer to me as “some guy from Chicago” coming to cover the team.

That’s a fair assessment because I am, in fact, some guy from Chicago coming in to cover the team. But you should know this “some guy” knows his hockey, and he knows a good story when he sees it. If you need a quick résumé, here you go: I was the Chicago Tribune’s Blackhawks beat reporter for nearly a decade, including three Stanley Cup championship seasons (2010, 2013, 2015). In all, I’ve covered four Stanley Cup finals, eight NHL All-Star Games, nine NHL drafts, three Winter Classics, the World Cup of Hockey and an NHL lockout. I also covered men’s and women’s hockey at the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi, Russia, in 2014. For good measure, throw in coverage of the Cubs’ historic 2016 World Series title, a college football national championship game and a dalliance as the White Sox beat reporter.

So, yeah, I’ve seen some stuff.

So what does all that mean when it comes to covering the Caps? It means I have a lot of work to do to gain your trust. The best part of having to earn that trust is that I’ll be doing it for an organization that is doing sports journalism right. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-newspapers. I’ll forever have ink stains on my hands — and I’m proud of it.

But here is a big reason I’m thrilled to be joining The Athletic, where my focus will be on delivering in-depth profiles, unique features and an analytical look at the Caps and their up-and-coming prospects. In 2010, I covered the Blackhawks’ first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years, a monumental moment in Chicago sports history. When Patrick Kane scored in overtime against the Flyers in Game 6 to give the Blackhawks the title, I was in the press room of then-named Wachovia Center watching on TV while pounding out a story on deadline.

In 2013, when the Blackhawks scored two goals in 17 seconds to stun the Bruins in Game 6 to capture their second championship in three seasons, I was in the press room of TD Garden watching on TV while pounding out a story on deadline.

And in 2015, when the Blackhawks celebrated winning the Cup on home ice for the first time since 1938 against the Lightning, I was — you guessed it — in the press room of the United Center watching on TV while pounding out a story on deadline.

With The Athletic, I’ll be able to witness events as they unfold in front of me before taking the time to look a player in the eye, listen to what he has to say and then put things into perspective before I sit in front of my keyboard.

Equally as exciting is the opportunity to seek out storylines that go far beyond the box score and deliver them to readers who are passionate not only about their sports teams and their city, but also about life.

I get that this could be an uphill battle to gain your trust and readership.

The D.C. sports landscape is filled with terrific journalists with whom I have the utmost respect, including my colleague at The Athletic D.C., Tarik El-Bashir, who did a marvelous job on the Caps beat before taking his talents to the gridiron this season.

With that in mind, I want to hear from you. Interacting with readers and getting a pulse on the team through them is an integral part of how I do things. Drop me a line at [email protected] or holler at me on Twitter @ChrisKuc, and together we can build this into something exciting and unique.

What we are asking at The Athletic is that you give us a chance to prove we can take D.C. sports coverage to the next level.

I’m confident we will deliver.

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