While perusing the local sports headlines this weekend, it dawned on us: the Washington Capitals might be the only thing that’s saving this town from a potentially large major-league sports coma.

Think about it: both the Nationals and Wizards are stuck in place, wallowing in the depths of their respective league’s basements — and neither appear to be going anywhere fast. Even the Redskins, beloved as they are, seem more concerned with trying to suck all the fun out of the gameday experience than actually improving a team who’s had all of three playoff appearances in the last ten seasons.

But the Caps had a magnificent season, both on and off the ice: they finished near the top of the conference, had an epic playoff series (in the process fostering an intense rivalry which could help bring the league back to prominence), and provided us ample opportunities to watch, listen to, and read about Alexander Ovechkin, who’s slowly becoming “the guy” — at least, athletically — here in Washington.

So it should come as no surprise that the Capitals skyrocketed 39 places to sixth place in ESPN’s Ultimate Franchise Standings. The Standings are a measure of every North American sports franchise in the four major sports on a number of different metrics, including coaching and players, the stadium experience, and affordability. The Caps’ report card is about as good as it gets: the franchise scores high marks for the gameday experience (hockey spirit squads, woo!), their players (thanks Ovie!), and their ownership (the bearded blogger himself, Ted Leonsis).

Frankly, had the Caps they made it past Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in last season’s conference semifinals, they might have challenged the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the title of America’s best sports franchise. The weakest link in the Caps’ dossier is “Title Track” — a measure of how close the franchise is to winning a championship — in which they only ranked 47th of 122 teams.

Alright, so, it’s hardly an airtight ranking system. But consider this: surveying the Washingtonian sports landscape, the Capitals finished more than 80 places ahead of the Redskins (#92), the Nats (#97) and the Wizards (#98). That’s a mighty large (and fairly depressing) margin.

So what’s your take, sports fans — are the Capitals, as ESPN suggests, the clear class of the D.C. sporting atmosphere?