ARLINGTON, Va. -- When the Washington Capitals signed free-agent forward Justin Williams, a three-time Stanley Cup champion, to a two-year, $6.5 million contract on July 1, the organization knew exactly what it was getting. Capitals coach Barry Trotz described it as "street cred."
After the New York Rangers eliminated Washington in the second round of the playoffs last spring, the Capitals realized they needed a veteran player to help them reach the ultimate goal.
Enter Williams.
After all, he earned the nickname "Mr. Game 7" for a reason.
Williams, 34, won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and helped the Los Angeles Kings to a pair of championships, in 2012 and 2014. His teams are a collective 7-0 in Game 7s and he has seven goals in those games.
Trotz said it's pretty simple to explain why Williams is playing for the Capitals.
"When you check the boxes, you want quality people to add to your organization, you want to find someone who was a winner and had playoff success, and you want a guy who is still productive and in your price range," said Trotz. "And [Williams] checked off every box. When he became available, we went and made a big pitch for him."
Williams has been everything as advertised for the Caps, who open the playoffs on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. He dished on his quest for a fourth championship -- and why he thinks Washington is ready to win its first one -- during a post-practice conversation.
ESPN.com: You would rather talk about team accomplishments than your own, so what's your definition of a "team"?
Justin Williams: A team is having no weak links, having equal say and having the opportunity and the ability to lean on anybody at any given time. And it's all about trust. You put those things together and you're going to play better as a team on the ice.
ESPN.com: How is this team different from the Stanley Cup teams you've been on?
Williams: Every one is unique, yet every one is searching for the same goal. The only thing different is the personalities. We have all the championship qualities [here]. We have great goaltending, and it starts with that and it works its way out. We have coaching, breakaway players, prospects who are turning into elite players and some good veterans. It's all there for us.
ESPN.com: Earlier in your NHL career you played with future Hall of Famers, including three-time Stanley Cup winner Mark Recchi. In fact, you both won a Cup win the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. What did you learn from him that has helped you become a leader and a winner?
Williams: I played my first almost-five years with "Rex" in Philadelphia. There were so many great leaders there, from Rick Tocchet to Mark Recchi to John LeClair to Eric Desjardins to Keith Primeau. What you do is you take little pieces of everybody and mold yourself in the way you want to be by taking qualities you liked of other guys. Mark was a serious -- yet fun -- guy, and a guy who always gave everything. That's what I took from him. At practice, it didn't matter, he was always skating, his pins were always moving and he was always excited to come to the rink.
ESPN.com: What do you think of your "Mr. Game 7" nickname?
Williams: Maybe when I'm done with my NHL career and I'm sitting on a panel or something like that, I'll embrace it a little bit more. But for the time being it's such an individualistic thing that I don't care to have. I've been successful and have been able to contribute in those Game 7s because every team I've been on -- the Kings, Carolina -- have been great and had great success in Game 7s. It hasn't been just me. I've just been able to pop on the score sheet, but it really doesn't matter with goals and assists in the playoffs. Every little play makes a difference as well.
ESPN.com: So, what do you want your nickname to be?
Williams: How about just "Justin"?
ESPN.com: What's your favorite nickname for another pro athlete?
Williams: That's a tough question. I'll have to think about that. Some of them are funny, like "Lumpy" (PGA tour member Tim Herron). That's a good one.
ESPN.com: Since you've been on three Stanley Cup-winning teams, are you the type of guy who will give advice to other players, especially younger ones going through this for the time? If so, what is your advice to them?
Williams: If I see something, I'll say something. But I won't go out of my way. If someone has a question that I think I have a great answer to, then yeah. But being in the playoffs is all about experiencing it for yourself. Just because they lost in Game 7 of overtime in Round 2 last year doesn't mean they were that far away from reaching their goal. This team is close, and I want to be part of getting it closer to winning the whole thing.
ESPN.com: You played your 1,000th NHL game this season. What does that accomplishment mean to you?
Williams: Starting your career, you really don't think about playing 1,000 games. Throughout your career you make different goals for yourself -- to make the NHL, to score 10 goals in the league, 20 goals, 30 goals, win a Stanley Cup. Once you get to 700 or 800 games, you want to get to 1,000 games. So it's something that throughout the years became a goal I wanted to hit -- and it's one that I'm very proud of.
ESPN.com: You played for Peter Laviolette in Carolina when the Hurricanes won the Cup in '06 and then for Darryl Sutter in L.A. for the Cups in 2012 and 2014. What makes a Stanley Cup-winning coach?
Williams: Every coach is different. Some are "rah-rah" and get you going, and some are just about letting you get it going for yourself. As players, you take on the personality of a coach during a game. If he's fired up, you're going to get fired up. If he's grumpy, you're going to be grumpy. In the playoffs, you need to have a short memory. Whether you win a game 6-1 or you won it 2-1 in overtime, it's still one game, regardless of how well you play.
ESPN.com: On Tuesday, the team had a meeting and watched an inspirational video put together by video coach Brett Leonhardt. What was that like to get an extra dose of motivation?
Williams: It was cool. It was a little pump-up video. I've been on a lot of teams that have done it and this one was really good. It gets you fired up. You sacrifice so much and you know when you reach that goal, it's all worth it. And that's the kind of message I tried to relay to the guys: that it'll be worth it at the end of the road when we're the last team standing.
ESPN.com: You have a son who plays youth hockey. What advice do you give young players?
Williams: Trust your ability, never doubt your ability and don't let anyone tell you you can't do it, because faith in yourself and belief in your instincts is something no one can ever take away from you.