Well Caps fans I am back to blogging again and for good reason. This season Alex Ovechkin and the boys got off to a record start with seven straight wins to kick off the regular season. Since that the guys in red have lost 10 of their last 15 and have been struggling on all levels. Ovi is off to his slowest start in his career with only eight goals in the first 22 games and the Caps have given up 31 goals against in the past seven games. Need a change in the locker room? Well Bruce Boudreau tried being strict with his team this year starting with benching Ovechkin late in a game earlier this season. Then BB scratched Alex Semin for his poor play and Joel ward for missing a team meeting. GM George McPhee seemed to support this kind of coaching strategy but couldn't continue any longer after this past weekend's two losses 6-3 to NYR and 5-1 to BUF.
Early Monday morning McPhee made the rumors of head coach Bruce Boudreau being fired a headline in the NHL. Don't get me wrong Boudreau has done great things for this organization in the past four years which include: expanding the fan base, winning four Southeast division titles, and the President's trophy. What's missing? His ability to escape the 2nd round in the playoffs and a Stanley Cup is missing. I have no hard feelings but it was definitely time for the "fat f*ck", to go as Ovi would say. Alright kind of harsh but thank you Bruce for your four successful but stressful years. You have definitely made this city a hockey town with all 201 of your wins.
The Washington Capitals organization welcomed new head coach Dale Hunter to the team immediately at practice today. So who is this Dale Hunter guy? Oh, not a big deal his #32 jersey is just hanging in the rafters in the Verizon Center today. Hunter has been coaching the London Knights in the OHL for the past 10 years and has had tremendous success. He is credited with the quickest to achieve 300 and 400 wins as a coach in the OHL. Hunter has also coached many current NHL stars that include two players he will become quite familiar with in John Carlson and Dennis Wideman. It is an added bonus that he is already been in the Washington Capitals system when he played 12 seasons in red and captained for five of them. Dale Hunter is an obvious leader and successful winner so far in his coaching career. Expect to see some change in the way the Caps play the game on both ends.
Now many people are asking who will get the "C". Does Ovi keep it with the way he's playing? George McPhee talked to the team today and stated that there would be no captain change. All I know is that Alexander Ovechkin didn't get along with BB and it became very evident this season. Hopefully this coaching change sparks The Great Eight and the rest of the team because quite frankly the games in the past few weeks have been difficult to watch. Tomas Vokoun needs to quickly get back to his roots in stealing games single-handedly for the team because his performance has been sub-par. Injuries have been rough on Washington this season keeping defenseman Mike Green out for more games than expected, but he did skate with the team today.
This coaching change came at the right time in my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised to see some players being moved, Alex Semin, if things do not get better. Dale Hunter was a hard-working player and I wouldn't expect anything else from him as a coach. Do not panic Caps fans! We have just entered a new era and at this point we can only go up. Rock the Red!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment