Times they are a changing for the Washington Capitals hockey team.  Our fearless leader, never nervous Dale Hunter, has returned to Canada.  Our second leading goal scorer, assist and point leader, Alex Semin, is testing the open market. Our goalie with the most wins and games played, Tomas Vokoun, is gone. Things are going to be different next year.

I would have liked to see another season of Hunter hockey. In part just to watch the Capitals marketing  department promote blue collar hockey in a predominantly white collar town.  Seriously, I always wondered if Hunter implemented this system because he thought it was best for the players he inherited.  It would have been interesting watching him build a team to fit his style.

It seemed from my seats that he was trying put in place a defense first system with an aggressive counter attack.  Chimera and Carlson seemed to thrive.  Another year of experience for Orlov and Johansson; a Mike Green at 100% plus a speedster or two and who knows.   One goal leads begin to turn into two and three goal leads.  Coin flip hockey played with a two headed coin?  That’s all speculation.

Whatever the future holds I hope some of the habits created under Hunter stick.  I hope that next year at this time we are talking about the Hunter legacy of calmness under pressure, defensive responsibility and  coming together as a team.

Players should mail a share of their future earnings to London, Ontario.  The lessons learned will make them better players for the rest of their careers.

Looking forward we have a possible work stoppage, a new coach and possibly the fourth new system for the team in 3 years.  A recipe for another regular season of underperformance.  At the very least the team has a built in excuse they can use as a crutch.   Can’t you just foreshadow the Ted’s Take post?  “Because of the shorten preseason our new coach did not have enough time to implemented our new system.  Our free agents could not report until…”

For season ticket holders this means we pay top dollar for another year to watch the team learn on the fly.  I’m hoping for the best but I’m also realistic.  I hope I’m dead wrong, except on the Hunter legacy stuff.

What a great moment before game 6 when Hunter showed the hockey world that he not only trusted Joel Ward by starting him but also trusted the Verizon Center crowd to support Ward after that horrible game 5 loss.  It could have been an ugly moment and he could have opted to hide Joel.  Capitals fans responded by doubling down.  He trusted us and we delivered.

The evolution and maturing of the Washington Capitals during this post season is contagious.  The crowds at the Verizon Center are infected with a similar bug.  Reporters are digging deep into unused portions of their thesaurus or synonym apps searching for more adjectives to add to the words resilient, tough, gritty, and dedicated when writing about the team.  These terms can be used to describe fan intensity as well.

Jumbotron zombie habits are home.  Playoff intensity is dialed to the max.  The building is literally rockin.

I was concerned following the pair of tough losses against the Rangers.  A few bloggers and reporters couldn’t help resorting to the tired but easy narratives.  We read them all; cursed, snake bitten, blah, blah, blah…

Photo from Washington Capitals Facebook page

The media must do what they do, but I was concerned the crowd would react to the negativity and fade.  I’ve seen Cubs and in past years Red Sox crowds get so ground up by a tough loss after decades of failure, that I could swear it impacted the team’s play.  Decades of disappointing results can wear down a fan base.  This year, the Caps and their fans would have none of it.

Triple overtime loss? Rolled off our backs like a spring shower.  Tough loss in NYC? Please.

As game 6 drew to a close, there was one last test.  An ugly goal with less than a minute left to play.  This could easily crush a fan base after two rough losses in three games.  Instead, we united behind our team and chanted  our goal tender’s name.

Caps fans had truckload of criticism dumped on them during this playoff run.  Boston fans, New York fans and other Caps fans are all taking shots.   Amazing how some have to prove their credibility by attacking each other.   Hopefully after Saturday, New Jersey fans will get their chance to at it.  Bring it!  Caps in 7!

So the Washington Capitals allow 10 goals in two games so far this week and Dale Hunter reacts.  That led to reactions by Tomas Vokoun and his agent Allan Walsh.  Then there is the Roman Hamrlik drama and Alex Ovechkin’s lower body.  Oh and did you hear merrick vs wyshynski Thursday?

Had enough for a while?  Gather ye all.  I offer a respite from hell week.  Join me as I take a break.  Pour yourself a drink while I reveal the mystery that has eluded us all.   Have you ever wondered why Brooks Laich always clears the pucks out of the net during Washington Capitals pregame warm ups?

It’s bugged me for years.  Recently I had to chance to ask 21 about it.  Did he lose a bet?  Is it some sort of superstition?  The answer is much simpler.

He laughed and said, “Nope, it’s because I run warm ups.”  He has run warms for the “past 5 years.”  It’s up to him prepare for the next item on the pregame agenda and part of that is gathering the pucks out of the net and moving them to where they are needed.

From there he continued to chat about the team’s pregame routine and talked about how he had to deal with some of the superstitions of other players.  For example when the team forms an arc around the net and takes shots there is a specific order to the shooters.  When a player out of the lineup he arranges other players to take their place so as not to disrupt the order.

He gave a couple of examples.  Backstrom shoots second so he needs to slot a shooter there.  When Knuble, who shoots fifth, was scratched he had to draft someone for his place.  As he said, “Chimmer has to be sixth and most of the other guys have a certain spot in the order.”

I hope you enjoyed the break. Back to hell week.

To the wise guy that texted my colleague yesterday to ask if my lack of chirping meant that I had leapt off the ledge I declare, I am here! The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. It’s a tough time to be a Washington Capitals fan.  Wins are down, ticket prices are up and inconsistency is the only thing we can count on.  I suppose it’s a great time to be one of those bloggers that generate wicked pixels.

I’ve toughed out these last a few weeks of Washington Capitals yo-yo hockey wondering about prospects for the post season.  What’s a Washington Capitals fan to do? Are we to believe the bleak scenarios put forth by HomerMcFanboy or Neil Greenberg?  Should we believe George McPhee’s contention that but for the injuries the team would be doing just great?  Oh to have the hopeful optimism coupled with realistic analysis that we see at the Russian Machine Never Breaks.  I’ll have what their drinking.

For the prosecution we present the stinkers; losses in Florida, Super Bowl Sunday against the Bruins, San Jose Sharks, and at Carolina.  That stench cleared the court room.

For the defense we present statement wins against the Bruins, Florida Panthers as well as the tough losses that should have gone our way against Winnipeg and the Rangers.  Our attitude sure would be different if had those 4 points.  Wine and roses with Green coming back while we were sitting in first place in the division with the 3^rd seed in the conference.  (Written before Ovechkin skated off the ice in Ottawa)

I think it’s time for Capitals fans to remove the red colored glasses.  The team is not as great as we thought but is not a horrible as we now think.  Their wild success in years past was in part due to the fact that they feasted on weak division opponents.  The success of the Florida Panthers has shown us how much hockey acumen is needed to build a team to win the Southeast division.

The team’s organizational goals, winning a Stanley Cup, do not directly align with their business goals, keeping the turnstiles at the Verizon Center humming with people willing to spend big bucks.  Plan A failed, make a big splash with super star free agent signing, Jaromir Jagr.  Plan B worked to a certain extent, build a team that plays an exciting fast-paced game that fans want to see.

Team Leonsis is executing the exact same plan with the Washington Wizards.  They, like the Capitals, play an up tempo, fast paced exciting game that (eventually) puts people in the seats and is (eventually) widely successful in the regular season.  The difficulty in building this type of franchise, as we have seen, is this type of play can become wild and undisciplined and does not translate to post season wins.

Teams are willing to let you get the best of them on a Wednesday night of an 80+ game season, but come back in the playoffs and the story is different.   The trick is building in some toughness to back up the run and gun when things get hectic.  Think Kareem’s sky hook to compliment Lakers ShowTime.  Think Raffi Torres and Alex Burrows to compliment the Sedin twins.

General Manger George McPhee gets what may be his final shot to tweak the Caps roster.  Even the most generous appraisal would have to give him poor marks for his attempts at add complimentary players to the team’s run and gun stars.

I think we, the fans, need to accept that we have an above average team with some glaring flaws.  They can beat any team on any given night but can just as easily get embarrassed.  That was probably the league’s goal when they instituted the salary cap.  With a smart trade, a little health and a little luck they’ll make the playoffs and then we have a punchers chance.  Not what we are accustomed to here in America’s Hockey Town.

What I leave you with, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is the fact that sports has changed in recent years.  The best team usually doesn’t win the championship.  Getting hot at the right time and staying healthy are just as valuable as a good free agent signing or a draft pick.  Every time I read a doom and gloom Caps story I go off and reread this.  http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/10/29/the-cardinals-will-win-the-world-series/

I laughed out loud Thursday when I checked in at JapersRink. (a must read for Caps fans BTW) I found an interesting mix of exuberance and panic in the daily clips concerning the Washington Capitals.  Caps stories on the solid road win mixed with pieces expressing concern for the team’s future.

What a great bounce back win for the Washington Capitals against the Montréal Canadiens on Wednesday. If you’re like me or some of the fans I see before, during or after games at the Verizon Center, your cautious optimism vanished when the Caps failed to show up against the New York Islanders. A 3-zip road win was just what the doctor ordered.

Get well soon guys.

Caps fans continue to look for signs of a turnaround.  There are bright spots for sure; the winning streak and the rise in the standings. There are also some ominous trends; the lack of shots, the team’s emotional glass jaw, and the road losses.

It’s difficult as a fan to know what’s in store.  The local pundits seem to be split just as much as the fans.  It’s like a presidential politics out there.  The Team is:

Improving fast 28%

Needs some roster tweaks 25%

Needs major changes 17%

Is just fine 10%

Needs to fire everyone 8%

Huh? I arrive late, leave early but like to yell; Who Cares! 7%

Mike Green is dreamy 5%

(Absolutely unscientific with a margin of error of +- 50)

Like presidential politics we’ll have all our answers by kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday.  Why you say?  Check out the schedule; five road games with two home games against the Stanley Cup champs tossed in the mix.  It’s pucker time folks.

It doesn’t get much easier after that.  Between the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day; Panthers, Jets, Rangers, and Sharks.  Hopefully we’ll be sipping champagne and nibbling on chocolate hearts by then.

One thing that has nagged at me during the Hunter era is the time defensemen spend holding the puck.  Unless you are Bobby Orr, a defensemen shouldn’t make a habit of carrying the puck across blue lines.  There should be a strict catch and release policy.  There could be a number of reasons for this.  The Green injury for one.  Defensive coverage on the forwards another but I’m not the only one to notice.  Check out this Tweet from Dave Nichols at District Sports Page:                   

DistrictSports Caps (@CapitalsDSP)
1/11/12 7:58 PM
Hamrlik with a good take and shot. No one skated to get open so he took it himself. #Caps have two shots on goal w/7:54 left in 1st.

I wish I could offer something more insightful but if the experts are split what do you want from me?  You want answers?  Well, so do I and here they come.  Ted told us today via his blog that “We have to keep things in perspective; have to be rationale and not emotional.”  I think he meant rational, and that’s probably a good idea for the suits in the front office.  Probably a good idea for this blog.

But in the stands?  I plan on doing just the opposite.  Raw, irrational emotion is all I got.

The debacle that was the Washington Capitals west coast road trip has renewed the talk that the team is not built for the system coach Dale Hunter wants to play.  The internet is a buzz on to what extent the team needs to be dismantled and rebuild to play Hunter style hockey. To use an old analogy, the chef needs different groceries to cook the meal he would like to serve.

While I agree Hunter’s style of hockey (chip, chase, cycle, man on man defense dots down, turtle when you have a lead) is better suited  for the post season, the fan in me has to ask; did this come up in the job interview?  How do you hire a new coach mid season to implement a system the team can’t play?

It’s akin to owning a DC steak house, hiring a chef from Maine that ran a lobster shack and being surprised he can only boil and steam food.  Hello season ticket holder, sit down and enjoyed the boiled steak we are serving tonight.  Not too appetizing but no worries, we’ll go shopping for a few items at the trade deadline.  Just wait till the offseason, that’s when we’ll fill the fridge.

To date the hiring of Dale Hunter has yet to graduate from being a great public relations move.  He’s a great coach, great guy, a legend to fans and it doesn’t hurt that a significant number of members of the media/blogger community have something autographed by him back home.  Yet, bringing in a coach that you know doesn’t have the horses to run his system is a crappy thing to do to fans.

Otherwise the team brought Dale in without the fore sight to see the team couldn’t play his style.  That’s incompetence.

Either way someone from the team needs to step up.  We deserve an apology.

The Washington Capitals sales office took advantage of the recent four game win streak and began to  send out feelers for season ticket renewals.  I’d bet they didn’t expect these two west coast blow outs.  Sorry, I’m still undecided on shelling out thousands to watch this team live.  And BTW; after the two west coast trips I don’t ever want to hear a Caps official use the words “sleep coach” again unless it’s used in a sentence with witch doctor or exorcist.

This week was the first time since becoming a full season ticket holder that I sold my spare ticket on StubHub.  I have no idea who will get the ticket.  Could be a Pens fan for all I know.  I’ve always felt an obligation to insure the quality of the fan using that ticket.  The quality of play by the team more than releases me of that duty. Right now my seatmate for the night is perfect.  Female, cute, single, available, age appropriate hockey fan.  I’ll keep you posted on what happens, but I have the feeling it will be a drunk obnoxious Pens super fan looking get revenge for Tim Tebow.

My surrender to the temptation of Stubhub came more from frustration than the team’s play.  You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to give away a ticket to the Caps.  It’s become a part time job, and it’s not fun.  You’d think that handing out a ticket that costs $175, with a great view of the game in a comfy office chair, that includes an all you can eat gourmet buffet and soft drinks would be like looking at fish in a barrel, never mind shooting them. No not the case, so I decided to write a hockey (sports) guest manifesto.

If a friend or coworker offers you a ticket to a game keep these rules in mind.

Reply promptly.  Taking a pass is not going to crush me, it’s just a ticket.  If you don’t want to go, just say no. If you do want to go, work out the details, quickly.  You don’t know how many times I get strung along for weeks.  I need to check with my spouse.  I need to review my work schedule, my kids ballet schedule, blah, blah, blah.  Just decide.

Once you decide you stick.  Don’t assume there are thousands of people in line for the ticket.  Unless it’s an emergency, if you say you are going you show up.  At least half dozen times I’ve received calls or texts on game day about “something coming up.”

No give a ways. The only thing worse than cancelling at the last minute is giving the ticket away.  “Hey I can’t come to the game but my second cousin that has a bathing problem and hates hockey wants to come. I hope you don’t mind.”  No, invitations are not transferable unless it’s to the mythical female, cute, single, available, age appropriate hockey fan.

Be on time.  It’s not cool to be fashionably late.  No one cares what you are wearing.  Ideally you’re a fan and you ask questions like, do you want to get there for warm ups?  At the very least you arrive to your seats, not the Chinatown area, in time for the National Anthem.

Gratitude is appreciated.  Ideally the first words out of your mouth when you arrive are, “Wow this is awesome, thank you so much, drinks are on me all night.”  If you are not a person of means, no need to break the bank, but some sort of thank you is warranted.  Not allowed is ordering drinks all night and then sticking your host with the tab.  And tip people generously.  I’m here a few times every month.  I don’t to be known as the guy with cheap guests.

Remember there’s a hockey game going on.  I’ve been in situations that the only way I could follow the game was on Twitter.  Trust me, actually watching the game is more fun.  Your smart phone will be ok until the TV timeout.  Plus I don’t want to answer your, “what just happened?” question if you’re not watching the game.

Play nice.  Like hockey there’s a code to fandom.  If you get into a fight I have to back you up.  I know things get heated and some people come to games looking for a fight.  Let’s try to avoid spending the night in jail.

What happens on the Ledge stays on the Ledge.  This is more of a personal policy I have for guests.  It’s an all you can eat buffet.  If you want six plates of garlic mashed potatoes while watching the game, enjoy.  I’m not telling anyone.  Want dessert before dinner?  No worries, it’s our little secret.

So without further ado here are the three stars for this season to date.

Third Star: Maria H. Always willing to buy a drink, nice tipper, friendly to neighbors and always courteous to most of the Verizon staff. Actually squealed when Lundqvist skated near her.  She would be first star except for a little incident with an elevator operator that’s a Cowboys fan.  No worries I exacted revenge.  Remember the fan code.

Second Star: Scott B. Good conversation, into the game and brings it to every shift.  Extra points for drawing in friends of Mathieu Perreault into a post game conversation leading to this exchange. First Star: Tracey H. Wrote the book on all the etiquette rules.  Knowledgeable Caps fan.  Unhealthy attraction to Dave Steckel and Marcus Johansson, no one is perfect.  Bonus points for not telling anyone I didn’t recognize Tomas Vokoun in street clothes.

Any more games like Tuesday, I say bring on the Ice Girls.

Instead of purchasing two Ledge seats to Washington Capitals game against Philadelphia Tuesday night I could have supplied 1740 pounds of food and 700 pounds of essentials to starving children through Feed The Children.

In place of the one period of hockey followed by 2 periods of listless skating I could help fund the life style of a few Russian women, single moms and college coeds by purchasing 23 lap dances in Baltimore (travel costs not included).

Season ticket club seats for the Washington Mystics could have replaced bearing brunt of foul taunts from Philly fans for a few hours.

Nice when the Red Rockers stop by

There were some bright spots.  The buffet included Asian pork, bone in rib eye and my favorite apple tart dessert.  The ref laying out Kimmo Timonen.  The “Who Cares?” chant was beaten out of Caps fans.  It took 5 goals but a majority of Caps fans mercifully stopped.  The Red Rockers cheered right below my seats.  Not the stuff of season ticket renewal brochures.

I sulked after the game drowning my sorrows in tequila and decided this was it.  There are plenty of more worthy or more entertaining wasteful ways to spend my money.  I don’t come to hockey games to get angry. I come to release the anger from my life with yells, screams and cheers.  That’s been the primary reason for not updating the blog as often as usual.  Who wants to write about being angry?

The team has an emotional glass jaw right now.  One mistake or bad bounce and they fold.  It’s infuriating as a fan.

As I made my way through the bowels of the Verizon Center, I thought about the travel and dinners that I would buy instead of Caps tickets.  I was alone as I walked through a set of doors and merged behind a guy in a suit.  It took me a few seconds to recognize the hair, the shoulders and the really nice suit.  Alex Ovechkin, there, walking about 10 feet in front of me. I gotta say something!

Cue Eminem; palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.  I steel myself, take a deep breath and he whirls around.  He’s got this really angry look on his face that turns into sadness when he sees the man walking next to me.  An older man, much shorter than Alex, with a bald head, broad shoulders and huge hands.  The man reached up and put his arm around Alex’s shoulders as they walked down a long hallway past a security checkpoint.

I stood there with my jaw open until they were out of sight.  No, I didn’t say anything.  No, I didn’t take a picture, I couldn’t think.

Stephen Whyno of The Washington Times quoted Troy Brouwer after the game saying, “I wouldn’t have wanted to pay money to see that hockey game tonight if I was a Caps fan.” I’ve read and watched the post game interviews but I never really thought about how a loss impacts the players.  It was important to me that Ovie looked as angry and bummed as I was feeling.

Who knows what I’ll do when ticket renewal time comes around.  Free blankets for fans attending the Nashville game next Tuesday.  Maybe we’ll have lobster mac and cheese on the buffet.  Nashville fans aren’t too mean.  Things are looking up.

There is one facet of the Dale Hunter Experience that surprised me.   The loses are understandable as the team adjusts to a new system.  The silver lining is that the Wahington Capitals toughened the emotional glass jaw that plagued them earlier this year.  It’s nice to see the team play tough when they encounter a patch of bad luck or adversity.

The reaction of fans from other teams is curious.  I’m not going to start the cause for canonization for sainthood, but hasn’t every fan cheered for a Dale Hunter type player?  On Twitter, Facebook and the office watercolor, my most significant survey sample, the contempt for Hunter is off the charts.  All I hear is thug, cheap shot artist, or dirty player.

When challenged to confront their own thug, the excuses fly.  It seems that to be a hockey fan hypocrisy is a prerequisite.  How else can a Ranger fan rail against Hunter and defend Steve Avery in the same breath.  It’s not limited to fans.  Last year we witnessed Matt Cooke’s employer, Mario Lemieux, roll out this quote,

“It was painful to watch the game I love turn into a sideshow like that… If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to rethink whether I want to be a part of it.”

I had pot vs. kettle moment this week with an Islander fan.  I fully acknowledged that Hunter was a thug at times during his career.  When I suggested that New York goaltender Billy Smith was guilty of cheap shots, I received a series of e-mails.  This is what he had to say about the player that is on every NHL agitator list that comes out (along with Hunter).  This is the guy that forced the NHL to change their rules when it came to goalie equipment because he used the nub of his stick as a weapon.

“I reject that Smith was a cheap shot artist, he was the recipient of far more cheap shots than he ever gave out.  He wasn’t going to take it and he’s got four rings that vindicate him.”

Ladies and gentlemen, Saint Billy Smith of Nassau. (4:40 mark – Hunter at 2:50 BTW)

The silliest thing for anyone, fan, player, coach, GM or owner, is to climb on their high horse and criticize dirty play.  Vince Lombardi once said, “Football is not a contact sport, dancing is a contact sport and football is a collision sport.”  Hockey is similar, and when there are collisions there are accidents, bruised egos and lost tempers.  Today’s model citizen to tomorrow thug.

Can’t we all just agree; Dale Hunter=Billy Smith=Claude Lemieux.  I guess I’ll hate your guy and I’ll love my guy is more fun in the National Hypocrisy League.

The Dale Hunter Era begins in DC Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues.  It remains to be seen if this brilliant PR move is the long term solution for the Capitals.    For the time being, there is a cease fire and the rebellion is on hold.  Imagine the mood if the Lightening had won Monday night’s game and dropped the Caps down to third place in the Southeast Division.

What the future holds no one knows, but as usual the team at Russian Machine Never Breaks has done yeoman’s work researching Dale Hunter.  Keeping in mind the usual disclaimer that past performance doesn’t predict future returns, check out these videos.

Why is this important? Well last week I was listening to Mike Lombardi talk about the Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh game on Thanksgiving night.  Yeah a football comparison, just hear me out.  His point, that can be found here at about the 26 minute mark, is that teams take on their coach’s personality.

I decided to do some research into Bruce Boudreau.  Seems like Boudreau the player doesn’t differ much from Washington Capitals team.  Check this out.

The Globe and Mail (Canada) – January 11, 1978 Wednesday – “In the end, Gregory seemed to be saying that the alternative to trading is to upgrade the material on hand. He mentioned Leafs’ young centre, Bruce Boudreau. We’ve always known that he could score goals. Now, Roger is working hard with him to shore up his defensive play.”

The Globe and Mail (Canada) – September 16, 1980 Tuesday – Bruce Boudreau  said, “I was learning defensive hockey down there, and I thank Joe Crozier for that. I killed penalties all year and did a fairly good job at it. I had the same stigma about me as Paul Gardner when it came to checking, but now I’m confident that I can play two ways.”

In isolation, the loses or lapse in intensity didn’t bother me about the Caps.  What did bother me was the sense that the team didn’t trust each other or their coach.  By this I mean that when things went bad, hot goalie, unlucky bounce, defensive mistake, the team quickly abandoned their plan.

Last year’s playoff sweep to Tampa Bay began with a game in which the Capitals out played the Lightening but lost.  This year a hot start dissolved with a couple tough losses where the Capitals fell victim to opposing lucky goals and referees.  In both cases the team abandoned their system and reset to default settings.

Bruce’s reputation for most of his playing career was that he was a good player with a nose for the net that needed to concentrate more on playing consistent defense and finishing his checks.  Washington Capitals default mode is a team that can score goals but is inconsistent on defense and checking.

At Monday’s press conference George McPhee described Dale Hunter as “an intelligent, tough and sometimes downright mean” player.  The videos collected by the team at RMNB confirms that description.   Now the trick is to rewrite the Capitals DNA so they turn into that kind of team come playoffs.

One thing about Bruce’s exit that I regret is that we won’t get an explanation of this story.
The Globe and Mail (Canada) – April 3, 1978 Monday – “Toronto played the entire game with four defencemen. Randy Carlyle missed the game after receiving 20 stitches in his leg. He will be out of the lineup for about a week. Toronto coach Roger Neilson explained that Carlyle received the injury during Leafs’ two-day vacation in Panama City, Fla. He was golfing with teammate Bruce Boudreau when their golf cart tipped over.”