Since it's been the hot topic of the week, I'll chime in.
The Washington Capitals fired head coach Bruce Boudreau on Monday and replaced him with fan favorite Dale Hunter. Dale played for the Capitals from 1987-1999 and was the face of the franchise for several of those years. Most Caps fans remember his OT goal in game 7 to beat the Flyers in the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But he was a leader on and off the ice and will now be the bench boss.
Boudreau came in when the ship was taking on water in 2007. The Caps were last in the NHL and seemed to be destined for failure. Boudreau came in and brought the team together to earn a Stanley Cup berth only to be knocked out of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers in a heartbreaking loss. Boudreau went on to win the Jack Adams award as coach of the year. Everyone thought this was OUR time.
The firing of Boudreau was surprising to a few, but it was time. The Caps have not looked good in recent weeks. It's easy to blame the players. Ovechkin doesn't look the same. The D looks horrible. Backstrom doesn't win enough faceoffs. The Caps don't have a legit 2nd line center. Those are some of the rantings and ravings I've heard over the last few weeks.
I've been watching hockey on a regular basis since 1986. I don't call myself an expert by any means. If I was, I wouldn't be writing this blog post on blogger. I do know when something isn't right, however.
Last season the Caps made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs and easily rolled over the New York Rangers. The Caps went on to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa played a system that was extremely effective against the Caps' style of play. Boudreau failed to adjust the style of play or even attempt to adapt to Tampa's style of play. The results spoke for themselves - the Lightning swept the Capitals and made it to within one win to reach the Stanley Cup finals.
This season the Caps started off 7-0-0. Everyone had high expectations. Since then the Caps have had a dismal 5-8-1 record, with the 8th loss coming last night in Dale Hunter's coaching debut. The team has looked out played, out coached, and out hustled. Those are things that need to be addressed, and I don't think Boudreau was being listened to anymore. Last season the Caps had many "optional" practices, where a lot of the star players would fail to attend. When things aren't working and the team isn't playing well, the coach needs to step it up and motivate his players. It didn't happen. The Power Play went from being 1st in the league to 21st. The Penalty Kill is in the bottom 3rd. The team isn't scoring goals. The defense isn't stopping the opposition from scoring goals. Something had to be done. It's easier to get rid of a coach than a team of 20 players.
Boudreau isn't a bad coach. But even good teams fire their head coaches. It's a business. If your team isn't performing, it's easy to blame the coach. Boudreau was the 5th longest tenured coach in the NHL. And he's been on the job only 4 years. Yikes.
Look at the Baltimore Orioles. They've gone through 5 managers in the last 10 seasons. The Dallas Cowboys have gone through several coaching changes in the last 10 seasons. The Washington Redskins have as well. All of those teams had enough talent to produce winning seasons. Yet none of those teams have won the championship in their respective leagues in over 10 seasons. Even with all the talent that those teams (Ok, the Orioles are a bad example) had they couldn't win.
But let's also look at teams that fired their coach that was doing well - Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Tony Dungy in 2001. In 2002 they won the Super Bowl. In 2000 the Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Buck Showalter. In 2001 they won the World Series. The Pittsburgh Penguins fired Michel Therien in 2009. They won the Stanley Cup in 2009. In 2000 the New Jersey Devils fired coach Robbie Ftorek mid-season. They went on to win the Stanley Cup.
It goes to show that sometimes the coach has to take the fall. Sometimes however it reaps rewards.
I have no ill will towards Bruce Boudreau. Heck, he even told me to have a blessed marriage on my wedding day. But unfortunately professional sports is a business. Players and coaches that we come to love come and go. It was a sad day for me when the Baltimore Ravens released long time tight end Todd Heap. But it goes back to the business comment.
Boudreau will probably get another coaching job in the NHL. I wish him all the best and hope he has a great coaching career. But for now the Washington Capitals needed a change. They got it in Dale Hunter. We are waiting to see if Hunter can right the ship and get the Caps back on track.
The Washington Capitals fired head coach Bruce Boudreau on Monday and replaced him with fan favorite Dale Hunter. Dale played for the Capitals from 1987-1999 and was the face of the franchise for several of those years. Most Caps fans remember his OT goal in game 7 to beat the Flyers in the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But he was a leader on and off the ice and will now be the bench boss.
Boudreau came in when the ship was taking on water in 2007. The Caps were last in the NHL and seemed to be destined for failure. Boudreau came in and brought the team together to earn a Stanley Cup berth only to be knocked out of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers in a heartbreaking loss. Boudreau went on to win the Jack Adams award as coach of the year. Everyone thought this was OUR time.
The firing of Boudreau was surprising to a few, but it was time. The Caps have not looked good in recent weeks. It's easy to blame the players. Ovechkin doesn't look the same. The D looks horrible. Backstrom doesn't win enough faceoffs. The Caps don't have a legit 2nd line center. Those are some of the rantings and ravings I've heard over the last few weeks.
I've been watching hockey on a regular basis since 1986. I don't call myself an expert by any means. If I was, I wouldn't be writing this blog post on blogger. I do know when something isn't right, however.
Last season the Caps made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs and easily rolled over the New York Rangers. The Caps went on to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa played a system that was extremely effective against the Caps' style of play. Boudreau failed to adjust the style of play or even attempt to adapt to Tampa's style of play. The results spoke for themselves - the Lightning swept the Capitals and made it to within one win to reach the Stanley Cup finals.
This season the Caps started off 7-0-0. Everyone had high expectations. Since then the Caps have had a dismal 5-8-1 record, with the 8th loss coming last night in Dale Hunter's coaching debut. The team has looked out played, out coached, and out hustled. Those are things that need to be addressed, and I don't think Boudreau was being listened to anymore. Last season the Caps had many "optional" practices, where a lot of the star players would fail to attend. When things aren't working and the team isn't playing well, the coach needs to step it up and motivate his players. It didn't happen. The Power Play went from being 1st in the league to 21st. The Penalty Kill is in the bottom 3rd. The team isn't scoring goals. The defense isn't stopping the opposition from scoring goals. Something had to be done. It's easier to get rid of a coach than a team of 20 players.
Boudreau isn't a bad coach. But even good teams fire their head coaches. It's a business. If your team isn't performing, it's easy to blame the coach. Boudreau was the 5th longest tenured coach in the NHL. And he's been on the job only 4 years. Yikes.
Look at the Baltimore Orioles. They've gone through 5 managers in the last 10 seasons. The Dallas Cowboys have gone through several coaching changes in the last 10 seasons. The Washington Redskins have as well. All of those teams had enough talent to produce winning seasons. Yet none of those teams have won the championship in their respective leagues in over 10 seasons. Even with all the talent that those teams (Ok, the Orioles are a bad example) had they couldn't win.
But let's also look at teams that fired their coach that was doing well - Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired Tony Dungy in 2001. In 2002 they won the Super Bowl. In 2000 the Arizona Diamondbacks fired manager Buck Showalter. In 2001 they won the World Series. The Pittsburgh Penguins fired Michel Therien in 2009. They won the Stanley Cup in 2009. In 2000 the New Jersey Devils fired coach Robbie Ftorek mid-season. They went on to win the Stanley Cup.
It goes to show that sometimes the coach has to take the fall. Sometimes however it reaps rewards.
I have no ill will towards Bruce Boudreau. Heck, he even told me to have a blessed marriage on my wedding day. But unfortunately professional sports is a business. Players and coaches that we come to love come and go. It was a sad day for me when the Baltimore Ravens released long time tight end Todd Heap. But it goes back to the business comment.
Boudreau will probably get another coaching job in the NHL. I wish him all the best and hope he has a great coaching career. But for now the Washington Capitals needed a change. They got it in Dale Hunter. We are waiting to see if Hunter can right the ship and get the Caps back on track.
No comments:
Post a Comment