Russian Machine Never Breaks Be A Fan On Facebook Follow Us On Twitter

I bet Dale Hunter won’t be doing Hadeed commercials.

I wanted BB to succeed but  I want DH to succeed more now.

He was the man for the job he took, bringing a group of young guys together.  Now the job is different.  Gonna miss The Boss but it’d be hard to say it wasn’t time.

Bruce was the right guy when hired, but after a lack of discipline and losses in the playoffs, I think the players tuned him out. Had he held them accountable last year, things might have been different. Good luck wherever he lands.

This, exactly.  Kind of like Franconia for the Red Sox.  The job criteria has changed; it was the right move.

Get to the cancer on the team. Take the C from Ovechkin and give it to anyone who wants to lead by example! What a poor excuse for a Captain!

Players choose the captain, not fans.

Don’t worry, a head coaching job just opened up in Carolina….

Okay, last time:

The coach doesn’t decide the captain. The players do.

Originally, GM George McPhee and coach Bruce Boudreau
said they were going to take their time in making this selection out of
respect for Clark and the letter. They also wanted to make sure they
were picking the right guy, not just any guy because of his name or
ability.

It took all of seven days for them to decide because really, there is
nobody in the dressing room more suited to be the Caps’ captain than
Ovechkin. Even the rest of the team knows that.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=512478

It’s quite apparent that the appointment of captain is in the management’s hands in DC – your own article said as much – the only reason Boudreau asked the players is because Ovie asked him to.  If Hunter wants to replace him, he can, with or without the locker room.

Obviously, you wouldn’t want to pick someone that the team thinks shouldn’t be captain – I’m not in the locker room, it’s possible that everyone there is still sold on Ovie being captain.  But on the face of it, I suspect that if there was a “re-vote”, there would be a lot of people looking elsewhere for the captaincy.

I just think we should liberate Ovie to be who he is – an energetic goal scorer – and not try to force a square peg into a round hole.

When BB was leading the team his way they won the Presidents Cup and then lost to a team committed to blocking every shot in front of a goalie making 40 saves a night.  Bowing to the talking heads (or following orders to do so) the next year he tried to turn a run and gun team into the New Jersey Devils without the requisite change in personnel.  Once that decision was made, I’m convinced BB lost this team.  Adding “accountability” to “a style of play completely not suited to our skill sets” closed the door.

I don’t know who decided the Caps needed to be a lock down defensive team, but that is not who these players are.  I think GMGM, Uncle Ted, and Mr. Hunter (the man scares the crap out of me, plus I hope he starts saying “It works for me.” in press conferences) need to trust in the talent that they have on the ice and let them be good at the things they are good at.  I think the Caps as an organization have let a fluke series loss to Montreal derail a good thing, hopefully they can get back on track.

I’ll never understand why people think the magic bullet is to take a C away from Ovechkin.  On Boudreau, I am sad in one sense to see him go.  When he was hired, he took a group of struggling kids and got them on the tear of a lifetime to get to the playoffs.  It was thrilling to watch.  That said, it was clearly time for a change.  This team, for whatever reason, always reverts to sloppy, undisciplined play.  Hopefully Hunter, with his actual NHL player creed, will get this team to play better, smarter, and grittier.

Oh my god, this.

Gotta side with ORazor on this one.

I think at this time the “C” shouldn’t even be a consideration. I agree with Craig Laughlin (Locker) when he says it would be too much for this team to recover from mentally right now.

I say leave it and let’s focus on getting back to some damn hockey!

If I recall, when Cindy and the Pens weren’t faring so well and MT got canned, people were questioning his ability to wear the C and then they went and won the cup and (lo and behold) he couldn’t do no wrong; how about we take it one step at a time – calling his captaincy a cancer is pretty outlandish. When he got the C he was held up for his amazing play and plus/minus (which was highest in the league); I do think the A is better suited to him, as the language barrier isn’t as prolific, but obviously you don’t have any actual thoughts on the matter, just pure hate – are you perhaps a Pens fan?

My biggest complaint was always how it drove me nuts that BB shuffled his lines so much. I couldn’t take it. He goes 7-0, then changes everything when they lose. I agree with the move, but it does make me very sad. Bon Voyage, Bruce. Hope you don’t win a cup with another team.

I remember in 2006 when the Bears beat Milwaukee in the finals to win the Calder Cup. Bruce running out on to the ice and immediately jumping into the arms of Mike Green.

Looking at that team, there were alot of my favorite players… Brooks, Fehr, Flash, Green…..

He won’t be jobless for long.

Ovechkin will not be stripped of the C.  When a player gets the C ripped, its nearly always the beginning of the end for them on that team.  The day it gets taken away is the day the clock starts ticking until he gets traded.   The most recent example I can even think of is Lecavalier in Tampa.  We do not want that situation here.  We need Ovy and Hunter to get along.  Stripping him of the Captaincy and getting him humiliated publicly will not help a damn thing.

Whether he actually deserves the C is another matter entirely(I tend to think he should keep it), but if you think he will get it taken away you’re delusional.  GMGM already said it won’t happen anyway.

Sad to see Bruce take the fall for the lack of effort on the ice, but ultimately it was his job to get the team to play and that wasn’t happening.  On paper Hunter seems like the guy for the job, someone who will get rears in gear.  Time will tell.

I have seen it.  Believe me, I’ve seen it.  I just don’t think that changing the C is the silver bullet people are looking for to snap this team in shape. 

That was my biggest beef too.  I felt like the lines didn’t get a chance to build chemistry.

I personally will miss Coach Bruce.   Bald, chubby, a sense of humor and an extra in “Slapshot” .   That alone earns him points.   Bruce helped mold the Caps from a struggling lost team to one that won a President’s trophy.   Not a shabby accomplishment.   Last year they were in the midst of a major funk he helped them work their way out.   This year, if Mike Green hadn’t been injured, does this even happen? I can’t argue it wasn’t time for a change after seeing the past two games, but I can’t believe anyone can place the majority of the “fault” of the present situation on Bruce’s shoulders.   He may be the Chief, but he wasn’t one of the “warriors” cowering in the corner.   It’s time for the players to step up, man up , cowboy up and play with pride and heart.   All hail to Bruce for a great 200 wins.   I am proud to have seen many of them and I greatly appreciate and recognize what Bruce did for Washington in a town with little to cheer for in the sports world these days.

Last summer, I worked at a golf course. One day, I get there to find out that none other than Bruce Boudreau was there to play a round of golf. He walks into the storage room for all of the member’s clubs, and just starts chatting with me and another guy working about how he never had a gatorade before. And then the other guy I’m working with hands him one from the fridge, and right before my eyes, Bruce Boudreau has his first ever sip of gatorade.