A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet Ted Leonsis and attend a game in the owner's box. It was a really thrilling experience and despite the loss to the Penguins (again) it was a great evening. One of the things I regretted, though, was that I never really got a chance to speak with Ted as I had planned to do, being too in awe of the whole scene to actually talk in full sentences.
Because our entire interaction had consisted of a brief hello and then a brief goodbye, Ted was nice enough to sit down with me for a phone interview earlier this week to talk about all the things I had wanted to discuss. Special thanks to Ted and his assistants who were very helpful in setting this up.
CC: Over the past season or two you’ve really opened the door to the blogging community, and it’s something that other teams are starting to emulate although not to the same extent as the Caps. What drew you to bloggers in particular and what do you think they bring to a team’s fan base?
TL: Specifically three things. First of all, I really believe in the medium. Being involved in the internet for a long, long time, one of the basic premises is that there’s this inate intelligence in the wisdom of crowds. If you can make tools and generate interest and traffic there would be people who were very passionate and very articulate [and] their words deserve to be heard. So I just knew in our fanbase, based on the e-mails I’ve been getting over the years, there were some very bright people. We knew if we could help activate a blogosphere it would be a very good experience for the bloggers but it would also be beneficial to our franchise because the more dialogue, the more conversation, the more coverage, the better for us.
Secondly, I believe that traditional media, especially newspapers are in peril right now. Their circulation is decreasing, their advertising revenue is shrinking, and as a result they’re losing talent. They’re laying off people all over the place and they’re being forced to cut back on their coverage. We want and need and thrive on coverage - good and bad. I don’t care if a blogger writes badly about us, I just want them to write. We need the coverage.
Third, I actually felt that there was more talent in the blogosphere. It's proven true when you read the collective blog posts about a subject versus a newspaper [article] there’s more analysis. You learn things from the blogosphere. Like you writing an article with your dad who was there Year One. That will be of great interest because here you’re a woman who loves the team and you probably went to games early on. You won’t get that kind of writing or reporting or blogging from traditional media.
So all of those things led me to [the idea that] this is important, might as well lead. I’ve been an advocate with the league and with the other owners, and I’ve worked with Eric [McErlain] on creating the blogger’s bill of rights. I thought we had a very, very good experience during the year.
CC: It seems to have worked, especially here in DC. You could say that the Caps blogosphere is one of the larger and more active in the league compared with the more traditional “hockey towns” like Toronto, Detroit, etc. What do you think that says about DC as a hockey town?
TL: DC is a hockey town – it’s just not a Caps hockey town. That’s one of our challenges. It’s ironic. Take DirecTV; the DC/Maryland/Virginia area is one of their best, fastest growing subscription bases. People are paying money to watch lots of out of town hockey on DirecTV. And we see it when we play some teams that their embedded fan bases are huge. Our job is to find a way to get those people first in the building, and second to get them to become passionate Caps fans.
There’s a woman who is a longtime season ticket holder. She loves the Caps, her kids play hockey in Reston, and she told me that 40 games a year I am going to be the most avid Caps fan. But when Detroit comes to town I’m wearing my Detroit jersey. I grew up there, my mom grew up there, we grew up going to games and I love Detroit. So you’ll have my business, but don’t get mad at me when you see me cheering for Detroit when we play them.
And that’s what we have – we have a good hockey market, but we could make it a better Caps market.
CC: So many people will say that the best marketing tool is a winning record...
TL: You know, I’d really like to say that’s right. That’s instinctively, absolutely correct. My blog post of the other day...I still haven’t gotten good answers. What I mean by that is just that we went to the Stanley Cup Finals and [that year] we played the Bruins, there were lots of Bruins fans. We played Buffalo, there were lots of Buffalo fans. We played Detroit, it looked like it was a home game for the Red Wings. Everyone says well, they sold tickets to them...well, yeah, because we weren’t selling tickets [here]. I wasn't the owner at the time, but the tickets are available and these fan bases are very aggressive in buying tickets. I know if I could sell it out to season ticket holders that would be a good thing because that means someone is committed and they own the seat.
Then people say, well you have to win. Well, okay, we won our division, we had 106 points, we played Pittsburgh in the playoffs...and boy there were a lot of Pittsburgh fans. So when I hear “just win” I go, okay, but we have 106 points, we’re in the playoffs, we make the Stanley Cup Finals which means we won – so it has to be something more than just a knee-jerk reaction. I see it in Florida too, when Toronto plays the Panthers it looks like it’s a Toronto crowd. Maybe it’s something to do with geography, maybe it has to do with not having enough season ticket holders, it might have something to do with not winning enough...but there’s something different going on here than other markets.
CC: There have been some marketing tools that seemed to have worked pretty well this year – hockey n heels, reduced tickets for college students...
TL: We’re being very aggressive and we’re trying lots of things and we have big investments in staff – we haven’t broken the code yet but we’re certainly gonna die trying.
CC: Along the same lines there seems to be a growing partnership between the Caps and the Nationals since getting their new ownership team, the Caps have taken batting practice...
TL: Mark Lerner is a small partner in Lincoln and he and I have become very close friends. Our seasons don’t really overlap so we felt it made a lot of sense to be synergistic – we market them, they market us and we would be “rebuilding” our teams together. We’re also doing the same thing with DC United – it just seems to make a lot of sense to do that.
CC: Any chance we’ll see any of them on the ice this year?
TL: (laughing) DC United or the Nationals?
CC: Either one.
TL: We’d love to get some guys out on the ice to try it – we had Clark throwing out the opening pitch a few nights ago, so yeah. I know that Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards has asked me to get him skates, he wants to see what it’s like.
CC: That would certainly be something to see...shifting gears a bit, during the last game of the season we saw teases for a color change of the jersey. Anything you can reveal?
TL: Well...I think the ‘Change is Coming’ was more emblematic of a whole new Washington Capitals. We struggled to get into our new building [in Ballston], we moved in about a month ago and even though the building was up and the guys were skating they didn’t have their locker room. We weren’t in the office yet so that shift is starting. A lot of these new marketing campaigns were going, so there's that. We’ve been very public by saying now is the time to try and improve the team a little bit more aggressively.
You know, I would expect that the rumors that are out there about new colors are probably true.
CC: ‘Probably true’...you’re not going to give me a definitive on that?
TL: You know, I shouldn’t.
CC: But we are making the shift to the new Reebok jerseys. Are they going to be unveiled before the draft?
TL: Um...I would just stay tuned for a little bit.
CC: Okay, I get it. So obviously the playoffs are going on but the next item on the Caps agenda is the draft.
TL: I would expect this is going to be a really hard-working draft. We have a lot of picks, there might be some trades happening around that time – we’re in the top 5, we didn’t win but being in the top 5 we should be able to get a very good player. We don’t know where else we’ll be picking with Buffalo’s spot. We’ve got 5 picks in the first and second rounds so I’m expecting George will be busy.
CC: Last year there was a behind-the-scenes look at the draft on CSN that was pretty popular with the fans.
TL: Yes, we’re going to work w/ our media partners and the bloggers if they want to show what really goes on.
More with Ted to come as we talk about fighting, free agency, and of course his picks for the Stanley Cup.
Friday, April 13, 2007
An Interview with Ted Leonsis (Part 1)
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Dive into the Deep End of the Pool
The 1st Annual Blogger Playoff Pool!
Here's how it works: all the bloggers will be submitting their picks on a round-by-round basis. Points will be awarded for correct responses as well as for correctly answering different bonus questions. After each round a winner will be announced, who will then get to pick any three bloggers in the competition to write a glowing post on the winner's favorite team.
There will also be one ultimate winner at the end of the playoffs, when one team has lifted Lord Stanley's cup. At that point, every blogger in the pool will have to write something nice about the winner's team (Caps fans, can you picture it? If one of our own wins, everyone has to say something nice about the Caps! I don't think that's ever happened in the history of the franchise!)
I was going to reveal everyone's picks here but then thought...nah. Better to keep you all in suspense until the very end. (Plus its too much work and frankly I'm a little lazy.)
Updated standings will appear here after each round so you can cheer on your favorites or create voodoo dolls for supporters of teams you despise. Hey, I'm not judging. Bloggers and readers alike are invited to chatter away in the comments - I want to hear some insults, some smackdowns...but keep it clean, please. No four letter words you wouldn't see on a second grade spelling test, okay?
Your contestants, ladies and gentlemen:
Bethany - Columbus
Bleu Blanc et Rouge - Montreal
CapsChick - Washington
CapsNut - Washington
Chanuck - Washington
Christy Hammond - Detroit
DCSportsChick - Washington
Duncan - Calgary
Ellie - Pittsburgh
Elly - Pittsburgh
Finny - Anaheim
Gustaffson - Washington
Heather B. - Buffalo
hockeygirl - Calgary
J.P. - Washington
Jennifer - Atlanta
Jordi - Montreal/Edmonton
Keily E. - Toronto
Kevin - Buffalo
Kristin - Philadelphia
Margee - NY Islanders
Matthew Macaskill - Montreal
Mike - Washington
Mike Vogel - Washington
Monika - Toronto
MT - Ottawa
Paige - Buffalo
pucksandbooks - Washington
Sherry - Ottawa
Steph - Detroit
The Falconer - Atlanta
The Ghost - Buffalo
Tyler - Pittsburgh
Bloggers, I'll reveal everyone's picks via e-mail in the next day or so. Please let me know if you are listed incorrectly, your blog address is not right...or I had a senile moment and left you off completely.
Better Than Expected
When you get yourself all riled up for something, giddily anticipating a long-awaited moment, it's often a let-down. Nothing could possibly live up to the expectations you've built up in your mind. The reality is usually so far overshadowed by the fantasy that it ends up being a disappointment.
And yet opening night of the postseason was everything I hoped for and more. Now I didn't get to watch every game (thank you, Center Ice), and yes, I'll admit it, I wimped out and went to bed long before either Western Conference matchup went into multiple overtimes. But a decisive win by the Senators? Not one, but two multiple overtime games? And...um...the Ducks and Wild played too, right?
The center of my viewing experience was obviously focused on the Sens-Pens rhyming extravaganza/Sidney Crosby lovefest. Okay, Versus, we get it - he's young, he's good, he's playing in his very first playoff game. Let's snap a picture and put it in his baby book next to a lock of his hair and his first baby tooth...and move on.
I will say that as much as I enjoyed seeing the Penguins get beat so thoroughly (really enjoyed) (really, really enjoyed) the true hockey fan that lurks inside of me was a little disappointed. In the playoffs every team should be at their very best. The games should be evenly played and the superstars on each side should be firing on all cylinders. You want to see the headliners and the unsung heroes all pitching in to make it a good fight right up until the end.
The Penguins mustered a bit of life at the end but for most of the game they simply looked stunned. Make no mistake, though, I don't expect them to repeat that performance on Saturday. In fact, from the chippiness and physicality that was building up towards the end of last night's game, I'd say we're in for a great game this weekend. And we as hockey fans deserve no less.
Poor Marty Turco. The guy can't seem to catch a break in the playoffs - even when he plays his heart out, through 4 overtimes no less, he still can't earn a win. I hope he figures out how to win soon, because I'd like to see hometown boy Halpern finally see what it feels like to win a playoff series. God knows he wouldn't know that feeling from playing with Jaromir Jagr.
So Game 1 is in the books for half the postseason combatants. Now on to Game 1 for the other half. Sabres-Islanders, Rangers-Thrashers, Lightning-Devils, and Red Wings-Flames. Don't be fooled by that pesky #8 next to two of those teams, either - this first round could be more interesting than most people have predicted.
Check back later to find out which of your favorite bloggers will be participating in the First Annual Bloggers Playoff Pool!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
A Little Perspective, A Little History (continued...)
[Read Part One]
With a dwindling following and a losing record, the Caps could count on one group of loyal supporters who would always be there with a supportive pat on the back or a hard drink – the Capitals Fan Club, of which my father was a member and later president (and naturally as a kid I was a member of the junior fan club...).
GH: I remember going to road games and we used to joke when we were on the bus that we just hoped nobody got hurt. We weren’t really expecting them to win the game. Bus trips were fun – we went through a lot of Baileys and we commiserated with each other and said that someday this team might be good...but not this year. At the time the fan club was run by the team so you were kind of dependent on them for everything we did. We decided early in the second season to set up the fan club ourselves so we could have some independence from the team so we could schedule things on our own.
The fan club even developed a fight song that was sung on road trips [this incidentally was one of my favorite parts of the conversation with my dad – I’ve never heard him use some of these words before!]:
We’re fans of the Washington Capitals, we’re riders in the night
Dirty sons of b*tches who would rather f**k than fight
Oh, hidey didey Christ almighty who the hell are we
Zim zam goddamn, rah, rah sh*t!
GH: [laughing] It wasn’t exactly Shakespeare...it was written by one of our rowdier members and I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t really composed, it just happened to come out one time.
We actually got to be fairly close with some of the players back then because they were just happy somebody recognized them. There was a lot of carousing with the team on the road back then because they didn’t have a lot of hope of winning these games so they decided to have fun. [We were] in Pittsburgh after one of the games in the restaurant of a Howard Johnson’s and we got to have breakfast with Bruce Cowick – we had picked him up from the Flyers. He had been on the Cup-winning team but was not a major part of that and was very grateful to have the ring, I’m sure.
Bruce Cowick
CC: So where did you travel most? Pittsburgh, Montreal...
GH: Yes, we were in a division with Montreal and Pittsburgh [as well as LA and Detroit] and we’d travel up there but it didn’t really matter to us where we were. I don’t like to think about being in a division with Montreal because they were very good back then. I think Ken Dryden shut us out 4 or 5 times that year. We did get to see Bobby Orr play when he was with Chicago – he was still a good player but he had no cartilage in his knees and he was barely able to skate well. It was kind of sad for me to see that. But we were so much worse than everyone else anyways...
CC: Was there already a division rivalry with the Penguins at the time?
GH: Kind of, but it really goes back to the playoff meetings when they always seemed to knock us out. The original rivalries were really nonexistent in those early years – it wasn’t until Rod Langway came along and we actually got to be competitive that we developed some rivalries. We really just hated everybody but it didn’t do us any good.
Expansion drafts worked much differently than they do today. Back then every existing team could protect 16 players and two goalies – so the best player available in the draft was the 17th best player on any given team. The result was a mish-mash of players that went on to form that infamous roster.
GH: We had the first pick in the amateur draft and we drafted this young defenseman named Greg Joly, and the second pick was a guy by the name of Mike Marson, who was a forward. These two players probably would have been great starting in the minors but because of the way the team was formed they really needed to start off in the majors, and they suffered for it and the team suffered for it too.
Tommy Williams was one of the old hands on the team. He was already in his mid-30s when he played for us. He was a scorer but he really didn’t pay much attention to the defensive side of the ice, he just liked to try to score. Our captain the first year, Dougie Mohns, was famous for his hair piece – he wore a helmet so nobody noticed, but when you got to take pictures of him you could tell – it wasn’t the greatest piece in the world. He was 41 when he came to the Caps.
A lot of the players that first year were pretty forgettable.
CC: And Yvon Labre?
GH: The best comment made about Yvon Labre was that he would have been a great fighter if his arms were about 6 inches longer. You hear about guys being the heart and soul of a team - Yvon gave everything he could, he really tried. He scored the first goal here at home but he was not a great player and he’d be the first one to admit that. But he tried and that’s why he’s been honored. He was the closest thing to a defenseman that we had – he worked his butt off, it was obvious every game he was doing the best he could.
Mrs. GH (Guest Interviewer): Who do you think was the first player in Caps history who really mattered in terms of hockey history?
GH: I have to say Ryan Walter. Ryan was a 1st round pick and he was a real character player. He became the captain and being captain of a bad team and he and Mike Gartner did a lot to make the team respectable. Ryan was always a class guy – he would come to fan club meetings and talk to the fans and he was very down to earth.
His importance to the team was really twofold to me – first it was what he brought to the team and second, if he hadn’t been here we would never have gotten Langway. We traded him and Rick Green, another first round pick...both of whom ended up getting rings with Montreal. We traded them to the Canadiens for Rod Langway, Brian Engblom, Craig Laughlin, and Doug Jarvis. Jarvis was one of the best defensive forwards I’ve ever seen...and Locker was Locker. But that’s really what turned the franchise around, getting Langway.
Gartner was a great player obviously, he ultimately became a Hall of Famer but there was always a mark against him that he never seemed to be able to take the team to the next level. He was a great scorer in the reg season but his scoring always dropped off in the postseason.
CC: Do you think that was a fair mark against him or was it more a product of the team he was playing for?
GH: Probably a little of both. He never won a Stanley Cup with any of the teams he went to. Garts was a great player though and he did have some good playoff years – it’s hard to put the burden just on him.
CC: Were there any enforcers?
GH: We didn’t really have anyone that big that first year – there were fights, but no one was given that role. Everyone was just trying not to get hurt.
CC: It was during the era of the Broad Street Bullies in Philly, so I’m guessing they had some fights.
GH: Oh, they beat up everyone. It got to the point where guys were just skating out of the way of their players.
CC: The Caps hold a lot of dubious records and distinctions. Are there any moments that stick out as being kind of “oh god” moments? 
GH: I remember one of the Montreal games where the Caps had a 2-1 lead going into the last couple of minutes. Montreal pulled their goalie and tied the game with a little over a minute left. Then I watched as Larry Robinson took the puck behind the Montreal net after the faceoff and suddenly there were 5 Canadiens skating towards the Caps goal and I remember turning to your mom and just saying “Oh my god, here they come” – and bing bing bing bing bing it was in the net.
CC: Obviously a lot of people scored against the Caps at the time, but were there a handful of players that maybe tormented them more than others, Cap-killers like a Sundin or a Brind’amour who just consistently had the Caps’ number?
GH: Oh, everybody beat up on us – when you’re allowing 5-6 goals a game, everyone is in on it. If there were one or two it’s just gotten lost in the blur. Obviously LeFleur, Bobby Clarke, those guys had their share of goals against us. It got so bad that our goalie, Ron Low, who went on to be the coach in Edmonton and a really good goalie coach for other teams, came to be known as Red Light Ronnie. We used to say the back of his neck was sunburned from the glow of the goal light.
CC: Okay, let’s hear about the white pants...
GH: The first year they experimented with white pants for away games, where they wore the red jerseys. I think that experiment lasted one or two games largely because the white pants became translucent when they got wet, which wasn’t so much of a problem for the Caucasian players...the contrast between the translucent pants and the dark skin of a guy like Mike Marson, however, kind of made them get away from that. They wanted the game to still be a G-rated event.
CC: So the last game of the season, after 79 games with only 7 wins...
GH: It was an 8-4 win over Pittsburgh. We had picked up a player named Stan Gilbertson from Pittsburgh during the season who had been playing okay for us, not great, but he scored 4 goals in that game. It was very unlike anything that happened throughout the year. 
They started a tradition that year that lasted about 10 years or so where the fans were allowed out on the ice at the end of the last game and the players would towel off and they’d be behind ropes – you could get autographs and pictures with them.
It’s a great feat to stick by one team like the Capitals for 33 years of ups and downs (more downs than ups) – through trades, management changes, coaching changes, ownership changes, new jerseys, and countless, countless Penguins games. Yet it’s something I aspire to, to hold the love of one team long enough until it finally pays off, and then beyond.
My dad has been a season ticket holder since that first season and while his seats have gotten better and his hair has gotten thinner, the one thing that remains the same through all these years is the passion he feels for this team. Hearing him describe those dark days with as much love as one would use to speak of a great dynasty shows that being a fan means not noticing the numbers, the records, the punchlines – only the emblem on the jersey. It's a lesson I think we all could learn.
Special thanks to my dad for not only taking the time to be interviewed but also for instilling in me the love of hockey, the Caps, and the eternal underdog. It is by his example that I learned what it meant to be a true hockey fan and for that I will always be grateful.
Careful Blowing Out Those Candles...
A special Cheap Seats birthday wish goes out to Ben Clymer, who turns the big 2-9 today...
Hey, Guess What?
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
The playoffs start tonight!
Yeah, I'm excited...
...just imagine what I'll be like when the Caps are actually in the postseason again. Me. Big hole. Through roof.
I'm not going to make predictions or do previews or tell who I'm rooting for, at least not yet - partly because I have no idea who should win and partly because the second I announce my allegiance to any given team they start to lose. So I'll keep that little tidbit to myself for now.
Gambling comes to the Cheap Seats later in the week, as I'll be conducting a pool among a group of fellow hockey-bloggers - the "prizes" will certainly entertain any hockey fan, I'm sure. All the participants will be listed here once I've received all the official entries, so stay tuned for updates and standings as the playoffs continue.
I'm also inviting the contestants to use the comments sections of the update posts as the official forum for all things smack talk...bring it on. And to those hockey bloggers I've contacted and any I may have missed - get those picks in, you don't want to miss out on all the fun! (E-mail me if you need a form or go here to my helpful little elves at Bleu Blanc et Rouge...)
Round 1 starts tonight...can you feel the excitement? Hear the cheering crowds? See the announcers, the writers, and the NHL all wetting themselves in anticipation of having Sid the Kid in his very first playoff series?
It's time. Drop the puck!
Update: Don't forget to check out Maggie the Monkey's playoff predictions...almost always 50% right!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A Little Perspective, A Little History
The 2006-07 season has admittedly been a tough one for Caps fans. If you listen to the nay-sayers, this was one of the worst, most tragic seasons in Capitals’ history.
Yet anyone who knows their Caps’ history or even general NHL history knows that couldn’t be further from the truth. You only have to look back to the infancy of this organization, the inaugural season of 1974-75, to see what has gone on to become the worst franchise start in NHL history. It’s a dubious distinction to be sure but it has taken on a strange kind of folklore element among true Caps fans. Even those of us who had yet to be born when the team arrived can look at this season, wink at one another, and say “It could have been worse.”
It could have been worse.
To get a true feel for what the season was like, I wanted to see it from the perspective of someone who lived through it, who suffered every single loss and celebrated the rare victory right along with those hapless warriors of three decades ago. And for that I only had to look as far as my own father - we'll call him GH.
Being a Caps fan has always been kind of a thankless pursuit – but for many of us it is all we know, and we would have it no other way. In my dad’s case, the stars simply aligned, the timing of his arrival in DC from New England coinciding with the creation of the team. Their paths clearly connecting he turned away all former allegiances to become a Caps fan even at the darkest time in the franchise’s storied existence.
GH: When I came to DC I had been a Bruins fan, back in the days of Orr and Esposito, and I was a college hockey fan. Ken Dryden was my college goalie when I was [at Cornell]. The day that I got my apartment [in DC] was the day of the first exhibition game against Montreal at the new Capital Centre. I went to that game and that same night bought my first season tickets. So I had the opportunity to be there right from the very beginning.
CC: Tell me about the first exhibition game against Montreal.
GH: I think it was a tie - the team looked okay. It was obviously an exhibition game and both teams were trying a lot of things. The league was experimenting with a rule that when there was some sort of infraction they had a one-sided faceoff. So the team that committed the infraction wasn’t in the faceoff circle and the other team was. They decided very quickly not to go with that one because basically it was like getting a clear shot on goal with no defense.The very first [regular season] game was against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden and the first goal was scored by a guy named Jim Hrycuik. That was the highlight of his whole hockey career, I think. We ended up losing 6-3 and Ron Low [the goalie] ended up making 45 saves or something outrageous like that, which would be pretty typical for the whole season. The whole season our GAA was somewhere between 5 and 6.
We started the season 1-1-1, actually. People were encouraged and had a bit of false hope, because we really didn’t have much. [After the loss to the Rangers] we tied the Kings and then beat the Blackhawks 4-3, including 2 goals off the butt of one of the Chi d-men (who was heard to comment afterwards that he always did have a big butt).
After that it all went downhill. Our backup goalie, Michel Belhumeur, never did win a game for this team. It was really difficult. We lost a lot of road games. We went 37 road games with no ties, just losses, losses, losses. We finally won one towards the end of the season against the California Golden Seals.
There just wasn’t much on this team to cheer for, and there wasn’t much in the minor leagues to bring up. The GM was Milt Schmidt who had come in from the Bruins and we had this coach named Jimmy Anderson who didn’t last the whole season as you would expect – when you can’t fire the whole team you fire the coach. It was a very long season.
We won 8 games all season and tied 5 and I think I saw all the points. We didn’t have a whole lot of firepower and we didn’t have a solid defense. One of our defensemen, Bill Mikkelson was -82, which was obviously significant but it was pretty much indicative of the way the team was playing.
There weren’t big crowds; for a long time we were averaging 5-6000 per game. We didn’t have a product. Washington is a winner’s town and you can’t expect to draw big crowds. Also, other than Atlanta there were no teams in the South and we were still a little southern town then. Around here ice was just something you put in your drink.
CC: When Abe Pollin built Capital Centre it was proclaimed one of the most high-tech, state of the art buildings in the league at the time.
GH: It was - the Caps Centre had if not the first then one of the first giant TV screens. It wasn’t the greatest picture in the world and compared to modern screens it was pretty low tech...but it was there and you could see it from the ice. It was a very nice arena but compared to a lot of the other arenas it was very dark. It was also in the middle of nowhere and the parking situation was absolutely abominable. It would take me 35-40 minutes to drive there from Virginia, and then it would take me an hour to get home because it took you 15-20 minutes just to get out of the parking lot.Abe had the reputation, sometimes deserved, sometimes not, of not wanting to spend money on the team because he was a basketball owner first and foremost. The main reason he built the Caps Centre was for the Bullets but he needed a hockey franchise to help fill the dates in the building. We always felt that the Caps were a bit of a stepchild for him in that he paid much more attention to the Bullets than the Capitals.
CC: What was the media coverage like at the time?
GH: This was before the Times - we had the Star and the Post. Bob Fachet was the beat writer for the Post, he was good – kind of starchy, not very outgoing but a good writer and he knew hockey. The first season the Post tried to sell the game. They had stories on the rules of hockey, booklets put out about the game. Because hockey was still a novelty they were able to get a little more space in the sports section...until they started losing and no one really wanted to read about it. At first there was always a front page article but as they kept losing it started to fade.
CC: Games were mostly on the radio at that point, right?
GH: Yes, Ron Weber was the voice of the Washington Capitals of course – the thing I liked about Ron was that he got very excited about the play and he had these little sayings he would come up with like “way to go Ms. Twiddle”. He would come to Fan Club events and I got to know him and his wife, and after he retired he had seats in the Verizon Center in our section. Ron was great at making the game come alive on the radio. You could practically picture what was going on and I asked him how he was able to do this, and he said that you can’t possibly pick up every little thing that’s going on, so you kind of watch it and condense it – the puck changes hands so much, you can’t just go “he’s got it, he’s got it, now he’s got it”. I remember being very upset when he was replaced by Kolbe, and I like Kolbe, but it wasn’t the same.
Every game was on the radio and TV had maybe 10 or 15 games which is how I got to see the one [road] win. It was on late because it was a West Coast game and I remember staying up until 1 a.m. and seeing them actually win a game away from Caps Centre.
The first mention of the Caps in The Hockey News
[Read Part Two here]
Where's Mrs. O'Leary's Cow When You Need It?
Darn Chicago. They knocked us back a spot. Mean.
Actually, I'm glad Chicago got it - if any team could use some good luck and a breath of fresh air, it's the 'Hawks. A once-proud franchise that is now experiencing fan rebellion and a continuous march to the bottom of the standings thanks to inept ownership. Here's hoping this small piece will be a building block to returning the team to respectability.
So the Caps pick 5th overall in what has already been described as a fairly shallow draft. There are no Ovechkin's, no Crosby's as far as the eye can see. But remember, every young player has potential to be a great player - just look at all the draft picks taken in later rounds who go on to become superstars. For that matter, look at those overhyped #1 picks who were going to be the next Gretzky but who fizzled out instead (paging Alexandre Daigle...).
Well...
...at least Pittsburgh didn't get the #1 pick.
Just for Elly, who asked if I have to bash the Penguins in every post. In response to your question...yes, I do! ;)
Monday, April 09, 2007
How Sweet It Is
The end of the regular season is always a little rough on me. The Caps are out of the playoffs, the playoffs haven’t started yet, and so I find myself seeking out other sources of hockey entertainment. Sure, I could watch Miracle for the 3000th time, but I swear I’m about two viewings away from believing I’m one of the members of the USA Hockey team. (“CapsChick, Washington DC...I play for the United States of America!”)
So after months of casually tossing around the idea, my roommate and I decided to finally get off our butts and go see a Bears game live. We piled into our little zipcar (shameless plug in hopes of getting free stuff) and headed up I-83 into the mountains of Pennsylvania, passing tiny towns and wide open farmland on our way. It was good to get out of the city, away from the memories of the season that might have been, away from the cold into...well, colder.
As we crossed the Maryland border into Pennsylvania, I was struck by a wave of giddiness and greeted by a sea of mullets.
I kid, I kid. (Kind of.)
But I was excited and proceeded to bounce in my seat for the rest of the drive...by the way, not something I’d recommend doing if you’re actually the one driving, although it did make for a thrilling car ride. We passed signs for Harrisburg – 58 miles, 34 miles, 22 miles...then we started seeing signs for Hershey attractions. Suddenly we were behind a car with Pennsylvania plates and a sticker that said ‘HBH’. Hershey Bears Hockey. Follow that car!
Our little caravan grew as we drew closer to the arena, and I started spotting people in the cars around us clad entirely in Bears’ gear. I don’t really know why we were so excited by that – maybe it’s just the sight of people who actually love hockey, something so rare in this football-mad area. Walking through the parking lot towards Giant Center we passed cars with Hershey Bears vanity plates and bumper stickers, families dressed in matching Hershey jerseys, kids waving foam bear claws excitedly, all hoping for a Bears victory to cap off their weekend.
"Game on." "Game on!"
Freddy comes up big
The deadlock was finally broken when Tomas Fleischmann scored for the Bears and the home team took a 1-0 lead into the locker room. After a scoreless but equally penalty-filled second period, the Bears would extend their lead with a goal by rookie Kyle Wilson off a pretty passing play from Flash and Klepis. The Penguins rallied back to pull within one late in the game, ending Cassivi’s shutout bid and making the Bears pay for taking too many penalties. Steckel then scored an empty-netter to put the game out of reach.
It was really an interesting experience and there are some things that stick out at you right away. The speed of the game is much more leisurely than NHL games. Many of the players’ abilities are clearly at a lower level. Plays aren’t so much planned out as they are spontaneous reactions to something the other team did. Guys have more of a tendency to simply whack at a puck when in a battle, be it along the boards or at open ice. There is a lack of basic hockey awareness, of a vision on the ice that you see in the NHL – guys know where their teammates are at all times, where the open ice is, and more importantly, where the opponents are. Not so much at the AHL level.
Still, the game was entertaining and the Bears really dominated the Penguins after what was a bit of a rough first period. They controlled rebounds well in front of Cassivi who was sharp in his own right, and they had some nice plays that forced the WBS goalie to come up big at times.
It was also an interesting look at some of the guys we’ve seen down in DC this year in a completely different setting. There’s a confidence and a swagger to their game and a smoothness to their skating that is missing in some of their teammates. Flash and Klepis were making nice passes and dancing around the defense with an agility we have yet to see from them consistently in the NHL. If they are ever able to keep that in their game and make the transition to the Caps, they will be very scary to play against. Schultz played his usual solid but invisible game, which is fine by me, and Green actually looked like a defenseman out there.
Schultz sporting #6. A good omen maybe?
But others stood out too, some guys that may not have worn a Caps jersey yet this season but could be seeing time with the club as soon as next season. Kyle Wilson was very impressive, and the finish on his goal was really beautiful. Quintin Laing was also sharp, and Joey Tenute was a feisty little bugger all game long.
Kyle Wilson pots the eventual game-winner - 2-0 Bears!
I’m going to assume that everyone was a bit sleepy after church and too much chocolate (or in my case gefilte fish and matzah), because it was a bit mellow throughout the afternoon and I’ve heard that it usually gets pretty raucous. I’m sure once the playoffs start up things will get a bit more interesting. Funny thing is that it was still noisier than Verizon Center. Fans do a good job of just starting up random cheers throughout the game to keep at least a buzz running through the crowd, something I've noticed was lacking at Caps games.
I will take Horn Guy over the dozens of air horns in attendance any day, though – it sounded like a herd of dying cattle.
Bears Win!!
Young at Heart
I'm running about three days behind the rest of the world, so bear with me - there was a lot going on as the Caps finished out their season and I'm working to get all of it up here as soon as possible.
This year the Capitals went beyond the usual day of thanks and rolled out the first annual (as far as I can remember) Fan Appreciation Week. Wowza, a whole week just for the fans! I'm pretty sure we've earned it...
Anyways, Friday night I had the chance to go to the Caps' Alumni game featuring so many guys that just leapt right out of my childhood - players included Loooooouuuu Franceschetti, Bobby Gould, Pat Peake, my boy Sylvain Cote, and the Secretary of Defense himself, Rod Langway.
(Yes, I know it's shaky. I'm a horrible videographer)
Peeeeeeake!
The guys seemed to be having a lot of fun out there, although it's amazing how you can tell which ones still play hockey pretty frequently and which ones have spent the last 10 years on the couch watching hockey. Peake and Cote, neither of whom is too far removed from their playing days, still looked pretty good...while some of the older guys like Labre and Langway were huffing and puffing. They had Cote playing as a forward (strange to see him taking faceoffs, by the way) and we were joking that it was probably because he's one of the few who could make it up the ice with any sort of speed.
5-1 after 1 in favor of the White team
Cote's second goal of the night -
it happens quickly, blink and you miss it
A little closer after 2...8-4 White
Ouch. WHITE TEAM WINS!
Dainius Zubrus's brother, who works in the Caps' ticket sales office, was playing on the Black team and was getting heckled by the staff all night long (although they did put up a sign that said "We Love Zubrus"...). Pat Peake had an explosive offensive night with 4 goals and a few assists, Cote had 2 goals and an assist, Alan May had a few assists, and even Yvon Labre got a goal.
All fans in attendance got a signed poster with a handful of randomly selected signatures, which was a nice touch.
COTE!
No one else I was with got a Coco signature...it's like he knows.
It was a great evening and a blast to see all these guys, albeit looking a little slower and with a little less hair. The fans were into it, the players were into it...just so much fun. Definitely something the Caps should do every year - and if you didn't make it out to this one, be sure to go next time, you won't regret it.
Lots of stuff going on here in the Cheap Seats this week, which is pretty amazing considering the fact that the Caps are no longer playing...minor detail, really. Anyways, be sure to check back - we've got lots more to talk about over the next week, including a couple of interviews you won't want to miss.
Offseason? What offseason?
New York State of Mind
I completely forgot, yesterday was a BIG day. I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for the New York Islanders:
Thu., April 12 8:00 p.m. at Buffalo - TSN
Sat., April 14 7:30 p.m. at Buffalo - VS, TSN
Mon., April 16 7:30 p.m. at NY Islanders - VS, TSN
Wed., April 18 7:30 p.m. at NY Islanders - VS, TSN
*Fri., April 20 7:00 p.m. at Buffalo - VS, TSN
*Sun., April 22 7:00 p.m. at NY Islanders - VS, TSN
*Tue., April 24 TBD at Buffalo - TSN
#2 New Jersey vs. #7 Tampa Bay
Thu., April 12 7:30 p.m. at New Jersey - RDS
Sat., April 14 7:00 p.m. at New Jersey - CBC, RDS
Mon., April 16 7:00 p.m. at Tampa Bay - CBC, RDS
Wed., April 18 7:00 p.m. at Tampa Bay - CBC, RDS
*Fri., April 20 7:00 p.m. at New Jersey - CBC, RDS
*Sun., April 22 -TBD at Tampa Bay - CBC, RDS
*Tue., April 24 TBD at New Jersey - CBC, RDS
#3 Atlanta vs. #6 NY Rangers
Thu., April 12 7:00 p.m. at Atlanta - TSN
Sat., April 14 3:00 p.m. at Atlanta - NBC, TSN
Tue., April 17 - 7:00 p.m. at NY Rangers - TSN
Wed., April 18 7:00 p.m. at NY Rangers - TSN
*Fri., April 20 TBD at Atlanta - TSN
*Sun., April 22 1:00 p.m. at NY Rangers - NBC, TSN
*Mon., April 23 7:00 p.m. at Atlanta - VS, TSN
#4 Ottawa vs. #5 Pittsburgh
Wed., April 11 7:00 p.m. at Ottawa - CBC, RDS, VS
Sat., April 14 3:00 p.m. at Ottawa - CBC, RDS, NBC
Sun., April 15 6:00 p.m. at Pittsburgh - VS, CBC, RDS
Tue., April 17 7:00 p.m. at Pittsburgh - VS, CBC, RDS
*Thu., April 19 7:00 p.m. at Ottawa - CBC, RDS, VS
*Sun., April 22 1:00 p.m. at Pittsburgh - NBC, CBC, RDS
*Tue., April 24 7:00 p.m. at Ottawa - VERSUS, CBC, RDS
WEST
#1 Detroit vs. #8 Calgary
Thu., April 12 7:00 p.m. at Detroit - VS, CBC
Sun., April 15 1:00 p.m. at Detroit - NBC, CBC
Tue., April 17 10:00 p.m. at Calgary - CBC, VS
Thu., April 19 TBD at Calgary - CBC, VS
*Sat., April 21 3:00 p.m. at Detroit - NBC, CBC
*Sun., April 22 TBD at Calgary - CBC, VS
*Tue., April 24 TBD at Detroit - CBC, VS
#2 Anaheim vs. #7 Minnesota
Wed., April 11 10:30 p.m. at Anaheim - TSN
Fri., April 13 10:30 p.m. at Anaheim - TSN
Sun., April 15 8:00 p.m. at Minnesota - TSN
Tue., April 17 9:00 p.m. at Minnesota - TSN
*Thu., April 19 10:30 p.m. at Anaheim - TSN
*Sat., April 21 TBD at Minnesota - TSN
*Mon., April 23 10:00 p.m. at Anaheim - TSN
#3 Vancouver vs. #6 Dallas
Wed., April 11 10:00 p.m. at Vancouver - CBC, RDS, VS
Fri., April 13 9:00 p.m. at Vancouver - CBC, RDS, VS
Sun., April 15 9:30 p.m. at Dallas VS, CBC, RDS
Tue., April 17 8:00 p.m. at Dallas - CBC, RDS
*Sat., April 21 8:00 p.m. at Dallas - VS, CBC, RDS
*Mon., April 23 TBD at Vancouver - CBC, RDS, VS
#4 Nashville vs. #5 San Jose
Wed., April 11 8:00 p.m. at Nashville - TSN
Fri., April 13 8:00 p.m. at Nashville - TSN
Mon., April 16 10:00 p.m. at San Jose - VS, TSN
Wed., April 18 10:00 p.m. at San Jose - VS, TSN
*Fri., April 20 9:00 p.m. at Nashville - VS, TSN
*Sun., April 22 10:00 p.m. at San Jose - VS, TSN
*Tue., April 24 TBD at Nashville - VS, TSN
Saturday, April 07, 2007
High Hopes, Shattered Dreams and the End of the Line (Part 1)
I'm reeling a bit - my emotions have been all over the map today and its hard to rein them all in and focus them in such a way that other people know what I'm talking about. I feel like I've experienced almost everything there was to experience as a hockey fan in such a short span of time that my brain is struggling to comprehend it all.
First the Caps-related portion of our afternoon. Facing Buffalo, they not only lose but fail to score a single goal in their final game of the season. Not throughly unexpected given the opponent (and given the home team, for that matter) but I'll admit there was a part of me that hoped the Caps would pull out something spectacular as a sort of thank you - something that would resonate much louder than just a jersey or a signed puck.
The game concludes with the fan appreciation presentation, where the players express their thanks to the fans for sticking with them. It's something I always wait around for, because win or lose, playoffs or no playoffs, this is my team. I know why they struggled and I'm willing to show my gratitude for the effort they gave this season, no matter how often it may have fallen short. As the jerseys are presented I applaud each player in turn, from Bryan Muir to Alex Ovechkin and everyone in between.
I'm momentarily taken back at the apparent light mood among the players before I remember that their season has really been over for a while. Not only that, but you can see that these guys genuinely have fun together - and after all, it's just a game. Tomorrow they'll get up and go about their day, some returning to Hershey for the playoffs, others preparing for their trip to Moscow, and many more returning to their summer homes to relax and regroup. The sting of this season is probably overshadowed at this point by relief that it is over and next year can only be better - a sentiment I'm sure many of us fans share as well.
I'm always sad at this time of year. Inevitably the roster in place for the last game of the season will not match the roster for opening day in the fall, so I try and take it all in. The horn sounds announcing the end of the first period, then the end of the second, and suddenly there are only 20 minutes remaining in that season. The last playing of The Hockey Song, the final Mites on Ice game, one more swing around the arena with the Kiss Cam, and that's it. The jerseys are handed out and the speeches made, and the arena empties out for the final time until the fall.
Then there was the happy part of the day, and that was celebrating our up and down season with other Caps' bloggers, fans, guests, family and friends. [Special thanks to the boys at Japers' Rink for pulling this whole thing together in such a short time - great work, guys!]
We drank a toast to the Caps and promised each other that next year would be better. We picked out the free agents we wanted and made our playoff predictions. We chatted about hockey, the Washington Nationals, life in general...then waved goodbye, drained our glasses, and headed out into the chilly April day to resume our lives away from Verizon Center.
(I got a little wordy here, so - To be continued...)
