When you get knocked out of the playoffs in a year like this has been, it's understandable that the local papers will pay homage to the magical journey that it was, and rightly so.
But when both the NHL's official website and ESPN come out with articles about how much the Caps achieved, how bright the future is, and how amazing they've been...you know you've got something good on your hands.
From NHL.com:Yes sir, what Bruce Boudreau, Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Capitals gave the hockey world this season was indeed memorable. And this could just be the very beginning. Ovechkin – who scored 65 goals during the regular season – will turn 23 during Washington’s next training camp. Mike Green showed signs that he will be a premier defenseman in this League for years to come. Alexander Semin proved he can pick up the slack when Ovechkin is struggling during those 12 seconds per year.
From Scott Burnside at ESPN.com:This isn't a team that is rebuilding, but rather building. To what? Who knows? But there is something mindful of the Pittsburgh Penguins and how they have quickly learned what it takes to win in the playoffs. Perhaps, more importantly, the fans in this oft-maligned NHL market seem to have understood what was happening here, too.
Just one difference, Scott...when the Pens returned to the postseason after years of rebuilding? They only won once.
Just something to chew on.
Chin up, Caps fans. The 2008-09 season is just around the corner!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Winners Even In Defeat
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Stop, You're Making Us Blush
It's always fun to see ESPN's "experts" weigh in on different hockey-related subjects - it's more fun when they're nice, even glowing, in their discussions of the Caps. Observe:1. Which player do you think will be one of the out-of-nowhere role players who surprises everyone in the playoffs?
They also go on to say that Sid will go further than Ovie in the playoffs, but that's neither surprising...nor necessarily wrong. As much as I love our boys, the Penguins are a Cup favorite, the Caps a Cinderella story - and if both win the first round they'll probably have to face each other.
Scott Burnside: I would keep an eye on Tom Poti. The veteran in Washington has put some injuries behind him and moves the puck well. He plays in the shadow of Mike Green now, but that's not a bad thing.
E.J. Hradek: I think Capitals forward Brooks Laich and Red Wings forward Johan Franzen could be two under-the-radar type players who can be surprisingly big contributors in the coming weeks.
Barry Melrose: That's a good question. I think you'll see players like Mike Grier of San Jose as well as a fan and team favorite like Ian Laperriere of Colorado step up, players who play a hard style that's perfect for the playoffs. Steve Ott of Dallas is another one; he gets under people's skin. In the East, look for Scott Hartnell (Flyers), Matt Cooke (Capitals) and Nigel Dawes (Rangers) to score big, timely goals.
5. Which arena will have the most electricity in the first round?
Burnside: It's hard to believe I'm writing this, but the Verizon Center in Washington.
Hradek: The Bell Centre just ain't the Forum, but the place will be nuts when the Habs take the ice to face the Bruins. The atmosphere will be nuclear! The Verizon Center in D.C. should be jumping, too.
Melrose: The Shark Tank. It's the loudest building in the NHL. All of the first-round arenas will be great; Washington will be unbelievable. But with all of the optimism and the team's strong finish to the regular season, San Jose will be rockin'.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Cox on Board
Lately it seems like someone new jumps on the Caps bandwagon every day. Our newest traveling companion, though, is the most unlikely of supporters - Damien Cox. Yes, the man who has consistently berated and mocked and belittled this Caps team is finally on board with a staggering statement: the Caps are so much more than just Ovechkin.
Read on:
A team that was the NHL's worst in November and not much better as the calendar flipped over from 2007 to 2008, the Capitals are now demonstrating that they are about more than just trying to sneak into the No. 8 seed. They certainly are not just a team being carried on the back of a single man toward the franchise's first playoff berth in five years.
Ovechkin, with the Art Ross (leading scorer) and Rocket Richard (most goals) Trophies both sewn up, is surely making a compelling case for his candidacy for the Hart (league MVP), regardless of whether the Caps qualify for the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. But to suggest Washington is a one-man team would be wrong. For starters, you don't win nine of 10, as the Caps have done at the most important time of the season, if you don't have more than one weapon.
Second, Ovechkin was there for the first 21 games under then-coach Glen Hanlon, and the club started 6-14-1 and looked headed for a lottery draft pick. Clearly, the tactics and decisions of Hanlon's replacement, Bruce Boudreau, over the past 59 games has had an awful lot to do with the resurgence of the Caps.
Finally, GM George McPhee might as well take a bow now, for it appears that while other teams were busy landing bigger-name players, he made the best moves at the February trade deadline. In Tuesday's crucial game against Carolina, the players McPhee acquired -- goalie Cristobal Huet, winger Matt Cooke and center Sergei Fedorov -- all played significant roles.
Check out the rest here.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
All About Bruce
Boudreau gets yet another well-earned day in the spotlight, as ESPN continues their "surprise story" spotlight of the Caps with part three, a look at BB himself. Meanwhile over at WashingtonPost.com the coach took some time to answer questions from the fans, which included these little gems: Reston, Va.: Would you prefer to coach in a 1-0 game or a 6-5 game? South Riding, Va.: How do you pick players for the overtime shootout? Sandwiched between college football and NBA news...proof of ESPN.com's undying (and until now, hidden) love for the Caps
And of course this Bruce quote, pointed out by astute reader Victor:
Bruce Boudreau: Coaches love to be thought of as defensive gurus, but personally I just want to be the coach that has the higher of the two numbers on the scoreboard. So it does not matter to me.
Mohawk, MI: What do you miss most about coaching in the minor leagues?
Bruce Boudreau: McDonald's of course. And the movies on the bus.
Oh, Matt Bradley. We do love you.
Bruce Boudreau: You have your standard go-to guys, but you might sneak in a guy who is having a hot game. Or if you go 10 or 12 rounds then some of the guys just jump on the ice and go.
Then there's the AP story about how the Caps went from worst to first and why. Of course they point to the fact that the Southeast Division is the weakest in the league - and I have to say, I take issue with that. Not that it's a barn-burning division by any stretch, but Carolina got off to a very hot start and was right on pace with Detroit and Ottawa before a rash of injuries devastated the team and cooled them off; on the flip side, both Washington and Atlanta got off to a slow start and are just now getting hot.
It's not so much a weak division as it is an inconsistent one - should the Caps win the division and make the postseason I'm sure we'll have to revisit that discussion time and time again.
Here's the promising part, though. In Burnside's piece on Boudreau, he clearly states that this is not where they want to be. They want to be challenging the Senators, Habs and Devils of the league, not just the Thrashers and Islanders. As a Caps fan you have to feel encouraged by the continuing sense on this team that good enough is not good enough. And if that keeps up, whether or not the Southeast Division is weak or not may not be the story for much longer.
Continuing the ESPN lovefest, we have a question and answer session with Alex Ovechkin, again over on ESPN.com...they always did love us over there, didn't they? Nothing particularly earth-shattering, just more of the same lovable Ovechkin we see everyday. The kid was raised right for sure.
And rounding it all out, props for Boudreau from "the hairdo" himself, Barry Melrose - who needs to learn how to pronounce Semin's last name before the FCC steps in:
H/t to Peerless for the video
It's funny how getting first place in the division suddenly shines the spotlight on the little team that could, isn't it? Not that we don't welcome the attention, of course. We even got a little more love from ESPN last night, when one of the commentators followed up a blink and you miss it highlight reel of our game by saying "that's it, I'm officially a bandwagon Ovechkin fan."
Welcome aboard, friend. You're not the first and you certainly won't be the last - but there's room for all.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
CapsLove Hits ESPN
Wow - getting some love from Scott Burnside today and apparently all season, as the Caps have been picked as this season's surprise story. We start with Part 1, Training Camp, where Burnside looks at the new optimism that has permeated this team. There's nothing all that new there, at least not if you read the papers or many, many blogs that have said the same, but for people outside the DC area this may be an eye-opener.
The best part, though, is probably the little piece on Clark inserted into a box next to the column itself:
If there is one player who symbolizes the Capitals' emerging identity as a team on a mission, it's captain Chris Clark.Read the whole thing - it'll make you fall in love with Clark all over again.
There is a tendency to suggest Clark is the NHL's quietest 30-goal scorer. But that wouldn't take into account the opponents he's sent back to the bench rubbing their jaws or shoulders, muttering, "Oh, so that's Chris Clark." Or the netminders who have fished pucks out of their nets likewise muttering the same [...]
I'm certainly looking forward to reading the rest of the series as the season goes on...nice to get a little spotlight on our boys from someone, even if it is ESPN.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Erasure Lives
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby refrain from breaking my heart
I'm so in love with you
That you give me no reason
Why you're making me work so hard
That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no
Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby, please give a little respect to me
"The Capitals are much improved -- without breaking the bank [...] Nylander had a great year for the Rangers, Poti is a solid addition on defense and Kozlov gives them depth. I think they've signed three of the top nine free agents available."
This of course comes right on the heels of Scott Burnside's analysis calling the Caps a team on the rise:
"Slowly, quietly, GM George McPhee is building the Caps into a dangerous team in the east. Hard-working and tough already, the Caps added some offensive juice down the middle in the form of Viktor Kozlov and Michael Nylander (now Public Enemy #1 in Edmonton, not that anyone in Washington cares) who combined for 51 goals and 134 points a year ago. Tom Poti, another New York Islander ex-pat should help out a power play that ranked 24th. The Caps hung around the playoff race for two-thirds of a season a year ago -- look for them to be in it until the end this coming season."
To quote Winnie the Pooh's friend Eeyore: thanks for noticing us.
Now I'm just waiting for that flashy NHL.com cover story and I'll be happy. You know, like the other teams that did less. (Hello, Detroit, I'm looking at you - signing two geriatrics does not a spectacular offseason make...)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Draft Madness: The Detour
In keeping with my historical attempts to deflect the fact that I know nothing about this year's draft, I stumbled upon ESPN.com and found something (gasp!) passing for hockey coverage - a list of the best and worst picks in NHL history, active and all time. I doubt anyone will be surprised to see that the Caps appear on this list and not in a good way...and if you are surprised, well...you must be new around here. Welcome to DC.
Here is what they call one of the five worst value picks of all time:
• Alexandre Volchkov, RW, Washington, 1996, (fourth overall): The 1996 draft wasn't a great one, but as it turned out, there were better choices than Volchkov. The Capitals could have gone after "too-small" center Daniel Briere, who was selected by Phoenix with the 24th pick. Volchkov played three NHL games before returning to Russia to finish his professional career.
I'm not going to question the total bust that was Volchkov's stint here in DC. But come on, was little Danielle really the only example they could have picked out? What about Ruslan Salei? Marco Sturm? Marty Reasoner? Zdeno freaking Chara? Danielle's teammate (for now, at least) and former Cap Dainius Zubrus?
Hey, how about Jaroslav "Yogi" Svejkov-...oh, wait. They did pick him. 1996 was a rough year for the Caps.
If you don't believe me, look who else we picked: Jan Bulis (aw, poor Buli) and a slew of household names - Sergei Zimakov, David Weninger, Shawn McNeil, Justin Davis, Matt Lahey, A.J. Van Bruggen, Mike Anderson, Oleg Orekhovsky, and Chad Cavanagh. For these superstars we passed over Tomas Kaberle, Willie Mitchell, Fernando Pisani and our boy Kiwi, all taken in the 8th round.
The Caps' odd relationship with the 1996 draft class gets better, too:
- Who remembers Alexei Tezikov? Drafted 115th overall by Buffalo who 3 years later pawned him off on us for, get this: Joe Juneau. Next they'll try and sell us the Brooklyn Bridge. Or Jiri Novotny. Oops.
- Josef Boumedienne, our newest, ahem, "Boomer"-ang (these are the jokes, guys)? Drafted 91st overall by the Devils.
- Here's a blast from the past, what about #216, Ivan Ciernik - we picked him up off of waivers from Ottawa, he scored a few goals, and last I heard he was somewhere over in Germany.
- Oh, and let's not forget the man drafted 70th overall, the man for whom the term "Cap-killer" was invented, Jon Sim. How many games against the Flyers, Panthers and Thrashers would the Caps have won with him on the side of good instead of evil? Okay, still probably not that many, but the scores would have been lower.
Incidentally the Caps also have ties with another of the worst picks on ESPN's list, this time among active players (and I'm guessing they're using the term 'active' loosely) - good ol' RRRRico Fata himself, taken 6th overall in 1998. Poor Suavé.
I won't go into the 1998 draft in too much depth because it has to be hands-down one of the worst drafts in Caps history. Forget the fact that Washington didn't pick until the 49th spot when they chose Jomar Cruz (Jo-who? Exactly.) Let's just say that only three of the Caps illustrious selections even dressed in a game for Washington, and that's about all they did. Dress.
Boy, Caps history is sprinkled with fun, isn't it?
