Per the Caps website, Bruce Boudreau has officially been named the head coach.
McPhee has said that there was no timeline for them to find an official coach, but I think we every game we could see that Boudreau was "interim" in name only. This is a fantastic move by the organization and anyone who questions making an AHL coach into an NHL coach only has to look at the long list of distinguished NHL coaches, current and past, who got their start in the minors.
Congrats to Bruce - now let's see the Caps give him his first OFFICIAL win!
Showing posts with label Personnel Moves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personnel Moves. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Interim No More
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Hanlon Out, Boudreau In
Anyone who has followed Caps hockey at all this season knew that it was not a question of if Glen Hanlon would be fired...but when.
And "when" becomes today, as it was announced this morning that Hanlon had been removed from his position as head coach. Serving as interim head coach will be Bruce Boudreau, bench boss for the Caps' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.
None of this is a surprise.
Hanlon's tenure here was overall a very successful one, creating a team that grew a reputation for being hard-working and feisty if not overly talented. He was the perfect coach for a young, rebuilding team - patient, calm, and always eager to teach. The problems started when suddenly this group of lunch pail guys was infused with more talent, and then magnified when the talent suffered a rash of injuries.
It seemed at times that the Caps simply stopped listening to him. Many players came out over the past week and defended Hanlon, saying he was telling them what to do and they just weren't executing - well, that's a problem. If the players aren't motivated to follow instructions that they know are right, it's time for a change.
So after a loss to the Thrashers last night the Caps find themselves under the guidance of 
Boudreau, a talented AHL coach who has led the Bears to two straight Calder Cup finals. Boudreau has the advantage of having coached a number of the Caps in the AHL and has been regarded by some as one of the better coaches not in the NHL - we'll see how true that is when the boys travel to Philly for a post-Thanksgiving matinee against the Flyers tomorrow.
Best of luck to Hanlon - I'll admit I'm sad to see him go, as much as I am looking forward with hope for a turnaround. And of course good luck to Bruce Boudreau in his new role...here's hoping he's got what it takes.
It certainly can't get any worse.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thoughts on Hanlon
Earlier today someone posted the following question in a comment: is it time to fire Hanlon?
Until now this is a subject that I've admittedly been rather wishy-washy on. In all my time as a fan I've been very reluctant to aim the finger of blame directly at the bench boss. I grow attached to coaches, almost as attached as I am to the players, and the thought of firing them often seems beyond my thought process.
That officially ends today.
I'm jumping on the "fire Hanlon" bandwagon right now, tossing aside my sentimentality which really has no place in sports in the first place, ditching my childhood naivete and saying that this team should be better. It should be better and there is no longer any excuse I can give for why they are not.
This is a team full of people talented enough to make a living playing hockey. So why is it that they are routinely unable to do the little things like complete a pass or get a decent scoring chance? Why do players continue to shoot the puck directly into the opposition's skates, often allowing an odd-man rush? Why do players like Ovechkin and Nylander continue to overplay the puck and ultimately turn it over?
The fact that the defense has improved enough to overcome these little breakdowns is beside the point and in fact is little comfort - it may be a goal prevented but it's also an offensive chance blown at the other end. When you're only scoring one goal a night you can't afford to be missing the net with your shots or turning the puck over on the power play.
Then there's the chemistry, an elusive animal that, until recently, seemed to be present in the locker room. There was a good spirit, a positive attitude, a sense that this team was in it together. But is it me or does that seem to be missing lately? Players sound increasingly dejected in interviews - we're playing well but we're just not winning, we're not getting the breaks, blah blah blah.
Twice in the last two weeks we've seen articles come out from scratched players airing their frustrations at the lack of playing time - something I don't remember seeing in recent years. It begs the question, why aren't Sutherby and Eminger getting ice time? You can say chemistry is delicate, lines are set, we want the depth to have two healthy bodies in the press box...but when the team is losing all the time, that argument stops holding water.
You can't claim that this team is better without those two in the lineup - and I'm not saying they're the answer, either. As much as I like both of them I can admit that neither is the team-saving type. I just know that I've seen Jeff Schultz fail to line someone up with a solid check or turn the puck over far too many times not to wonder what Eminger would have done in the same situation. I know that I've seen Sutherby give 110% on every measly shift he's been given this year, something we can't always say about some of the other forwards. It's not like this team can get any worse...might as well let them play a bit.
And what about the work ethic? This team has been one of the worst teams over the last three years but there was never a question that they came to play almost every night. Teams would say afterwards that the Caps were a hard-working team, tough to play against, and you couldn't take them for granted. Haven't seen those quotes floating around after many games lately...
So yes, it's time for Hanlon to go. I realize that I am but one voice and I come into this argument late and with all the authority of an armchair GM. But all these things - the lack of basic hockey skills, the lack of chemistry, the lack of hard work - these are all things that fall squarely in the lap of the coach. It is his job to drill the hockey fundamentals into his team's minds. It is his job to create chemistry where there was none. It is his job to motivate the team to put in a full sixty minutes of high energy, hard-working hockey.
Coach Hanlon is a great guy, a great coach, a great leader. He was a breath of fresh air after the disaster that was Bruce Cassidy's tenure here, a calming voice when the team was being sold off bit by bit, a reassuring presence when the Caps wallowed at the bottom of the league two years running.
But now it seems his work is done. Time for a change.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Changes...Turn and Face the Strain
I've been doing my best to hold off the naysayers of the world and the doubts in my own mind, but last night's loss and the prolonged slump the Caps appear to be in can no longer be dismissed simply by saying "oh, it's early," or "but there are so many injuries!" Something has to change or this team is going to dig itself a hole that is far too deep to crawl out of come April - if that hasn't already happened.
There is no reason for this team to be showing up for 20-30 minutes a night and thinking that's okay. There is no reason for this team with all its offensive talent to be ranked in the bottom third of the league in goals per game. There is no reason for this team with all its alleged prowess with the extra man to be routinely blowing golden power play opportunities, including several 5 on 3 chances over the past few weeks.
Last night's win was disheartening for many reasons. For one thing it was against the Flyers - and no one likes to lose to Philly. For another, the Caps looked to be in control of this game after the first period. And for another, Briere scored - admit it, you were kind of hoping he got eaten by that goldfish, weren't you?
Last night the team simply decided they could skate to a 1-0 victory, riding that single tally all the way to the bank. Well, no one told the Flyers that. For the rest of the game the Caps were back on their heels, with Olie making some great plays to keep them in it but ultimately unable to stave off repeated power play chances. Even a late strike by Ovechkin (and how many times have we seen those) seemed to have little effect and the Caps were once again unable to get the puck out of their zone with the goalie pulled and the seconds ticking away.
So after coming out of the gate with a startling record of 3-0, the Caps have won just two of their last ten. Dropping the majority of those by just one goal is of little comfort to me - it might as well be ten, since the team seems completely uninterested in producing any sort of offensive spark, save for one game against the Leafs that was clearly a fluke.
We keep saying that the Caps have played well in almost all of their losses lately, and its true. They've never looked completely outclassed for long stretches of time and have hung in there almost every night. But at what point do we say, okay, playing well and still not getting the win is a problem? When do we get to see them get over the hump and actually win a game in which they are the more deserving team? The talent is there, the potential is there, they're just not putting it in action. And therein lies the problem.
So what needs to change? Is it a new coach? A trade? Or could it really be that missing the captain, the other Russian superstar and the new defenseman is throwing this team off so much that the ship will be righted once they return? If that's the case then the Caps will not make the playoffs - that depth that we were bragging about all summer is simply a figment of our imagination and just a scattering of injuries is still enough to send them into a downward spiral.
I've always been a fan of Hanlon. I've held off saying he should be replaced because I like him, I think he's done a fantastic job, and I've been hesitant to suggest a mere coaching change will do the trick. But maybe it is time. Maybe the boys really have stopped listening to him. And if that's the case he needs to be pulled, and now - before things get really bad.
The Caps get the weekend off before embarking on a stretch where they will play eight of their next ten against Southeast rivals...the only division to this point that they've had any success against. And rest assured, both Tampa and Carolina will be looking to avenge that first loss. (Atlanta will, too, but I have less confidence in their ability to actually do so, four third period goals against the mighty Senators aside.) Throw in two meetings with the Panthers, a team that has routinely and for no apparent reason bitch-slapped the Caps around in recent years and a date with Ottawa and you're looking at a rough patch.
If the Caps don't figure out a way to string a few wins together by the end of next week, I think its time to make some changes. Because two points now counts the same as two points in March and the days are slipping by with frightening speed...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Hartley Gone, Problems Still Abound
The web is buzzing today with the news that Bob Hartley, our very bestest friend, has become the first casualty of Atlanta's dubious 0-6-0 start. Caps fans in particular seem both overjoyed and unsurprised by the move and I'd count myself among them as we bid adieu to Smilin' Bob.
Being winless and in fact pointless to start the season isn't good. To score only 9 goals and be shutout twice with the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Slava Kozlov and Marian Hossa on your team is even worse. Throw in a painful four-game sweep at the hand of the Rangers back in April and it's no wonder that Hartley got the axe.
What's happening in Atlanta, though, is not as great a fall as people seem to think and that is because, and I mean this with all due respect, they weren't that great a team last year. They were average, maybe even good. They started out hot and at times seemed poised to run away with the division. But this was a division that frankly was a pretty easy division to win - and they barely did that, holding off Tampa with a whip and a chair as the season drew to a close.
Oh, and save the talk about two of the last three Cup champs being from the Southeast. Our division has, in the past, done plenty to remove the moniker of "SouthLeast" and the Carolina and Tampa teams that won were great teams; the ones we saw last year were not.
Atlanta finished with 97 points last year. 43 of those came from division play. That's almost 45% of their point total for the year. Compare that with the seven other postseason teams in the East:
Buffalo - 113 points, 39 from division rivals (34.5%)
New Jersey - 107 points, 47 from division rivals (43%)
Ottawa - 105 points, 41 from division (39%)
Pittsburgh - 105 points, 43 from division (41%)
NY Rangers - 94 points, 35 from division (37%)
Tampa Bay - 93 points, 40 from division (43%)
NY Islanders - 92 points, 38 from division (41%)
Look who comes the closest - NJ and Pittsburgh, who had the Flyers to kick around but also managed 100+ point seasons (while also playing each other 8x), and Tampa...another Southeast Division alum.
But let's not stop there; look at the most telling total from the Thrashers "glorious" season - overtime and shootout losses. Atlanta picked up 7 points (5 OT, 2 SO) from losses in the extra frame against division foes, more than any other postseason team. Even the Islanders, who squeaked into the playoffs by way of a shootout win, earned only four points by essentially losing to their Atlantic rivals.
I'm not going to rally against the point system right now because I have neither the will nor the energy - but take away those 7 loser points and the Thrashers were on the outside looking in.
That's not to say that Atlanta didn't have a decent team last year. When I say they weren't that good I don't mean they were worthy of a last place finish. They've got considerable talent and youth (neither of which is found in their current captain, but again, another discussion for another day) and they did a fair job of taking out the Caps on more than one occasion last year.
But they were for large stretches of the season inconsistent - and I don't mean that mildly. I mean blatantly, glaringly inconsistent, winning 5 or 6 in a row and then losing 5 or 6 in a row. Even when the season started and they picked up points in 11 of their first 12 games, four of their wins came in the extra frame, three of those were OT or shootout losses - and 9 of those games were against the Southeast.
So here's where they stand right now. Going into this season they've lost their big free agent rental Tkachuk, Caps-killer Jon Sim, Andy Sutton, JP Vigier, Greg De Vries, Vitali Vishnevsky, Niko Kapanen and Shane Hnidy, all of whom were part of getting them to the postseason for the first time in franchise history.
They picked up Ken Klee.
And they're placing their hopes on a 23 year old goaltender who will probably be a great goalie someday, you know, when he grows up.
...and they're 0-6 why now? Puzzler.
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