Wij houden van de drie sterren die primaire embleem van de Kappen het', vertegenwoordiger van de steun van het team in Maryland, het District, en Virginia begeleiden; for our third sweater we placed them on the shoulders, signifying the region’s hockey hopes carried on the team’s collective shoulders. We’d considered rotating them 90 degrees and having them run down the shoulder’s seam (a la the Caps’ classic sweater); let us know if you have strong feelings one way or the other about the stars’ placement.
  • Draw-string collaring was a must. The Caps have never had it; it hasn’t yet become so common a feature as to be cliche; and on a sweater design striving for a throwback, classic look, it seems like icing on the fashion cake.

    • So our final result is below. We strove for something more than minimalist, yet not cluttered. It is intended to represent the team and the region, and is hopefully something that would age well. But this is just one blogging team’s (admittedly fun) effort — we’re looking for your feedback, suggested improvements and, if you’re so inspired, perhaps your very own third sweater design posted as a comment.

    So in the spirit of Marvel Comics’ old “What If…” title, we hope you enjoy this concept of a Caps’ Sunday Sweater as much as we did designing it:

    Filed in Hockey Art, OFB, Old Time Hockey, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (39)

    Numbers Game

    By The OFB Team
    Wednesday, June 25, 2008

    In a couple of years' time, should Washington Capitals' forward Anton Gustafsson select his father's number 16 for his sweater?
    View Results

    Filed in Bengt Gustafsson, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (13)

    Worlds Go Retro

    By Gustafsson
    Wednesday, April 30, 2008

    This year’s IIHF World Championship Tournament is going old school, if only for one game. Fifteen of the sixteen participating teams will play one preliminary round game with retro sweaters. The sweater each country will wear was selected from what they considered to be a significant year for their national team programs. Belarus is the only country not participating as they did not have a national team until its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

    CANADA: Commemorating the inaugural Canada Cup, the sons of the Great White North will be sporting the split-leaf jersey from 1976. The retro sweater game is May 6th against the United States.

    RUSSIA: This one could not have been an easy decision with the all the success the Russians have enjoyed. Fedorov, Ovechkin, and Semin will be rocking the red in the retro threads from 1956 commomorating Russia’s first Olympic gold. The sweater will be “modern retro” with Rossiya replacing CCCP. Since the 1956 Olympics were held in Italy, the retro sweater game will be on May 2nd versus Italy.

    UNITED STATES: Naturally, the US is going back to the miracle on ice. Though it’s the first one in 1960 that occurred in Squaw Valley, California. The US game is on May 2nd with Latvia.

    Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Canada, IIHF, Miracle on Ice, Russia, Sergei Fedorov, Sweaters, USA Hockey, Washington Capitals, World Championships| Permalink| Comments (10)

    Summer of Change, Autumn of Return?

    By Gustafsson
    Friday, December 14, 2007

    Washington Capitals Sweater - WhiteBuried in Wednesday’s news of the three-game home winning streak, Joe Motzko’s offensive explosion, and Mike Green’s overtime winner was this gem of a nugget:

    Autumn Sweaters – Given the choice to return to using the same fabric that was used in hockey sweaters prior to this season rather than the ultra-hyped “uniform systems� that were introduced league-wide prior to this season, every single member of the Caps went with last year’s fabric. Wednesday night marked the first time the new (old) sweater fabric was made available, and every member of the Caps had the new model sweater with the old fabric hanging in his locker prior to the game.

    Filed in Reebok, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (8)

    Canes Now 9% Slower?

    By Gustafsson
    Wednesday, November 21, 2007

    An article in The News & Observer has revealed that a number of Hurricanes, including Glen Wesley, have switched their sweaters, but not their teams. After hearing complaints from the four corners of the NHL Earth, Reebok is now offering alternate versions of the Rbk Edge.

    Carolina Hurricane SweaterThe Hurricanes switched two games ago to the modified jerseys, which feature a looser fit on the arms, more air-knit fabric and less of the “bead-away” water repellency technology touted by Reebok.

    “I think there were enough complaints league-wide that obviously there was a noticeable difference,” Wesley said Tuesday. “So far, it’s been a good change.”

    Touting the company line, president of Reebok’s Sports Licensed Division David Baxter stated that the “system” complaints have not been unanimous.

    “Many NHL players are satisfied with the current Rbk Edge jersey, but since the start of the season, some have expressed concern about the jersey’s moisture management and durability.”

    It may be hard to tell who has made the switch as the necklines are the same with the same overall cut.

    “I think everyone likes the new ones a lot better,” Carolina center Matt Cullen said. “It was just funny to go back to the old material, and it feels better.”

    Now we know that Cullen and Wesley will be somewhere between one and nine percent slower. I’ll look out for others skating slower on Saturday night.
    Thanks to Kukla’s Korner for the assist.

    Filed in Carolina Hurricanes, Reebok, Sweaters| Permalink| Comments (5)

    Home Whites in Hawkland

    By pucksandbooks
    Wednesday, November 7, 2007

    Does anybody know the circumstances for Chicago wearing white uniform systems at home against Columbus tonight? I hadn’t seen another club do that this season. To these eyes it’s a refreshing and welcome return to what seems normal.

    Filed in Chicago Blackhawks, Reebok, Sweaters| Permalink| Comments (13)

    Reebok Feelin’ the Heat

    By pucksandbooks
    Friday, November 2, 2007

    I was a bit young to recall the Chinese water torture-like progress made by the media against the Nixon administration during Watergate, but Redford and Hoffman in ‘All the President’s Men’ suggested a painstakingly patient approach to building the Post’s evidence-based claims against Nixon’s henchmen. North American water torture might be an apt description of what many NHLers are enduring these days dressed in Reebok’s equipment-ruining uniform systems. And like Watergate, it may be many, many months before justice is utlimately served. This from yesterday’s Globe and Mail:

    “Just weeks after introducing its much-vaunted, sleek new NHL uniforms, Reebok is making modifications to try to mollify a growing number of players who have complained about the discomfort they’re experiencing from the scientifically-designed fabric.”

    Some who are coming forward to the press with damning evidence (in dark garages?) are demanding their identities be protected:

    “Obviously, the uniforms don’t get rid of the sweat,” said one U.S. hockey equipment distributor who has been hearing complaints from players and trainers. “It just goes right down into the gloves, the pants, the shin pads and the skates.”

    And:

    “Industry sources say the company did not do enough testing under game conditions.

    “The material itself is not performing the way they originally designed,” one industry insider said. “There was not enough due diligence performed on this material prior to putting these uniforms on the entire league.”

    Both Reebok and the NHL this week dispatched PR apologists to try and stem the mounting damage: “Both the league and Reebok insist the new jerseys are here to stay,” the Globe and Mail claimed. Hockey fans across the continent have got to know that the league’s administrator and corporate partners are not crooks.

    The Globe continues: “Besides excess sweating, other complaints have focused on the fact they appear to rip more easily. And some players don’t like the tighter fit, which they find more restrictive.”

    Capitals’ forwards in particular appear restricted in their shooting motions.

    Filed in Gary Bettman, Media, National Hockey League, Print, Reebok, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

    Ovechkin: “I Go Through Two Pairs of Gloves a Period”

    By pucksandbooks
    Tuesday, October 30, 2007

    Once upon a time, the heart of the uniform system madness-fiasco perpetrated by Reebok was the absence on the part of the manufacturer of any sense that hockey, with its sweater, had always had a novel connection between player and fan. By that I mean, those colors arranged in a particular style, and housed in an Everyman’s comfort, were a novelty in all of sport, and cherished by generations of North Americans. Whatever value brought about by the company’s fashion re-engineering — and that’s seriously under dispute these days — Reebok aptly demonstrated that it never valued the wishes and allegiances of the hockey fan. Reebok just doesn’t care.

    But today the discussion is far more serious than fan preferences or trashing a significant tradition. The new jerseys are destroying gloves. The new socks are destroying skates. Other than that, Reebok’s uniform system is just dandy. Last week we noted the grave dissatisfaction with them on the part of the Boston Bruins. An executive with the Edmonton Oilers more or less told a journalist in town that he wouldn’t let any child of his be caught dead in the Oilers’ new look. And last weekend, Dmitry Chesnokov of Sovetsky Sport and I solicited the opinions on the new unis of the Caps’ trio of Russians — Ovechkin, Kozlov, and Semin.

    What they told us wasn’t altogether surprising, as soaking evidence mounts across the league. Still, as indictments go, theirs was sober, frank, and unsparing.CCM Gloves

    “Yes, I have a problem with my gloves,” Ovechkin told us. “They become extremely wet. I go through two pairs of gloves per period.”

    Chesnokov, who is reporting on this matter for his Russian newspaper and granted us access to the players’ reflections, had to ask Ovechkin again if he really meant two pairs per period. “Yes, two pairs per period,” he responded.

    One of the reasons hockey trainers go to great lengths to get gear dry as soon as possible is to prevent player illness. Another is to prevent infection. Fingers in wet gloves are particularly susceptible to infections, and if not treated promptly, serious, even life-threatening complications can arise.

    Chesnokov then inquired of Viktor Kozlov. “At first I explained that the Boston Bruins were not happy with their uniforms and wanted to perhaps revert to the old uniforms,” Chesnokov told me. ”I asked Kozlov whether the Caps and he in particular had any problems with the uniforms. Kozlov said: “I don’t know, no one told us anything. But what do you mean ‘problems’ ?” I started to explain it to him: “Moisture is kept on the body and drips down to . . . ” At this point he interrupted me and said “to the skates!” Actually I wanted to say the gloves, but Viktor seems to have problems with water in his skates.”

    “Yeah! Yeah, I think I have the same problem!” Kozlov told Chesnokov. “Actually, I have been noticing a lot of water in my skates. But I had no idea why! Maybe this is the reason! It makes sense if other players have the same problem.”

    Chesnokov then thanked him for the interview, and Kozlov said, “No, thank you for enlightening me! It all makes sense now.”

    It would appear that Reebok is being less than forthcoming with the league’s players about the equipment conditions that have settled in in the league’s opening month. Or, some certainly aren’t getting word of any acknowledgment.

    By last weekend Semin hadn’t skated in three full games with the Caps this season, and he didn’t express concern with the equipment. “I just focus on playing,” he said, but he did acknowledge that players didn’t complain about the “old” gear. Turns out that last weekend he also had something else on his mind — a new contract with the Caps.

    “I like it here because all of my friends are here,” he told us. “I am not the kind of person who likes to move to different places. I like my teammates, the management, and the fact that we are a young team.”

    Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, National Hockey League, Reebok, Sweaters, Viktor Kozlov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (15)

    “They look, uh, a little plain”

    By Gustafsson
    Monday, October 29, 2007

    The headline is a quote from Edmonton Oilers president Cal Nichols in an article in yesterday’s Edmonton Sun. Sports columnist Terry Jones devoted his Sunday offering to “the total travesty of the Edmonton Oilers ‘pyjamas‘,” the road whites in particular.Oilers
    Here’s more from the team president:

    “I have to be careful here. Reebok paid a lot of money,” [Nichols] said of the project bringing the new uniforms to teams around the league and the obvious NHL memo to everybody in the game that they all must love them.

    I told Nichols I was writing about the awful new Oilers silks.

    “I think that would be a good article to write,” he said. “But just put me down for saying I liked our old uniforms. I don’t want to sound like an old stick-in-the-mud who can’t go contemporary.”

    You can be sure the Oilers’ faithful are a little more than underwhelmed. In his column, Jones suggests that the reader should Google “Oilers” and “uniforms” where you’ll find comments such as

    “Ice Capades awful!“

    “I like the traditional horizontal stripes at the bottom of the old jersey.“

    “Why mess with tradition?“

    “Butt ugly. It looks like someone who hates the Oilers designed this one.“

    Apparently, there was a method to the madness.

    “We wanted change. A lot of things motivated us to look at change. We have a new locker room. A new team. We saw it as rejuvenation. A breath of fresh air,” said [Oilers' CEO Patrick] LaForge.

    “It was meant to be a sort of a Baltimore Ravens look,” he said.

    So how do you get your stripe back?

    “We can do it,” says LaForge. “But not until 2009-2010.”

    A tap of the stick on the ice to Kukla’s Korner for the primary assist.

    Filed in Edmonton Oilers, Reebok, Sweaters| Permalink| Comments (1)

    Alternate Jerseys

    By Gustafsson
    Saturday, October 27, 2007

    A report in the Boston Herald is only partially correct. The Globe and Mail ran the following statement by Reebok, which in part reads:

    Rbk

    After working with NHL players, teams, and equipment managers to gather feedback on the Rbk Edge uniform system, Reebok has decided to provide an alternative jersey to the players who request it.

    Many NHL players are satisfied with the current Rbk Edge jersey, but since the start of the season we have received player feedback about the jersey’s moisture management and durability. Based on this feedback, Reebok will provide players with the option to wear a version with slight sizing and fabrication adjustments.

    In the alternate version, one fabric has been replaced with an air-knit fabric and the bead-away water repellency technology has been removed. Both jerseys will continue to offer up to four performance materials, including Reebok’s PlayDry moisture-wicking technology and a stretch mesh for increased range of motion and ventilation.

    There will be no visual difference between the jerseys. The newly designed comfort necklines, jersey cut lines, anatomical fit and team designs will remain identical. Retail versions of the jersey also will remain unchanged.

    Filed in Reebok, Sweaters| Permalink| Comments (1)

    Update: Reebok’s Designer Duds Are Donesy

    By pucksandbooks
    Friday, October 26, 2007

    A tip of the hat to Mr. Eric McErlain, he of Off Wing Opinion, who just excitedly rushed into my office to inform me that the Boston Bruins have returned the entirety of their uniform systems to Reebok, because Bs’ players are drowning and suffering heat stroke in them, and Reebok is agreeing to replacing the entirety of the uniforms, made . . . of the old material.

    (Eric and I actually man-hugged over the news.)

    Well done, Commissioner Bettman, well done indeed. That experiment sure lasted a long time. NHL Commissioners don’t quite get libraries like U.S. Presidents do, but Bettman needs an Area 51-type hanger into which can be stored scores of Glo-pucks and now Reebok uniform systems.

    The Bruins, friends, will be skating soon in those good old fashioned, lovely loose hockey sweaters. Bank on it.

    The news broke buried in a story in yesterday’s Boston Herald. Take a lookey:

    “According to sources in the B’s dressing room, Reebok has been unable to correct problems with the new jerseys introduced this season across the NHL and will replace them at the company’s expense with new uniforms made of the old materials.

    “Players have complained since training camp that the new jerseys, which are supposed to be lighter and allow sweat to evaporate out through the shirts, have instead trapped water inside and gotten heavier. . . “

    Now then. The Bruins most assuredly will not be the only team returning its players to comfort. But what will Reebok do for replacement uniforms for teams — such as the Caps — who performed wholesale redesigns predicated on the Reebok uniform system at least making it to Halloween? You may have noticed: The Caps’ new crest and nameplates are sized for smaller, tighter sweaters. This is going to get real interesting.

    As is Reebok’s next shareholders’ meeting.

    Update: After tonight’s game I had a chance to listen in on the opinions of three very prominent Washington Capitals about the conditions they’re enduring because of Reebok’s uniform system. You will find them interesting, I promise. Will be publishing them later this weekend.

    Filed in Boston Bruins, Gary Bettman, National Hockey League, Reebok, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

    Rate ‘Em

    By Gustafsson
    Thursday, October 11, 2007

    The good folks at HockeyWidgets.com have the new RBK Edge sweater for all 30 teams, both home and away, up for rating and opinions. For comparison’s sake, they have a smaller version of the “old system.”

    The Capitals are doing very well so far. On a five-star scale, the Caps are one of seven teams to rate four stars. No one has five.

    HockeyWidget.com - Rate the RBK Edge

    Go rate them here.

    Filed in National Hockey League, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

    Wide Open Observations of Opening Night (at Home)

    By pucksandbooks
    Sunday, October 7, 2007

    Olie postgameAn attempt to provide a sense of the atmosphere I encountered in and about Verizon Center beginning late Saturday afternoon:

    4:45 p.m.: We do not have anything approaching hockey weather. In fact, walking down 6th St. under a blazing sun, I’m uncomfortable in merely bluejeans and a business shirt. But I’m better off than six fans I pass who are outfitted in new red Reebok Caps’ sweaters; they are collapsed and passed out against Verizon Center walls, sweat pouring off their temples. District Police revive them by removing the new sweaters and replacing them with old CCMs. Almost instantly the fans recover.

    Seriously, I saw a fair number of fans in these rib-huggers out in the heat, and none of them seemed to be moving 9 percent faster than me.

    The Caps have a number of young, attractive staffers scurrying about 6th and F Streets on Segways distributing pocket schedules.

    5:05: The former Modell’s Caps’ and Wizards’ gear store, which nobody seems to know is named what now, easily has 60 or 70 shoppers in it two hours before the game. It’s actually quite difficult to move around in, it’s so congested. There is rack after rack of new color and logo caps, and they are disappearing fast. The lines at the two registers are consistently six or seven people deep. The team’s new look has been manufactured in a massive array of fashion in this shop, and it’s clearly popular with fans on opening night at home.

    Back outside en route to the press entrance, I seize upon an amazing sight: a band of about 25 or 30 men and women — mostly men — congregated on 7th St. wearing hot red wigs, red dresses, and red athletic shoes. This is no ordinary opening night of hockey at home, I think.

    5:20: Predictably, it’s novelty-night crowded in the press lounge. Comcast among other broadcast outlets is doing a remote outside the rink, drawing a lot of media personnel who’d otherwise be in the lounge. I arrive in the lounge with a mission to survey various media for their respective slottings of the Caps in the East this season. Here’s what I achieve:

    Mike Vogel: 3rd (obviously, he has the Caps winning the Southeast)

    Ron Weber: 10th (ouch!)

    Eric McErlain: 7th

    Corey Masisak: 7th

    Dmitry Chesnokov: 6th

    6:00: In the press box I’m seated between Eric McErlain and Dmitry Chesnokov. Meaning, my hockey education will be advanced tonight, and I’ll also have the immediate company of good friends. To the right of Eric is a Voice of America reporter originally from the Czech Republic. A couple of reporters in our row mention that the Caps have preserved a press box working space — all season long — for the departed Dave Fay. I mention to the VOA guy that my recollection was that Mr. Leonsis established that policy within a day or two Dave’s leaving us. Incidentally, the bottom of page 1 of the Caps’ 2007 Media Guide carries a dedication to Fay.

    6:15: I’m in the refreshment area of the press box, which is partially glassed in, and seeking quiet there because Tim Lemke of the Washington Times is interviewing me about blogging and its impact on the Caps. He emailed me a week or so ago and informed me that he’d already spoken with Eric McErlain (good idea, that) and Jon Press.

    The interview lasts longer than I thought it would simply because Tim and I have a real interesting and easy exchange, and he asks good questions. Also, because I love talking about this topic. Lemke mentions his impression that the four of us put a lot of work into OFB. I don’t quite know how to respond; objectively you could posit that we devote a healthy number of hours each week to the site, but even when I’m writing at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, knowing I’ll be dragging in the office the next day by early afternoon, I never view the endeavor as labor.

    Full disclosure (sort of): three times I ask Lemke to turn off his recorder so that we can chat off the record. I want to provide him as full a sense as possible of what has happened to us over the past year, and various members of the hockey community have shared with me, with a good deal of candor, what they perceive the state of things media in D.C. to be. Mike Vogel once told me that 80 percent of what he hears in his hockey travels necessarily has to end up on the cutting room floor. “It’s a good way to preserve friendships,” he told me. Continue reading ›

    Filed in Blogs, Comcast SportsNet, Corey Masisak, Dave Fay, Eastern Conference, Hockey Weather, Internet, Media, National Hockey League, Print, Ron Weber, Sovetsky Sport, Sweaters, Tarik El-Bashir, Washington Capitals, Washington Post, Washington Times| Permalink| Comments (13)

    Is Sidney Crosby the New E.F. Hutton?

    By Gustafsson
    Friday, October 5, 2007

    “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.“

    Sidney Crosby may have never heard that famous catch phrase since E.F. Hutton’s last commercials were right around the time of his birth. However, Sidney Crosby is talking, and Reebok is listening. Crosby is talking about the complaints of waterlogged equipment the new RBK Edge “uniform system” has caused. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

    Reebok officials have tweaked the jerseys of their new Edge uniforms being used across the NHL this season, in part because Penguins captain Sidney Crosby spoke with company officials and expressed some concerns.

    Crosby, who has endorsement deals with Reebok, conveyed his and his teammates’ problem with the water-resistant material, which traps perspiration and forces it to run down and pool in players’ gloves and skates.

    Apparently, the two plus years Reebok had the “system” in development was not enough. Perhaps there was too much wind tunnel testing and not enough on ice game testing?

    Darren Dreger at TSN is reporting that Reebok has developed a treatment to allow sweat to escape the “system” while keeping them reasonably dry. Well, that was quick. Were the Reebok engineers the same guys that fixed the air scrubbers on Apollo 13 some thirty-seven years ago?

    It seems to us at OFB that Reebok and the league has 87 days or so to fix the problem. In 87 days, #87 will playing at an outdoor game in Buffalo where waterlogged gloves and skates in average temperatures of 24 degrees could lead to a serious case of pneumonia. Two teams unable to compete due to illness? New York/Toronto, we have a problem.

    Thanks to Sean at PopJocks.com for the assist.

    Filed in Reebok, Sidney Crosby, Sweaters| Permalink| Comments (5)

    “Bettman Stripes”

    By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)
    Thursday, September 27, 2007

    Paul Lukas of Uni Watch posted an article today that focuses on the NHL’s new uniforms. It’s a good read—particularly this excerpt regarding the “apron-like” piping down the sides of some new jerseys (including the Capitals’):

    Worst thing to happen to hockey since Gary Bettman became commissioner. In fact, since this happened on his watch and seems to sum up everything that’s gone wrong during his tenure, Uni Watch will henceforth refer to the piping as Bettman stripes.

    Filed in Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

    Reebok’s New Uniform System: Drowning in Disaster

    By The OFB Team
    Monday, September 24, 2007

    An ocean of perspirationNHL players and equipment managers might have tolerated their new unforms being unsightly relative to their predecessors, but what if they not only don’t work as marketed (repelling moisture, making players more comfortable) but actually make player performance worse? That would appear to be precisely the case. Last week’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette alerted its readers to the disconcerting development that some Penguins have nearly drowned while dressed in Reebok’s new threads.

    “They do what they were designed to do, as far as repelling the water,” defenseman Mark Eaton said. “But we’ve found, the last three or four days of wearing them, that, when the water’s repelled, it has nowhere to go but into your skates and gloves.”

    Water that is repelled has to go somewhere. Apparently it’s all going from uniform tops into players gloves, and from the form-fitting socks directly down into players’ boots. “By the end of the second [period] or the start of the third, your skates are sloshing around and you have to change your gloves because they’re [soaked],” Eaton added.

    Here’s Gary Roberts’ take:

    “My hands are soaked, my feet are soaked,” he said. “I feel like it’s May, in the playoffs, I’m sweating so much. That seems to be a complaint with a lot of guys.”

    Mark Recchi also isn’t being quiet about the new mess. He noted that the remarkable amount of moisture now inundating players’ skates is likely to lead to their breaking down sooner, requiring replacement. Elite boots commonly worn by NHLers cost more than $500 a pair.

    “Recchi suggested that, although some complications caused by the new sweaters will be evident immediately — like how some players will have to alter their in-game routines to deal with unduly wet equipment — others might not be apparent for a while.

    “My gloves never got soaked like [they do now],” he said. “They’re literally drenched by the end of an hour[-long] practice.

    “I’m going to have to have two pairs of gloves ready [for games]. I’ve never done that. I’ve always used one pair a game. Some guys are used to that, but that’s going to be different. Maybe I’ll have to change my socks between periods, which I don’t like doing. You start sloshing.

    “I think you’ll see skates break down quicker because of it; they’ll absorb more [perspiration], because it’s all going down into your skate and your socks.”

    Back in the good ‘ole days of tradition, hockey equipment managers had heavy lifting to do at games’ end each night loading and hauling wet gear from arena to bus to airport back to arenas in new cities — in the middle of the night. So from the sounds of things this fall, Reebok has actually managed to make the jobs of some of the hardest working men in hockey harder. If Mark Recchi’s right, equipment guys could soon be faced with a doubling of their gear packing gigs each night. Additionally, the increase in moisture about gear and rooms is an increased health risk to the players, especially in winter.

    Filed in Gary Bettman, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, Prospects, Reebok, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (9)

    Reflections on Training Camp’s Opening Week

    By pucksandbooks
    Sunday, September 23, 2007

    Capitals Training Camp 2007It’s a day of rest not only for Washington Capitals’ players and coaches — well, the players at least — but for the team’s frenzied communications staff as well. Being out at Kettler as much as I have been the past 10 days, I gained a deep appreciation for the commitment of Nate Ewell, Julie Petri, Paul Rovnak, and Mike Vogel, among others. Their days during camp begin early and end late, and at this time of year they’re not only facilitating one of the heavier media flows following camp in years but also putting together the in-season communications products, such as the Media Guide. It’s forecast to be a stunning late September Sunday today, and I hope they’re all out having fun in the fun and recharging their batteries.

    The pause in on-ice action is a good time to take stock of what the Caps have achieved thus far in what I believe is the most important training camp in the organization’s history. I made a point during my visits to survey the hockey-savvy heads also taking in the daily doings at Kettler, from print and broadcast reporters to fellow bloggers to fans in the stands, and herewith I’m blending their leading storylines of camp to date with my own.

    • Proud Papa. I’ve regularly seen Owner Leonsis as training camp spectator during the past 10 days, and while it’s true he’s no longer involved with the day-to-day operations of AOL, he remains a busy communications man. I think what’s happened with his training camp interest level mirrors that of the rest of us: the quality and depth of the organization on display is so impressive you are fairly compelled to make the trip out there and simply revel in the turned corner of the team’s competitiveness.
    • Nylander to line 2. Two years ago Michael Nylander left Washington as a very good hockey player. This fall he’s returned but done so appearing to be more a star. He’s a dynamic playmaker, in supreme condition. And while almost everyone in hockey this summer forecasted an Ovechkin-Nylander top-line pairing, way back in July Head Coach Glen Hanlon very publicly stated his intention of experimenting with top-6 forward combinations, and thus far in camp, the conspicuous chemistry appears to have melded among Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, and Nicklas Backstrom as Hanlon’s second unit.
    • Slick Swede Part II. Speaking of Backstrom, he is irrefutably gaining comfort on the North American-sized sheet of ice — making progress “on a daily basis,” to quote my friend Mike Vogel. At the World Championships in Moscow in May, former Cap and Swedish National Team Head Coach Bengt Gustafsson told us that Backstrom would make that transition successfully and reasonably swiftly, and he was right. Tim Leone up in Hershey thinks it in Backstrom’s, and the Caps’, best interest for him to have a cup of coffee with the Bears this season. Ain’t happening.
    • It’s my puck, and I’m keeping it. The Caps don’t (yet) have a dominant shut-down defenseman, so Glen Hanlon’s strategy for improved defensive play this season rests with his club maintaining possession of the puck more often than in the past two seasons, when often they chased it around the rink in futile fashion. If you have the puck more often than your opposition, your goalie isn’t get apt to face 40 or 50 shots each night, and surrender five or six goals most nights. So far, this strategy appears to be taking hold. In training camp’s scrimmages and through the Caps’ first three preseason games, you can see more puck possession and fewer netminders collapsing from fatigue.
    • Captain, My Captain/Son of Kono-Dahlen-Halpern. I’ve changed my views on cloning, because of Chris Clark. Meaning no disrespect to Dale and his retired sweater, but should Clark captain the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in one of the next three seasons, he will have to be regarded as the best and most important captain in team history, having guided the team from the barrens of an unprecedented bottoming out to the promised land. And sitting here in September 2007, I wouldn’t stand in line to wager against it. (See Carolina ‘05-06, Tampa ‘03-04.)

    It is Chris Clark’s team-first, two-way versatility that has Glen Hanlon fantasizing about a two-way, impact third line along the lines of the great Steve Konowalchuk, Jeff Halpern, Ulf Dahlen trio of a few years ago. That line, you’ll recall, was so dominant that Ron Wilson opened just about every game with it. It was also one that was a lynchpin to the Caps’ postseason participation. The coach has told the media that he’s looking for 60 goals from his third line this season, and given the defensive acumen of Clark and Boyd Gordon, and Matt Pettinger’s offensive pop, it’s natural to invoke the KDH comparison.

    I’m also not wagering on Clark’s offensive production diminishing, dramatically, by virtue of his dropping down to line 3. As he noted himself on Media Day, he’s spent the past two seasons taking shifts against the likes of Zdeno Chara and top defensive pairings. Less so, it would appear, beginning this season.

    • Deep Depth. The Caps this weekend have 35 players battling for spots on the opening night roster. It’s reasonably easy to forecast another five cuts, but the leap from about 30 to 23 is another matter. To put it charitably, the Caps’ are in uncharted territory, post-lockout, in terms of the skater quality they’ll be showcasing out at Kettler in week two of camp. This is the most basic and encouraging sign of the overall success of the rebuild.
    • Three games, three leads. Through three exhibition games, the Caps have only once fielded a fairly veteran lineup — last Thursday night in Ottawa. They opened in Carolina, against a comparatively veteran Hurricanes’ lineup, dressing only John Erskine and Mike Green on the blueline as guys with significant NHL experience from last season (and with BJ in net). In all three games the Caps have played significant stretches with a lead (twice with two-goal leads). There remain mistakes (penalties) and concerns (penalties) aplenty, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Coach Hanlon’s strategy of playing a more puck possession game is abundantly evident. In order to win more often, a team must first establish competitiveness, then achieve leads in games. The Caps have accomplished both early in this preseason.

    The next step is to close the deal once you have the lead.

    • When did Toronto’s print media come to work in Washington? For the first time in my hockey life, I wake each day knowing that with my morning coffee I need to visit the web sites for both of Washington’s big newspapers in order to follow coverage there of Caps’ training camp. There are files there basically every day. And good ones. Additionally, blog files there. This is as it should be, but to our print guys — and most especially the Times’ Corey Masisak, who’s only taking on the beat of a departed legend — good on you.
    • Sharp-dressed men. It’s not anywhere near as important as the talent upgrade, but in this the autumn of uniform mischief, the Caps have showcased the best-looking new threads in the entire league. And it’s not even close. I’ll be particularly grateful when those snazzy white uniform system tops are rightfully returned to wearing on home ice.
    Filed in Boyd Gordon, Chris Clark, Comcast SportsNet, Corey Masisak, Dave Steckel, Front Office, George McPhee, Glen Hanlon, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Lisa Hillary, Matt Pettinger, Michael Nylander, Mike Vogel, Nate Ewell, Nicklas Backstrom, Prospects, Staff, Steve Eminger, Sweaters, Tarik El-Bashir, Ted Leonsis, Tomas Fleischmann, Training Camp, Washington Capitals, Washington Post, Washington Times| Permalink| Comments (4)

    Business Is Brisk for the New Threads

    By The OFB Team
    Saturday, September 15, 2007

    Between 8:00 and 11:00 a.m. Friday the Kettler Capitals pro shop sold $8,000 worth of merchandise.

    Filed in Gary Bettman, National Hockey League, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (0)

    Ballston Common Sweater

    By The OFB Team
    Saturday, August 11, 2007

    Wilson Blvd. entrants to Ballston Common Mall this August are immediately greeted by an enormous new sweater banner for the Caps. It has to be 30 feet high. It’s two-sided and it looks awesome.

    Ballston Common Mall Banner - photo courtesy of the Washington Capitals
    photo courtesy of the Washington Capitals
    Filed in Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)

    The Market Speaks on the Caps’ New Look

    By The OFB Team
    Wednesday, August 8, 2007

    Washington Capitals Primary LogoEarly returns on the Caps’ new look look quite good: a 228-percent increase in sales figures for the club over a year ago. Only Buffalo and Nashville experienced higher increases, the NHL informed clubs today.

    The Caps had two of the top 10 selling items in July: a red Alexander Ovechkin t-shirt (no. 6 overall) bearing the new look and the team’s 2007 NHL Draft Flex Hat (no. 10 overall). Ovechkin also ranks in the top 10 of new uniform system tops (formerly known as sweaters) sold.

    Filed in National Hockey League, Sweaters, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (1)

    Uniform Unveiling — Observations and Photos

    By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)
    Thursday, June 28, 2007

    Friday night the Capitals hosted their Draft Day Party / Uniform Unveiling at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex. For the “play-by-play” details of the event, check out the Caps’ official site. Here, I’ll share my own perspective (and photos: some pretty cool, one very cute, and a few kind of painful) of this thoroughly enjoyable evening.

    My fiancee Adrienne and I popped into the locker room area for a quick look. I posted a few locker room photos from my visit in April, but the “card wall” is something I’d missed photographing on that first trip. The glass wall separating the player’s lounge from a hallway is covered in slightly-enlarged reproductions of classic Capitals hockey cards on both sides. Click the photo below for a larger version and pick out your favorites.

    Uni - Locker Room Card Wall

    The team wisely paid homage to its past by introducing some big-name former Capitals. Yvon Labre, Rod Langway, Mike Gartner (his first appearance in DC since he left the team), Kelly Miller, and Sylvain Cote are in the photo below, left to right. Cote, attired in cargo shorts and sandals, goofed around a bit and struck a surfer dude pose just before this photo, much to the delight of the fans and former players.

    Uni - Former Capitals

    Now for the video from the big screens prior to the unveiling. Some great Capitals moments in here, including the Juneau goal that sent the Caps to the Stanley Cup Finals. Adrienne (whom I’m gradually ushering into hockey fandom) observed regarding the old-school footage, “It’s so strange seeing them play without helmets!” I grew up watching Ron Duguay and Guy LaFleur, so I have a slightly different perspective on helmets, but I see her point.  

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wvAD2rO-28

    The last minute or so of the video was looped as they cranked up the smoke machines; then the curtain dropped, revealing the new unis to enthusiastic applause from the 2,000-plus Capitals fans in attendance.

    The Most Hard-Core Fan Award for the night clearly goes to Caps’ fan Jim Greene and his friend, who got permanent tattoos of the new logo Friday night.

    [They] each received on-site tattoos of the Capitals new logo, something that served as entertainment to some and excitement to the pair who have been long-time Caps supporters. Greene, who cut a deal with Leonsis that if the team ever changed their logo, he would get a tattoo of it, was thrilled for the opportunity to take the Caps chairman and majority owner up on his word. Thankfully, the logo was something that he really enjoyed. [1]

    Ink Junkeez Body Piercing & Tattoos of White Plains, Maryland, were there to do the honors. Ted Leonsis even came over to review his (indirect) handiwork. Here are some photos of — to repurpose a Neil Young song — the needle and the damage done:

    Uni - Neck Tattoo

     

    Uni - Ted Observes the Tattooing
    (click Continued for more)

    Continue reading ›

    Filed in Chris Clark, Entry Draft, Sweaters, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals, Yvon Labre| Permalink| Comments (7)
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