You can cross one name off your list of free agent concerns for the Capitals this offseason — Head Coach Bruce Boudreau. Speaking with reporters at Kettler-Capitals Iceplex just moments after wrapping up a season-concluding meeting with the team this afternoon, the coach confirmed that he’d had discussions with General Manager George McPhee about a new deal. He didn’t want to speak in specifics, and he wanted to defer to the GM for a more formal acknowledgment, but he did say, “I’m gonna be coaching the Caps a little while.” He was smiling.
The coach also confirmed that Alexander Ovechkin played hurt in his first playoff series. He suggested that some struggles the left winger experienced at times in the series were related to the injury. After the game last night Ovechkin did tell Sovetsky Sport’s Dmitry Chesnokov that he had played games 6 and 7 on painkillers. When Chesnokov pressed him for more details about the injury, AO replied, “I cannot tell you that.”
The coach remains in awe of his star. Alluding to Ovechkin’s extended stay in D.C. that was secured earlier this season, he said, “Thirteen years for that guy — maybe it should be 18!”
Nicklas Backstrom, it was announced while we were gathered at Kettler, has been named a finalist for the Calder Trophy.
The coach is going up to Hershey tonight to take in game 4 of the Bears’ opening series with Wilkes Barre-Scranton. The Caps’ affiliate is in a 3-0 hole in that one. When asked how he thought he’d spend his first offseason as an NHL coach Boudreau said that he didn’t quite know but added, “This is the environment I feel comfortable in.”
Both the coach and the superstar were effusive in their praise for Washington’s hockey fans. Ovechkin wants the city’s fans to pick up next season where they left off this. “I hope the fans support us the same way [next year]. The atmosphere was unbelievable.”
Boudreau pointed to a pronounced difference in the arena from fall to spring. “I’ve really seen it pick up since I came here,” he said. “[There were] an amazing amount of jerseys in the crowd last night.”
Matt Cooke, on Tom Poti’s overtime tripping call: “You’d like to see them call something that wasn’t a marginal call, something that takes away a scoring chance.”
Lastly, the coach acknowledged that he’d had a private and very personal conversation with Olie Kolzig. He didn’t offer much about its substance, but he did say, “[Kolzig's] one of the classiest men I’ve ever met in this game.”
The goaltender’s Kettler locker, for what it’s worth, still had his nameplate in place.
In inventorying the season’s first half with an eye toward what the Caps must do with their second to break through to the postseason, one must divide October through December into their own halves: Glen Hanlon’s and Bruce Boudreau’s. It’s a fair bet that we won’t see the likes of a 6-14-1 run in 2008 — particularly if elusive roster health ever arrives. There is good reason for optimism, some key weak areas to remedy, and the overarching task of playing exceptionally winning hockey ahead. More specific observations:
It would be easy to pan the event on the basis of the inclimate conditions — visibility was generally poor for players, spectators, and home viewers; trainers and players dealt with a litany of equipment challenges; Zambonis were on the ice as frequently as fourth-liners; and league Ice Tech Dan Craig may as well have been in the game program as often as he was on the ice. But our sense is that the event’s overall atmosphere earned the game’s first star, and that the league scored an overtime game-winner with this idea and its general execution. The overall effect was one of a compelling Season’s Greeting showcasing sports’ most under appreciated athletes in their embrace of winter’s elements.
Speaking of MSM, WUSA’s Brett Haber has the title of Sports Director. He labors in Washington, D.C. It would be charitable to say that he is seldom seen in the press lounge of Verizon Center. It would be understandable by Washington MSM standards were he to have ignored hockey on his New Years Day evening sportscast and instead directed all his energy at the playoff-bound Redskins. That’s par for the course in these parts. Instead he man-loved Sir Sidney to no end, calling him the best player in hockey. We won’t call this an egregious offense but rather one of breathtaking tone deafness; in legitimate sports towns in which there is a lead athlete credibly creating dispute about such a point, the hometown athlete typically earns the decision.
It’s becoming plainly obvious that Verizon Center is home to the worst sheet of ice in the entire NHL. This was Mike Vogel’s question to Tom Poti in the Caps’ locker room after Monday night’s game: “In the second period it looked like you were playing ball hockey out there.” This was Poti’s reply:
At a news conference yesterday, Washington Capitals chairman and majority owner Ted Leonsis spoke of how professional athletes are often lauded for their courage. He noted that courage can take many forms, from the heroism of our military and first responders to our children battling disease. To find a way that their whole organization and fans could show their support, they created Courage Caps.
What did the Washington Capitals accomplish with their preseason this September? A good bit, I think. First and foremost, they accomplished the most important task: they avoided serious injury — we’ve no indication that Alexander Semin’s ankle sprain is serious. The second most significant accomplishment, in my opinion, was seeing a healthy number of fresh faces perform at a high level and well integrate with the returning Caps’ core. Tomas Fleischmann, it appears, has won first line right wing duty. He’ll be centered, at least initially, by Viktor Kozlov. So two-thirds of Washington’s top line is new this season. It looks more playoff worthy than either of its previous incarnations the past two seasons.
Some dominant themes swiftly emerged at players’, coaches’, and the general manager’s media conferences this morning out at Kettler Capitals:
“Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games� is how the old adage goes, and in our on-going offseason look at the organization, we examine a blueline corps with a new face, an old face returning, and a bunch of fresh faces looking to make some noise.
Poti’s skill in moving the puck and being able to work the power play should improve the special teams unit, though the big blueliner is not known for his defensive acumen or physical game. He eats minutes, though, and was Isles’ coach Ted Nolan’s go-to guy on the backline. His nearly 600 games in the NHL will hopefully provide some veteran leadership to a young defensive corps that has talent, but not much experience.
