But at some point, the burden of proof shifts from the premise: "Why should he be fired" to "why should he stay".
When you have four straight years in which a 1, 1, 2, and 3 seeded team fails to make it past the second round, then that's a real trend.
You fire Coach Boudreau because the downside is almost non-existent. GM George McPhee has done an excellent job - in my opinion - of assembling a very talented, young team. As such, a ham sandwich dressed up in Don Cherry's loud suits and french cuffed shirts could coach this roster into the playoffs.
And there's really no difference between being a 1, 4 or even 8 seed.
If you bring Coach B back, then there's enormous pressure and nervousness around this time next spring. The feeling will be "this CANNOT happen again!" That's no way to enter the playoffs. A new coach - or the ham sandwich - brings a clean slate.
The Caps job, if open, instantly becomes the best job in the league. You'll have your pick of guys. The time is now. Sorry, Bruce. But thanks for all that you've done.
As they say, it's just business.
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Meanwhile, if you missed this on my Twitter feed (@czabe) then here's a little snarky gem from fellow bitter Caps fan Mike Lewis.>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Toronto Sun has a 8 Reasons the Caps Crapped Out piece. The man clearly under the spotlight, is Canada's whipping boy, the Russian superstar Alex Ovetchkin. I used to think Candian favoritism of Sid The Kid was a bit jingoistic, but it is gaining more merit with each early flameout.
The captain did manage 10 points in nine playoff games, but there are serious questions about his leadership ability.
Yes, he is one of the greatest players in the NHL, capable of tilting a game in his team's favour on a whim. But Ovechkin doesn't seem to make the players around him better as so many of hockey's great leaders do.
"We were hungry, we just did not win," Ovechkin said after Game 4. "We want to win, they want to win but somebody has to lose."
Somebody has to lose? Hard to imagine Jonathan Toews or Sidney Crosby taking a gutting loss with such a shrug of the shoulders. Until Ovechkin makes more of an impact than the occasional big hit or flashy goal, his reputation will be lacking.Good points, except you can't take too much from the "somebody has to lose quote" because Ovie has done wonders to learn to speak English, and those subtle nuances get lost in translation. I'd cut him slack on that. Only longtime North American, English speaking athletes understand that such a statement of fact, plays poorly.
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Finally, Caps uber-fan "Let's Go Caps" Lloyd, offers this, the day afterward.
Hello Steve, This is lets go caps Lloyd. First off, please tell Andy that I was right when I told him and Redline bar last Thursday that I was nervous about this series. I didn't like the matchup. Andy of courses laughed and disagreed with me. Now on to venting.
As a Caps fan that started going to games for free because my grandfather was best friends with former Caps GM Max Mcnabb, I have seen my share of heartbreaks. It started in the 80's with a few mild surprises mixed in (see hunters game 7 overtime goal against the flyers or langways OT series clincher vs Rangers) and then the 90's came along where every year it seems like the Pens got the best of us. So these last 4 years, I have always had low expectations, and the Caps have seem to fulfill those low expectations. Maybe we are cursed? So what should we do?
I agree with you. Bruce Boudreau is a nice guy, has done wonders for helping turn around not only this franchise, but also Hadeed carpet cleaners. Heck, he even makes me want to own a Mercedes if I had the money. But I think a change is needed. Some times you need to make a change for the sake of change. I think Mcphee needs to go after a coach that has won a cup i.e. Bob Hartley, Mark Crawford or even Mike Keenen (yes that Mike Keenen). The locker room seems to comfortable, and that's the problem. I keep thinking to the U.S. Hockey team of 1980. What did Herb Brooks try to accomplish. He wanted the team to become one and the way he did that was to have the team have a singular enemy early on, himself.
I also think a shakeup of the roster is needed. Mike Green and Alex Semin probably would be the best trade bait. You are not winning anything with them. Goaltending is fine. Mark my words, if and when the Caps do win big, it will be Braden Holtby in goal.
Again, thanks for letting me vent and playing armchair GM. The show is great. And my Sundays will soon be free for some golf. And please make sure you tell Andy I told you so!
J.R. Herrin
AKA Lets go Caps Lloyd.
