Allan Muir: Ovechkin Should Be Stripped of the "C"

[OviTaughtMe]

reading the article, the guy is calling ovechkin a selfish player. "he's not about team, he's about ovechkin"

Yeah I don't agree with that at all.

Ovi isn't a ****** at all. It's his game that's the problem

 

[OviTaughtMe]

He reminds of Shaquille O'Neal in a way.

Just think what all that talent could do if he gave his all every night. Luckily for Shaq, he had Kobe, Phil, and later on, D-wade.

Ovi hasn't had any similar caliber players with him outside of Backs, which magnifies his shortcomings.

 

[ChibiPooky]

would you really strip your star player of his captaincy, which is humiliating, and then give it to a pending ufa? I love ward. always have, but that's got a lot of pot holes in it.

are you going to want to give ward the kind of contract he is going to want to stay in that role? if ward has a decent season next season he is going to want a contract of 3 or 4 years, while I think you are thinking ward is gone in two. I don't see how you make that happen.

further I am not sure what caps player wants to be the captain of this team while ov is still there.

If I'm stripping Ovechkin of the captaincy in the first place, then there are potholes no matter who gets it. I'm not worried about Ward's contract status as I don't think it matters.

I said earlier in the thread that if you've already decided that Ovechkin's not your guy, and he's not willing to take a "not your guy" role, then he's got to go. If he is willing to accept that role, then there are no problems with him still being there.

 

[g00n]

Mods, feel free to move this to News & Notes if it's more appropriate there, but I just logged onto SI.com and the 2nd article on the main page is this:

http://nhl.si.com/2014/04/03/alex-ovechkin-washington-capitals-captain/?eref=sihp

I know it's been discussed on the boards, but I can't remember a publication with as much national coverage as SI publicly calling for Ovechkin to lose his captaincy.

I also think what Oates did in calling out Ovechkin is the nail in his coffin. Any good will or trust he built up was pretty much nuked with that statement.

Thoughts?

The author is right about the need for change but he's laying it on pretty thick in his eagerness to cut Ovechkin's legs out from under him...

No one has been a bigger defender of Ovechkin during the past two seasons than Oates. He’s done everything in his power to put him in a position to succeed.

But you can only sweep so much crap under the rug before you can’t mask the stench any more. Oates finally reached that breaking point and basically said what Ovechkin’s detractors have been saying for years: He doesn’t get it. And he never will.

Yeah, no. Oates has done nothing to make Ovechkin's job easier.

Oates moved Ovechkin to the other side of the ice and saddled him with garbage linemates. Oates refused to motivate the players because yelling is unprofessional, grown men shouldn't need motivation, and even if they did the only alternative to yelling is handing out Valentines with "You can do better! " on them.

When the media and fans want to know why everyone else on the team looks like they have oatmeal in their veins they go first to Ovechkin in the locker room. He and a few of the other players have to mumble some **** about being "sleepy" or "unprepared" or "taking them too lightly". Then Oates has a press conference where NOTHING that anyone just saw was observed by the coaching staff, and "I though we did a good job, we just didn't get rewarded" sets the tone of denial. Then the ball is right back in Ovechkin's court and he's either got to motivate the team himself, or come up with more ways to say "I can only lead by example". Which he eventually gets tired of doing.

Game after game the team is set up for failure and excuses. Year after year.

**** it.

Blow it up. What's the difference.

 

[g00n]

Also, another option is to just leave the C with Ovechkin and pick better assistants. If Ovie can be the figurehead and diplomat, then other guys can be the knucklebusters.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Also, another option is to just leave the C with Ovechkin and pick better assistants. If Ovie can be the figurehead and diplomat, then other guys can be the knucklebusters.

What, Backstrom and Green are knucklebusters extraordinares.

 

[g00n]

What, Backstrom and Green are knucklebusters extraordinares.

Exactly the problem right there. The Swedish Sloth and Smokin' Mike Green.

If you want to rip letters off of sweaters, start in the "A"s.

 

[Acallabeth]

Captaincy is a prestigious, but basically symbolic position that shows that the franchise has a trust and respect for the player. So being a captain is an honor, but it's barely affects anything.
Stripping the captaincy is a symbolic act that says "we lost all respect and faith into you". Somebody go explain to me how does this help anything, especially in Ovechkin's case (a superstar player with a big ego). Regarding Ovechkin, I'd either make (or force) him to play harder (maybe pointing at his C, maybe threatening to strip, maybe something else), or just trade him for a good package without trying to slap him into the face.

Also, when the only leadership you get is from your captain, you have 20 players who need to be led. A team like that is ****ed up anyways.

 

[Langway]

The notion that a culture can only be changed by virtue of this one single action is a very convenient notion. It grabs headlines I guess. And it makes me sound like A Very Important Person.

On the one hand Muir agrees Oates & McPhee should go and on the other seemingly dismisses any sort of cultural impact such a move could make. Curious.

Here's a way to improve the culture: get some better ****ing players and a coach that isn't a dinosaur.

I don't disagree that Ovechkin could easily send a poor example to younger players in the future and that's a real issue. But this is no inevitability and could easily be the case regardless of whether he's a captain, assistant or wears no letter at all.

 

[Roughing]

As if which player has a little extra fabric on his jersey has a ***damn thing to do with the abysmal state of this pathetic ****ing franchise. If they get a proper roster and a good coach they can put the friggin C on Volpatti for all I care.

 

[Liberati0n*]

Well, to me, Ovechkin's flaws are really about the organization's failure to have an institutionalized set of standards for players to live up to. Ovechkin's been bigger than the organization from the beginning because the organization is nothing on its own. I think this kind of thing is overblown generally, but the Capitals don't have any kind of organizational identity or just a sense of high enough standards to demand, implicitly, from players that they be well rounded, etc. Taking the C away from him doesn't do anything to change that. As Langway sort of says, the important source of a "culture change" is the right GM and coach being hired.

I don't think Ovechkin should've ever been named captain, partly because he had never been given much by the team/organization for it to mean, no built-in standard it meant he had to hold himself to. I've probably said that he should have it stripped in the past, but it really is pretty pointless. Alzner's the closest thing they have to a real potential captain right now and he's far from perfect. If Holtby gets back on track under a stable new regime, I think he can be a very effective leader in ways Ovechkin hasn't been before long.

 

[amjay13]

The "C" in hockey is sooooo overrated. No team has won or lost because of their captains leadership abilities. As a collective group, a good locker room should have several strong leaders. The Caps problem is that their room has very few.

 

[Mothra]

I think way too much is made of a small letter on the sweater.....

if they move that piece of fabric to another jersey then it will be "if your best player doesnt lead/backcheck hard every shift/etc" you cant win

to me it simply comes down to, can you win with Ovechkin on your team?....to me thats an easy yes. This team is a mess....and in the order of leadership it is a mess above him. Maybe he cant straighten out the franchise by himself....that does seem to be whats being asked of him.

You have a GM/coach combo that believe having 3 goalies was something to try, completely rigid coaching philosophy...regardless of talent and team make up, a blueline that at times was laughably inexperienced, and the belief that players dont need to be motivated

so here we are

 

[Roughing]

Well, to me, Ovechkin's flaws are really about the organization's failure to have an institutionalized set of standards for players to live up to. Ovechkin's been bigger than the organization from the beginning because the organization is nothing on its own. I think this kind of thing is overblown generally, but the Capitals don't have any kind of organizational identity or just a sense of high enough standards to demand, implicitly, from players that they be well rounded, etc. Taking the C away from him doesn't do anything to change that. As Langway sort of says, the important source of a "culture change" is the right GM and coach being hired.

I can't fathom how anyone could disagree with your [basic] point here. Most (hell, maybe all) of us keep saying things along these lines. This whole mess is clearly about organization-wide failure. The owner is a [hockey] moron, who enables a flawed and condescending GM, who currently has as an insufferable, emotionless, clueless, know-it-all for a coach. What could be right with that?

 

[RandyHolt]

A captain has to lead by example on the ice, or say the right things in the room.

Gone is his on ice leadership, goals aside. Yet its still expected that he generate all the energy for our flat team, boring abysmal system, and ticket toting fans.

He doesn't strike me as a vocal locker room leader type.

I thought a new coach and the delayed start to the season 2 summers ago was the perfect time for Oates to announce he prefers naming a captain every month. No one would have given a rats ass, the media circus non existent with the season delayed 4 months. There would have been no embarrassment, no Tex fueled humiliation as he drank on a beach in Turkey in July.

Dare I think Ovi would be thrilled to be relieved of the vocal responsibility of being a leader that simply does not seem to come naturally to him. Likely in part because English is not his native language.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Ovie sure acts like a captain to me. He's the guy who calls players acquired at the deadline, he's the guy taking in rookies, inviting them to live with him when they first come to town, he's the guy retrieving milestone pucks, talking to the media, and being a trooper and a good soldier for an organization that hasn't always put him in a position to succeed.

Seems like captain material to me.

I think you could easily further dissect some of those things....just sayin....those are certainly actions you would expect your Captain to do for ALL young rookies, not just the Russian ones. Most of the hockey stuff he's solid at honestly, but if he's not organized and doing things to promote team building off ice, player/family events come to mind as the types of things I heard a guy like Chris Clark used to organize. Does Ovy? I don't know...you never hear of it.

The glaring lack of effort in critical game situations is obviously the elephant in the room. I think he does some really good things as Captain, and some potentially damning ones as a player sometimes.....

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

What, Backstrom and Green are knucklebusters extraordinares.

Laich would be the logical choice as one of those 2nd in commands to keep the room in line, but you can't rely on a guy in a suit more than he's on ice.

 

[Corby78]

I don't know the locker room atmosphere to make the best choice, but from what I see on the ice, I would chose Ward. After that I honestly don't know. Maybe Alzner or Carlson? But its sad when none of the guys on the ice seem like leaders.

I can't say BL, because I find it hard to respect/listen to a guy who only plays half the games and then when he doesn't play, doesn't earn his pay.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

They need outsiders to come in and support Ovechkin's leadership. That's part of the reason I had the Morrow/Smyth for 4LW suggestion a while ago. Iginla or Callahan would be a great fit for 1RW in that regard. A new coach that actually has some leadership skills would help as well.

 

[fsnoles98]

The last good captain was Hunter. This guy went to war every night for his team no matter where they were in the standings. This team hasn't had a team mentality in quite some time. They have played an IGM mentality since the young guns emerged. This team should not have gone through that many coaches in that short amount of time. This is due to the players they put in the locker room. This team needs to clean house top to bottom. I'm not saying trade Ovie, but if he is unwilling to relinquish the "c", then see ya. Ted thinks too much about how the 8 yr old feels if he trades Ovie, but if he keeps a losing team on the ice he will lose his ass. This is not a hockey team when losing. Did Gretzky get traded?
Let's move on

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Gretzky was sold off for $$ reasons, not because he was being stripped of the Captaincy.

 

[RandyHolt]

Agreed NBTW

We desperately need to support Ovi from a leadership role regardless if he has a C sewn in china taped onto his crest. He carries an unreal amount of pressure to entertain not just the fans but seemingly all his teammates as well. They all just watch him and do little to support him. Our top 6 is full of passive passengers.

 

[fsnoles98]

Gretzky was sold off for $$ reasons, not because he was being stripped of the Captaincy.

No **** Einstein, I think everyone knows that, but he was traded. No one is bigger then the game, but thanks for your tidbit.

 

[ChibiPooky]

I view any potential stripping of the C as a wake-up call and serving notice that the culture is changing, and it's notice to more than just Ovechkin. It sends the unmistakable message to everybody in that room that the old way is gone. It sets the table for the new GM and new coach to start with more of a clean slate.

 

[txpd]

The last good captain was Hunter. This guy went to war every night for his team no matter where they were in the standings.

you didn't think konowalchuk was a good captain? ive never heard anything but the highest regard for konowalchuk except maybe from jagr. hell, I thought clark was a pretty good captain.