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

[Jacques Trap*]

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.

Yes but when you see your "superstar", your 8,9 million dollar player work harder and longer than everyone else, it inspires "joe 4th liner" the role players to dig deeper and become better professionals. That is definitely missing from Ovie. It's a lot easier for other guys to phone in an effort if he's doing it too

 

[txpd]

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.

that still leaves you with a humiliated lead player. just look at the language being used stripped. ripping the c off his sweater. that's going to leave a mark unless ovechkin just doesn't care. if he doesn't care, why would you want him on the team anymore?

I suppose there are other ways of handling it. the way we are talking about here is to overtly fire ovechkin. I doubt spinning it as a reset button for a new gm and coach would fly, but if the idea is stand ov at the whipping post and fire him, its 50/50 whether he responds with play or with unhappiness.

I think the best options are to find him a veteran #2 to add leadership. another knuble. or trade him if you want a new captain

I think you also have to realistically consider that if you strip him of the captaincy that he asks to be traded.

 

[ChibiPooky]

that still leaves you with a humiliated lead player. just look at the language being used stripped. ripping the c off his sweater. that's going to leave a mark unless ovechkin just doesn't care. if he doesn't care, why would you want him on the team anymore?

I suppose there are other ways of handling it. the way we are talking about here is to overtly fire ovechkin. I doubt spinning it as a reset button for a new gm and coach would fly, but if the idea is stand ov at the whipping post and fire him, its 50/50 whether he responds with play or with unhappiness.

I think the best options are to find him a veteran #2 to add leadership. another knuble. or trade him if you want a new captain

I think you also have to realistically consider that if you strip him of the captaincy that he asks to be traded.

IMO being humiliated is exactly what Ovechkin needs. Tear him down and build him back up the right way. And maybe you're right. Maybe building him back up falls to someone else. But I don't think the Caps can win the way things are.

You can bring in all the good supporting leaders you want. In the end, if Ovechkin continues to slack and play a one-dimensional game, it'll come to a head, and they'll just have to choose then. I'd rather they choose now, on their own terms.

 

[fsnoles98]

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.

I think they were good, just not to the standard of Hunter.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Yes but when you see your "superstar", your 8,9 million dollar player work harder and longer than everyone else, it inspires "joe 4th liner" the role players to dig deeper and become better professionals. That is definitely missing from Ovie. It's a lot easier for other guys to phone in an effort if he's doing it too

You think Ovie's missing the ability to inspire his teammates? What Ovie have you been watching?

 

[usiel]

Stripping the C? No way you trade AO and never go the route of stripping the captaincy and retaining him.

I don't get bent out of shape re: +/-. Sure there have be minuses for AO for the player that was his responsibility that I recall. But man with the defense that the capitals have atm that is a bit unfair. Different topic but have been noticing how ofter the 3rd defense pairing is out there with the top line resulting in getting pinned in the defensive zone.

 

[Drakon]

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.

The team quit with Kono as a leader, so no, not a good captain.
As for whoever said Laich, he's already been shown to take shots at his current Captain in the press, and has always talked a lot bigger than he plays.

 

[Brian23]

I would lose it if Laich got the C. Not only does he never play anymore, he's never shown up when he's needed. He's all bark and no bite much like Brouwer.

 

[artilector]

I don't see how stripping the C helps anything. That call should be based not on whether he deserves it (maybe he doesn't), but on how it would impact the team. And I don't see a positive impact here.

 

[Jacques Trap*]

You think Ovie's missing the ability to inspire his teammates? What Ovie have you been watching?

The one who's been called out on effort at various points by multiple coaches/players. The one who skates hard in one direction and coasts the other. The one who prolongs his shifts at the cost of team goals. The one who doesn't take offseason training seriously.

I have to you wonder if you, who are asking me "which Ovechkin are you watching?" are yourself watching a different Ovie than the one who plays today? Maybe you are watching an Ovie from his first few seasons. That Ovie was an inspirational player. Today, sadly he's a shadow of the guy who entered the league and played with such passion and fire.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I don't think Ovie is the problem. I think you have a locker full of passengers who fold at the first sign of adversity. Laich and Brouwer do nothing but talk. Backstrom is a super nice guy but that's about it. Chimmer, Fehr, and Ward seem content to take care of their own little piece of the pie. Alzner, Carlson... really nice dudes but don't see any intensity from them. Mike Green? Pass the marijuanas. MaJo, Orlov, Kuz, the AHL kids are young and not any where near ready for a leadership role. I don't see any guys in the locker room that go to war for their teammates except Wilson and Erskine, and I'm not just talking about dropping the gloves. They lack a certain aura of cohesiveness and trust in each other and the more I think about it, the more there needs to be some serious shake up this summer. This, to me, has gotten past the point of needing a defenseman or two. They need a complete reboot in the locker room. Stripping the C from Ovie and giving it to a Laich/Brouwer/Alzner is moronic and equivalent to putting a new paint job on a broken car.

 

[RandyHolt]

I see little downside risk in ripping the C off of Ovi since our problems run much deeper than that. We need more C candidates. The demise of the team started just 4 months after he got the C. Totally random to Ovi getting the C or not, the team has trended down. Sugar coat it all you want. It appears the team dynamic was better when he was not a C. He appears to have succumbed to the extra weight the C has added to his already ungodly load of carrying the entire team franchise on his back.

Tex yes we know you are worried about humiliating him. It's humiliating as fans to see such a boring listless disinterested product while we pay their salaries to entertain us.

George has built a team that doesn't give a rats ass about giving the effort needed to make the playoffs.

I stick to my guns, Ovi would love to ditch the C and just be a hockey player again.

 

[g00n]

If we complain about there being a million little things wrong with this organization then we'd better be willing to tolerate a million little changes. Of course no single move is going to turn everything around overnight. But you have to start somewhere, and you have to make some tough calls when the status quo is garbage. Why protect garbage?

 

[txpd]

IMO being humiliated is exactly what Ovechkin needs. Tear him down and build him back up the right way. And maybe you're right. Maybe building him back up falls to someone else. But I don't think the Caps can win the way things are.

You can bring in all the good supporting leaders you want. In the end, if Ovechkin continues to slack and play a one-dimensional game, it'll come to a head, and they'll just have to choose then. I'd rather they choose now, on their own terms.

then I would decide to trade him. the trade demand after the humiliation will damage his trade value further. but that's just me.

@noles. you said hunter was the last good capt. he was an elite capt of the kind you get once or twice in the league at the time. langway was the best. hunter a close second. the caps haven't been denied good captains though. maybe ov isn't one but the guy before was just fine.

 

[txpd]

I don't think Ovie is the problem. I think you have a locker full of passengers who fold at the first sign of adversity. Laich and Brouwer do nothing but talk. Backstrom is a super nice guy but that's about it. Chimmer, Fehr, and Ward seem content to take care of their own little piece of the pie. Alzner, Carlson... really nice dudes but don't see any intensity from them. Mike Green? Pass the marijuanas. MaJo, Orlov, Kuz, the AHL kids are young and not any where near ready for a leadership role. I don't see any guys in the locker room that go to war for their teammates except Wilson and Erskine, and I'm not just talking about dropping the gloves. They lack a certain aura of cohesiveness and trust in each other and the more I think about it, the more there needs to be some serious shake up this summer. This, to me, has gotten past the point of needing a defenseman or two. They need a complete reboot in the locker room. Stripping the C from Ovie and giving it to a Laich/Brouwer/Alzner is moronic and equivalent to putting a new paint job on a broken car.

Brouwer has done nothing but talk? 14 goals in the last 24 games. when the Caps really need to production. That's nothing?

What does "seem content to take care of their own little piece of the pie" mean?

 

[txpd]

Tex yes we know you are worried about humiliating him. It's humiliating as fans to see such a boring listless disinterested product while we pay their salaries to entertain us..

that's off base. I am not worried about anything. hockey wise. I don't care of they strip him or not. I am saying that its very unlikely that it turns out well if the idea is to also keep the player.

you don't need to talk down to me about it. I am fine with trading Ovechkin. I am not calling for it, but if you think the team needs a different captain then you replace Ov by moving him on.

You can either say that you agree or disagree but don't give me the above load of poo.

 

[trick9]

In all honesty i think it might not be the perfect fit but there can be other leaders than the guy with 'C' in his chest, and it's a massive honor to have that as a player. When you strip it away from someone who've had it for years it pretty much tells you that the clock is ticking already.

Also this team doesn't currently have any great leaders that give consistent effort day in and day out so i'd rather just give Chimera/Ward the 'A' and maybe if they finally acquire the veteran top-4 D you can hand him the other 'A'.

 

[RandyHolt]

that's off base. I am not worried about anything. hockey wise. I don't care of they strip him or not. I am saying that its very unlikely that it turns out well if the idea is to also keep the player.

you don't need to talk down to me about it. I am fine with trading Ovechkin. I am not calling for it, but if you think the team needs a different captain then you replace Ov by moving him on.

You can either say that you agree or disagree but don't give me the above load of poo.

I am talking down? Those are your words. You have used every opportunity to say it would publicly humiliate him, countless times, as the reason to not try change.

You have no proof whatsoever that it would humiliate him. Talk about a load of poo. I think he would like to ditch it.

I think he is much more thick skinned than you think.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Brouwer has done nothing but talk? 14 goals in the last 24 games. when the Caps really need to production. That's nothing?

What does "seem content to take care of their own little piece of the pie" mean?

He's a mouth piece, the first one to get in front the camera pre or post game. He bangs in one timers from the slot on the PP, very impressive.

Chimmer, Wardo, and Fehr are a great cycling line. But Wardo and Chimmer dressing up as Vogel and Walton on the day of a franchise-defining (yes, I think that's what it was) game says all you need to know about their leadership capabilities and/or priorities, to me at least.

 

[Marshall]

Muir's a clown. Always has been.

 

[txpd]

I am talking down? Those are your words. You have used every opportunity to say it would publicly humiliate him, countless times, as the reason to not try change.

You have no proof whatsoever that it would humiliate him. Talk about a load of poo. I think he would like to ditch it.

I think he is much more thick skinned than you think.

I am saying he will be embarrassed as a failure. you don't agree. fine. I am not worried about it. I am saying it will happen. there is a difference.

as for having no proof. I will just leave that lie. historically captains get changed when they leave. there are rare situations where an againg capt like modano is replaced and it came with a great deal of locker room drama. there is the rare situation where a young capt is stripped, like lecavalier was. that was an awful situation.

can you name me a couple of cases where a captain in his prime has been fired as captain and stayed with that team? can you name me a couple of those that were reasonably smooth transitions where the stripped captain took it well?

 

[txpd]

He's a mouth piece, the first one to get in front the camera pre or post game. He bangs in one timers from the slot on the PP, very impressive.

Chimmer, Wardo, and Fehr are a great cycling line. But Wardo and Chimmer dressing up as Vogel and Walton on the day of a franchise-defining (yes, I think that's what it was) game says all you need to know about their leadership capabilities and/or priorities, to me at least.

ok then....which players did you say were ok?

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

All this could have been avoided by just building a team around him. Instead they chose to build a marketing campaign around him.

Pretty ****ing sad.

 

[txpd]

pretty ****ing sad. next?

 

[Slappy]

The replacement, should Ovi be stripped of the C, is obvious. He's won a cup. He's the consummate leader. And not just of hockey players, in general. He's the Leader of Men. Actually, a 'C' sewn to his sweater wouldn't do him justice. I think you all know who I'm referring to...