News Article: Carrera: Washington Capitals’ problems began long before their playoff streak ended

[g00n]

No doubt.

And despite all the bad GMGM has done lets not forget the good too. It wasn't all Ovechkin that turned DCs hockey market around. GMGM had a lot to do with that as well.

He simply couldn't put the icing on the cake when all was said and done but he left us with a pretty solid foundation and alot of youth/young assets to build from.

When he took over we had NO farm system to speak of. It was barren. And our team was an old veteran team with nothing in the pipeline.

It took him a few years but he did restock the system.

Let's not go nuts.

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=8871

Attendance surged after the Cup Finals year, which he had little to do with. It wasn't based on genius moves on his part, it was based on going to the Finals.

Then attendance dropped off a cliff when they missed the playoffs the following year. The Jagr deal (Ted, partly) helped build it back up, then it slowly declined again, this time to the lowest levels in 20 YEARS. It didn't shoot back up until, once more, they made waves by making the playoffs on the backs of Ovechkin and Huet.

WINNING has always been the biggest factor in attendance with the Capitals, as a leading indicator. George only deserves credit for whether the team wins or not on the merits of his stewardship. Ted's marketing direction and promises of a generational dynasty team with multiple Cups can probably be credited with a lot of the recent attendance as well.

 

[BobRouse]

Weren't you crapping all over his lockout/postlockout work just a couple of weeks ago?

Over the past 15 years you will find few people who have bashed GMGM more than me I can tell you that.

But now that he is on his way out its only fair to give him his due where it was warranted.

Yes he has made mistakes. Plenty of them. Yes his philosophy on the D is horrendous (at least IMO).

But to reflect back its not like EVERYTHING he did was negative. He did alot of good too and he deserves to be acknowledged for that doesn't he?

Let's not go nuts.

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=8871

Attendance surged after the Cup Finals year, which he had little to do with. It wasn't based on genius moves on his part, it was based on going to the Finals.

Then attendance dropped off a cliff when they missed the playoffs the following year. The Jagr deal (Ted, partly) helped build it back up, then it slowly declined again, this time to the lowest levels in 20 YEARS. It didn't shoot back up until, once more, they made waves by making the playoffs on the backs of Ovechkin and Huet.

WINNING has always been the biggest factor in attendance with the Capitals, as a leading indicator. George only deserves credit for whether the team wins or not on the merits of his stewardship. Ted's marketing direction and promises of a generational dynasty team with multiple Cups can probably be credited with a lot of the recent attendance as well.

I'm actually reading Red Rising and its a very good read. It crosses paths somewhat with BBs book but it has alot of stuff in it for sure.

I suggest every Caps fan pick it up!

But it goes into attendance.

I remember way back in the 88-89 season. That year the Caps sold out half their home games which was an amazing number! Before that they had very good teams but if they were playing LA or Winnipeg on a Tuesday night you'd be hard pressed to find 10,000 people in the stands.

Again they were a very good team in the mid-late 80s.

The last few years we've been about a .500 team. I believe there has been a slight drop in attendance but not much. The fans are still coming out and are still very loud.

In the old Patrick Division days the attendance figures were skewed b/c when they played the Islanders/Flyers/Penguins about half the arena would be filled with opposing fans. Isles fans in the mid 80s were insufferable.

They would come down by the busload and were louder than Caps fans.

 

[Monsterrain]

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that there's already interest in Benning from at least one other team looking for a GM, then (note that both of these sources are more local-ish level).



ian esplen ‏@IanEsplen Apr 14
Reports out of #Vancouver are that the Canucks want #Boston #Bruins Ast. GM Jim Benning to be their next GM. Owner wants "Boston Model"



And apparently they're already talking to him.

@BC HOCKEY REPORTERâ„¢ ‏@BC_HockeyScoops Apr 10
Scoops has learned that the Vancouver Canucks are speaking to Jim Benning, Boston Bruins Asst. GM as candidate for vacant GM position.



C'mon Ted, get on your ****ing horse.

This is what i mean. With ted waiting, we could be missing out on the next great one.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Came to post about the Feinstein article. Saw that you guys have already taken care of it

 

[Bananas]

Why are all these turds still a part of the oraganEYEzation?

Flush them down the bowl already for ****'s sake!

 

[stanleycaps18]

\ isles fans are insufferable.

fify

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Last year's Dallas Timeline:

4/27/13 - Nieuwendyk Fired
4/29/13 - Jim Nill Hired
5/14/13 - Glen Gulutzan Fired
6/21/13 - Lindy Ruff Hired

 

[txpd]

Last year's Dallas Timeline:

4/27/13 - Nieuwendyk Fired
4/29/13 - Jim Nill Hired
5/14/13 - Glen Gulutzan Fired
6/21/13 - Lindy Ruff Hired

so...there's still sand left in the hourglass?

 

[PucktotheHead]

Much like the team this year it seems Uncle Ted has no sense of urgency here. I would love to know what he is waiting for. The longer this drags on the more concerned I am that Oates won't get canned.

Tic toc Ted...tic toc.

 

[g00n]

This week or next week at the latest. GMGM is 99% gone. Probably tomorrow.

Oates, on the other hand, not so sure...

 

[marcel snapshot]

Some interesting observations about the "culture" of the Caps organization from Elliote Friedman - I've bolded the stuff I think is really interesting:

26. One theory on the Adam Oates/Jaroslav Halak blowup last week: that Oates was frustrated with the amount of control players seem to have in Washington. Halak was an odd choice to get the brunt of it since he's been there only six weeks, but it was probably a case of the coach hitting his boiling point and not really caring about seniority.

27. If the Capitals make organizational changes, it's going to be interesting to see who they target. The roster looks good, but there's something making that situation much harder than it should be. If they go for a new GM or a new coach, the best candidates, the ones they will want, will be asking one question: "Will players be allowed to go over my head without my permission?"

28. Alexander Ovechkin had a really interesting media scrum on Monday. One former teammate said Ovechkin is frustrated because he didn't cause any problems when they won while Dale Hunter benched him, then moved to the right wing as Adam Oates asked -- and still gets ripped. After reading and watching this exchange, I believe that's what he thinks 100 per cent.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/opinion/2014/04/30-thoughts-ryan-getzlaf-for-mvp.html

The 2 bolded excerpts highlight my concern that there's a caste/privilege system within the organization that management tolerates and reinforces - which ends up inhibiting implementation of necessary changes. Bizarrely, that may have been helpful this year, since Oates has so many fugged up ideas. But I think this is something that pre-dates Oates, and it is not conducive to winning.

As for the Alex stuff - my reaction is that he needs to suck it up and grow up a bit. With great privilege/power comes great responsibility. He's the face of the team (the organization), and the team has not succeeded. Instead of complaining about getting criticized, do more to improve yourself as a player and as a team leader. If he doesn't know that he's a one-dimensional player (although damned good at that one dimension), then he's being coddled to his detriment. And if he does know, then he should take more ownership of doing something about it.

 

[BobRouse]

Some interesting observations about the "culture" of the Caps organization from Elliote Friedman - I've bolded the stuff I think is really interesting:

26. One theory on the Adam Oates/Jaroslav Halak blowup last week: that Oates was frustrated with the amount of control players seem to have in Washington. Halak was an odd choice to get the brunt of it since he's been there only six weeks, but it was probably a case of the coach hitting his boiling point and not really caring about seniority.

27. If the Capitals make organizational changes, it's going to be interesting to see who they target. The roster looks good, but there's something making that situation much harder than it should be. If they go for a new GM or a new coach, the best candidates, the ones they will want, will be asking one question: "Will players be allowed to go over my head without my permission?"

28. Alexander Ovechkin had a really interesting media scrum on Monday. One former teammate said Ovechkin is frustrated because he didn't cause any problems when they won while Dale Hunter benched him, then moved to the right wing as Adam Oates asked -- and still gets ripped. After reading and watching this exchange, I believe that's what he thinks 100 per cent.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/opinion/2014/04/30-thoughts-ryan-getzlaf-for-mvp.html

The 2 bolded excerpts highlight my concern that there's a caste/privilege system within the organization that management tolerates and reinforces - which ends up inhibiting implementation of necessary changes. Bizarrely, that may have been helpful this year, since Oates has so many fugged up ideas. But I think this is something that pre-dates Oates, and it is not conducive to winning.

As for the Alex stuff - my reaction is that he needs to suck it up and grow up a bit. With great privilege/power comes great responsibility. He's the face of the team (the organization), and the team has not succeeded. Instead of complaining about getting criticized, do more to improve yourself as a player and as a team leader. If he doesn't know that he's a one-dimensional player (although damned good at that one dimension), then he's being coddled to his detriment. And if he does know, then he should take more ownership of doing something about it.

I read that too yesterday and it raised an eyebrow...

My take:

Oates pulled a Shanahan in scuttling the ship. Oates knows he's going to get canned so:

1- He's been throwing every player under the Oatesbus within reach

2- Floats stuff out there that the players have control (Shanahan saying that RGIII is Dan Snyder's best buddy when it was revealed that wasn't the case at all)

Oates=Mike Shanahan

Shanahan also threw the teams franchise player under the bus just like Oates. Both have MONSTER egos and have proved that over and over again in their careers.

Both have publically humiliated players for petty reasons.


I think what Friedman said is 100% planted by Oates and "his people"

 

[Langway]

so...there's still sand left in the hourglass?

4/27 was the date of their final regular season game last year so...not really. Hiring Nill two days later suggests that process was initiated much earlier on.

Being close to making the playoffs until the final week or so shouldn't be any sort of excuse for the process to drag on. With a GM in the final year of his contract, there should have been some sort of idea of what comes next. It isn't evident at all that such preparations were made. Indeed, the whole 'we'll wait until Monday' to start our review suggests the whole thing has been put off. Might that indicate that McPhee still has a chance to stay? Or is ownership just incapable of being ahead of the curve?

 

[marcel snapshot]

Or is ownership just incapable of being ahead of the curve?

Well, the one common thread among Ted, GMGM, and Oates is that each seems to have an inordinate amount of trouble acknowledging -- and owning -- mistakes. So even though most here could see that this was not a playoff team (or, more charitably, not a team that could do anything in the playoffs), they may well have been in denial all the way up until (and perhaps after) the Dallas game.

For even optimistic believers in the core of this team (and I count myself among them, having maintained during the February doledrums of the abridged 2013 season that the team could still make the playoffs), the writing was clear after the Rangers series from last year, when Boston absolutely shellacked a Rangers team that we weren't good enough to beat in the 1st round. That should have set off alarm bells, but instead brought another round of bad refs/hot goalie excuses - a consistent area of strength for the Caps organization.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I read that too yesterday and it raised an eyebrow...

My take:

Oates pulled a Shanahan in scuttling the ship. Oates knows he's going to get canned so:

1- He's been throwing every player under the Oatesbus within reach

2- Floats stuff out there that the players have control (Shanahan saying that RGIII is Dan Snyder's best buddy when it was revealed that wasn't the case at all)

Oates=Mike Shanahan

Shanahan also threw the teams franchise player under the bus just like Oates. Both have MONSTER egos and have proved that over and over again in their careers.

Both have publically humiliated players for petty reasons.


I think what Friedman said is 100% planted by Oates and "his people"

This constant "thrown under the bus" reference by the angry mob is becoming so overused. Look at Ovechkin's comments, he realizes he was wrong but rightfully so would probably wish his name didn't get called out. It's really hardly worth mentioning any more and hardly in Shanahan territory IMO.

 

[g00n]

Since GMGM is probably not being fired and is likely negotiating a new position with a different team I'm guessing he's trying to get the best deal he can and may be playing hardball since he has a lot of time to do it, via Ted. That whole organization has been viewing itself through rose colored glasses for the entire McPhee era and I'm sure he's not looking at this as taking whatever he can get. In his mind he's probably one of the best GM's in the league and he's likely negotiating from that position, however long it takes. And Ted is probably just waiting for him to get it taken care of, with update meetings in the meantime.

Let's just hope it's tomorrow. If not then it could be months.

 

[BobRouse]

This constant "thrown under the bus" reference by the angry mob is becoming so overused. Look at Ovechkin's comments, he realizes he was wrong but rightfully so would probably wish his name didn't get called out. It's really hardly worth mentioning any more and hardly in Shanahan territory IMO.

◦Oh looky - there's a Mike Green-shaped object under the Oatesbus.[WaPo, WashTimes]

http://www.japersrink.com/2014/4/17/5623408/thursday-caps-clips

Ovechkin, Halak, now Green.

There were rumors that Penner was thrown in there too but I cant locate them. Something about Oates saying he wasn't happy being traded here blah blah blah = throw under Bus

The timing of all this bus throwing began right along the time it seemed we were a lock to miss the playoffs.

I don't think its overused. Oates deserves everything he's got comin!

Shanahan was worse only in the sense that he was technically GM AND Coach.

Oates is pretty bad tho. Definitely Shanahan-esque levels

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

4/27 was the date of their final regular season game last year so...not really. Hiring Nill two days later suggests that process was initiated much earlier on.

Being close to making the playoffs until the final week or so shouldn't be any sort of excuse for the process to drag on. With a GM in the final year of his contract, there should have been some sort of idea of what comes next. It isn't evident at all that such preparations were made. Indeed, the whole 'we'll wait until Monday' to start our review suggests the whole thing has been put off. Might that indicate that McPhee still has a chance to stay? Or is ownership just incapable of being ahead of the curve?

Interesting...I had completely forgotten that the schedule ran late last year. Thanks for taking away the solace that I had found in that timeline.

 

[Calicaps]

Dear Sweet Baby Jesus in the manger...

This has got to end. Kick these idiots out already.

 

[txpd]

27. The roster looks good, [/B]
.

I like Friedman his access is interesting, but I wonder how you can bolden and hightlight a passage that comes immediately after this above comment??

This is the kind of comment that.....(sound of heads exploding)

 

[txpd]

◦Oh looky - there's a Mike Green-shaped object under the Oatesbus.[WaPo, WashTimes]

http://www.japersrink.com/2014/4/17/5623408/thursday-caps-clips

Ovechkin, Halak, now Green.

There were rumors that Penner was thrown in there too but I cant locate them. Something about Oates saying he wasn't happy being traded here blah blah blah = throw under Bus

The timing of all this bus throwing began right along the time it seemed we were a lock to miss the playoffs.

I don't think its overused. Oates deserves everything he's got comin!

Shanahan was worse only in the sense that he was technically GM AND Coach.

Oates is pretty bad tho. Definitely Shanahan-esque levels

ah...the reason green is off the power play.

"“He’s an enigma,†Oates said. “I felt that in the course of the season people want that [offensive production] every night from him, and I’m trying to fight him back. ‘No, we just need you to be a solid player. The league is too good. You’re not going to score a goal every single night.’ It doesn’t work like that. I need him to be a consistent hockey player. The more we can get him to understand that will be good for us.â€

what makes green special is his offensive skill. oates doesn't want him to use it and when he cant get green to give it up and play his defensive system the way he wants it done, he takes him off the power play.

oddly green could play hunter's system just fine

 

[Calicaps]

Every new story that comes out about Oates makes me disdain him more. Get rid of him now, Ted.

 

[g00n]

I have never seen a coach intentionally fight all of his players' strengths before. Not at the professional level, and not one who was trying to keep his job.

 

[RandyHolt]

As Rome burns, Adam Oates __________________________

 

[ChibiPooky]

I have never seen a coach intentionally fight all of his players' strengths before. Not at the professional level, and not one who was trying to keep his job.

Seriously. Even my beer league team plays its players to their strengths and lo and behold, we're 4-time defending champions at the upper D level with a majority of the team being lower D/novice caliber players. It's not a difficult concept to maximize strengths in order to get the whole to be greater than the sum of the parts.