Open Letter is Well Done

We have come a long way. This is a very smart open letter to the team.

It basically says ”really good isn’t good enough.” I agree. Our best October ever in terms of points, who cares? Second in the East is NOT good enough. Fourth best record in the NHL, so what? We only have two regulation losses, second least in NHL. But it seems like we are always losing, doesn’t it? I got no problems with this one. I agree with it for the most part. Our expectations are really high.

I will add that I hate this schedule. Playing four games in less than six days is tough on the body, the soul and the players. It is very difficult to gather up the focus, attention and energy to play committed and passionate playoff like hockey when you have a big lead in the division and you seem to get standing points every single game you play. A season ticket holder sitting in front of me said, “Ted, I am exhausted coming to these games and watching them on TV. I can just imagine how the players feel right now!” Well said, too. Indeed.

I had a bad feeling about yesterday’s game. I mentioned that to several people during the pre game and I hate being proven right.

I loved the way we played after Alex Ovechkin left the game. We played tough ‘in your face’, ‘storm the net’ hockey. We deserved better. Some undisciplined play leaving us short-handed did us in but still the intensity level was there and we deserved a better fate.

Now a day off. The players and all folks associated with the team need a day away from the rink.

On Tuesday, we will find out the status of Alex Ovechkin and his health.

As I have noted, good health is a key ingredient to success. We will need to rally and step up and play better as a unit should Alex be missing some time. Pray for good health.

0 thoughts on “Open Letter is Well Done”

i think its time to bring joe finley to the team we can afford him and he can play wing i know we have a lot of talented players in the wings waiting but they cant do what joe can do, remember the scouting report on him (big bag of knuckles) thats what is needed right now its not like he will be playing a lot of minutes and he will not have to play defense the players waiting for their shot have had their shot to unseat almost any of our wingers and failed to do so what is needed now is a for (lack of a better word(goon i think joe will be a good hockey in the future but his other services are needed now

Ovi will be the first to tell you that he’s not the Washington Capitals. He’s part of the team, and an important part, but there’s still Nick Backstrom (a top 10 scorer in the NHL last year), Alexander Semin (on a 40 goal pace), Brooks Laich (on a pace to finish with 30 goals), Mike Green (wasn’t he a first team all-star last year?), Jose Theodore (a former league MVP), Tomas Fleischmann (who has 3 points in 3 games), etc.

This is a team. If Ovi misses a week, or 2, or 3 now in November, the Caps will be fine. And come playoff time, instead of having 82 games worth of effort on his body, he’ll have a few less…and he might be even more of a monster than his 1.5 points-per-game pace in last year’s playoffs…

I love the Caps! What I don’t love is seeing our Alex out on the ice defending himself. When will you break down and get an enforcer. It wasn’t okay to have Alex going to the penalty box for something that Donald use to do for the team! Please get an enforcer or other teams will own us. Don’t you notice that Alex no longer plays fearlessly? Please notice it. He/They need(s) to play fearlessly, that’s who he is, that’s who they need to be. Please get an enforcer. And, I AM definitely praying for Alex’s speedy recovery/healing.

Thanks for posting the article Ted, I am actually working on a similar one.

I hate to be critical, but the lack of a major enforcer and the deficiencies of the blue-liners is making this season painful to watch.

A win is a win, BUT a one goal game where you led by four, or having teams throw your players around does not send good messages to other teams.

Again I hate to be critical and I have EVERY confidence these issues will be addressed by George, Bruce, and yourself.

I just feel you need to know that you have fans pulling their hair out and loosing sleep over these issues.

Thanks for reading!

I think this team isn’t tough enough. Frankly, I didn’t think it was tough enough LAST season. With the departure of Brashear, it was entirely predictable that opponents would begin to take liberties with some of the skill guys, including Ovie who is tough as nails but isn’t (and shouldn’t be) a fighter. Unfortunately, I suspect that yesterday will not be the last time that we will regret not having someone to watch the backs of the skill guys.

Kudos to you, Ted, for actually linking to a mildly critical — but spot on — blog post most of us would never have seen if it weren’t for you. Love the candor and, as Jim Collins would say, “confronting the brutal facts.” Any chance the players will see this?

Ted,

Well said…

~Ron

Lots of prayers…

I will say that being at VC last night and seeing how the team did step up was pretty impressive. But you’re right, playing tough and disciplined are 2 things to go hand in hand during every second of the game. That being said, it was a nice effort.

andy on November 3, 2009 at 1:41 PM said:

i think its time to bring joe finley to the team we can afford him and he can play wing i know we have a lot of talented players in the wings waiting but they cant do what joe can do, remember the scouting report on him (big bag of knuckles) thats what is needed right now its not like he will be playing a lot of minutes and he will not have to play defense the players waiting for their shot have had their shot to unseat almost any of our wingers and failed to do so what is needed now is a for (lack of a better word(goon i think joe will be a good hockey in the future but his other services are needed now
Mike L. on November 3, 2009 at 10:37 AM said:

Ovi will be the first to tell you that he’s not the Washington Capitals. He’s part of the team, and an important part, but there’s still Nick Backstrom (a top 10 scorer in the NHL last year), Alexander Semin (on a 40 goal pace), Brooks Laich (on a pace to finish with 30 goals), Mike Green (wasn’t he a first team all-star last year?), Jose Theodore (a former league MVP), Tomas Fleischmann (who has 3 points in 3 games), etc.

This is a team. If Ovi misses a week, or 2, or 3 now in November, the Caps will be fine. And come playoff time, instead of having 82 games worth of effort on his body, he’ll have a few less…and he might be even more of a monster than his 1.5 points-per-game pace in last year’s playoffs…
J. Stacy on November 3, 2009 at 12:44 AM said:

I love the Caps! What I don’t love is seeing our Alex out on the ice defending himself. When will you break down and get an enforcer. It wasn’t okay to have Alex going to the penalty box for something that Donald use to do for the team! Please get an enforcer or other teams will own us. Don’t you notice that Alex no longer plays fearlessly? Please notice it. He/They need(s) to play fearlessly, that’s who he is, that’s who they need to be. Please get an enforcer. And, I AM definitely praying for Alex’s speedy recovery/healing.
Kevin on November 2, 2009 at 11:05 PM said:

Thanks for posting the article Ted, I am actually working on a similar one.

I hate to be critical, but the lack of a major enforcer and the deficiencies of the blue-liners is making this season painful to watch.

A win is a win, BUT a one goal game where you led by four, or having teams throw your players around does not send good messages to other teams.

Again I hate to be critical and I have EVERY confidence these issues will be addressed by George, Bruce, and yourself.

I just feel you need to know that you have fans pulling their hair out and loosing sleep over these issues.

Thanks for reading!
Joe on November 2, 2009 at 5:45 PM said:

I think this team isn’t tough enough. Frankly, I didn’t think it was tough enough LAST season. With the departure of Brashear, it was entirely predictable that opponents would begin to take liberties with some of the skill guys, including Ovie who is tough as nails but isn’t (and shouldn’t be) a fighter. Unfortunately, I suspect that yesterday will not be the last time that we will regret not having someone to watch the backs of the skill guys.
Bucknell Dad on November 2, 2009 at 4:39 PM said:

Kudos to you, Ted, for actually linking to a mildly critical — but spot on — blog post most of us would never have seen if it weren’t for you. Love the candor and, as Jim Collins would say, “confronting the brutal facts.” Any chance the players will see this?
R.Diehl on November 2, 2009 at 4:34 PM said:

Ted,

Well said…

~Ron
Heather on November 2, 2009 at 4:08 PM said:

Lots of prayers…

I will say that being at VC last night and seeing how the team did step up was pretty impressive. But you’re right, playing tough and disciplined are 2 things to go hand in hand during every second of the game. That being said, it was a nice effort.