Ted's Take

There are some confusing messages a-coming my way so hear me out.

Lately I have been getting positive feedback from fans and media because I don’t get involved in hockey related decisions regarding the Washington Capitals. I help set vision, strategy, culture and provide the resources. Then I am a cheerleader for the team and the franchise and I also get involved in many business affairs such as sponsor relations and season ticket holder communications.

I believe in the folks that work for us in hockey operations. I trust them. And the results are starting to speak for themselves. Anyone ever check the record that our Coach has generated since he took over the team? Or our record as a team over the last three seasons as to points garnered? It is pretty impressive. And we have upside, we haven’t peaked. Dick Patrick has an amazing background in the NHL. George McPhee does too.

I hear from many of our fans that it is a good thing that I am not involved because after all, I am not a “hockey person.” Their rationale is that I never played in the league - even though I went to my first hockey game in 1966 and went to my first Capitals game in 1976 and have been a season ticket holder since 1992 and have owned the team for 11 years spending literally thousands of hours per year around the team and the professionals managing the team and the players - I still wouldn’t know what I was doing. I try to attend every home game and I watch every road game on television if I don’t attend it myself. I literally have watched tens of thousands of hours of hockey in my lifetime now. But I am not a “hockey person” by definition.

I am also on the Executive Committee now at the NHL. I am on the Board of Governors too having attended almost 50 meetings since we bought the team. I have also become a student of the game talking to as many successful people in the league as I can so I can do what is called “Best Practices” for our team.

Yet even with all of this on the job training and exposure to the team and league, I AGREE that I am not a hockey person and would never assume that I would know what to do to build a team as to specifics; salary cap management; execution; systems; lines to play; players to draft and the like. So I agree with you all. Thank you. And thank goodness.

(more…)

We are fortunate that Alex Ovechkin’s injury will only keep him off the ice for a short period of time.

I am hopeful that he doesn’t rush his rehab and that we allow him to heal and rest up. It is a long season. He will have a long career. This first injury is a setback and we don’t want to rush Alex back into play. It is important for him to heal and feel strong and pain-free upon his return. Patience is better than haste in this regard.

We have relied on Alex and his gifts for five seasons now. With his being out of our lineup, it is now time for his teammates to step up and be counted. We have a lot of depth on our team; a lot of leaders; and a lot of talent.

The players will all rally around the coach and the jerseys that they wear. This is a team. They play for each other and for our passionate fans. The players will want to thank Alex for his MVP talents and we hope to NOT miss a beat. We will test our mettle now. This may be a small blessing in disguise as each and every player will have to step up their game to replace the one-of-a-kind talents of Alex Ovechkin.

As I have said numerous times, good health and luck play a big part in a hockey franchise’s success. I believe we were lucky that Alex’s injury wasn’t more severe so I count our blessings.

Get well soon Alex. Time to step up and be counted for all of us now. Go Caps! Let us see what we are made of while Alex is wearing a suit while his teammates are playing.