Ovie was hurt in a scrum started by a no name with the Blue Jackets. The scrum was finished off by Jared Boll coming in and having his way with Ovechkin. Why? No fear of reprisal, that’s why! I am shocked that it has taken a team this long to go after Ovechkin. We need to protect our top players.

I am a “Bruce” fan but I get tired of hearing how the team plays “too cute”. What you doing about that Bruce? I read that Ovie loves Bruce because he knows the game and does not say anything to him about offense, only defense. Somebody better start talking to Semin and Green about playing with passion and intelligence. I think Bruce’s paternal relationship with these players is clouding his better judgement.

I am a displaced Washingtonian now living in Gatlinburg/Knoxville TN area. I worked for the Caps when they first came into the league doing public relations stints (after dinner speaking engagements, ticket promotions and sales, etc.). I helped introduce the DC area to hockey. My background goes back to the old R I Reds who played in the AHL. I lived in RI before taking up roots in DC. I did promotional work for the Reds back in the days that I lived up north. My experience with the Caps was when Lew Strudler was your PR man and the team had the likes of Robert Picard, Dennis Maruk, Mike Gardner, Bernie Wolfe, Ivan Labre, etc playing for us. I also worked as an off ice official for the ECHL when the Chesepeake Ice Breakers played in Upper Marlboro and also traveled with the team and worked the press box doing charting and spotting during the teams away games. I worked very close with Chris Nyland who was then the coach of the Icebreakers.

I have many years of watching hockey and staying close to the Caps. I subscribe to NHL center ice and never miss one of your games. I love what you have done for the team and your commitment to bringing a prennial winner to the DC area is admirable. When I was with the team we could never crack the front page of the sports sections because of the presents of the Redskins. You have changed that!!

I would like to offer some on my insights and hope that you will find my comments acceptable. First and foremost I agree that injuries have caused our setbacks over the past few weeks and every team hits this bump in the road every year (hopefully only one time per year). That said I think that we have a couple of issues that need to be addressed.

1). I think that Alex Semin, while a superior player (when he isn’t hurt) is to soft and his playing time every year so notes this liability. I question his durability and the numerous times out of the line up for injury overall hurts the club. He also is the receipent of stupid penalties that hurt our overall team effort and costs us games.

2). We really need another Donald Brasher. I am not an advocate of fighting and as a matter of fact detest it. However, we do have to protect our stars and we need that kind of presence to be on the team. Expecting Bradley to go out and get blooded up to protect the Alex O’s and S’s is not the answer.

3). I have been watching Green and can’t help but notice the number of stupid mistakes he is making in the defensive end. It sometimes looks like he just doesn’t have his “head in the game”. Don’t have any answer for this because his upside potential far exceeds his down side bone head plays.

4) Bruce B was a great addition to this team. He is a wonderful coach and it is obvious he knows the game and really cares about his players, ownership/management and the city of DC as a whole.

5). The development of the minor league system is a tribute to your ability to build an NHL powerhouse for the long haul. You, McPhee and Bruce B have done a great job in “putting the puzzle together.”

I am sorry for the long email but I wanted to provide you with my background in the sport of ice hockey. I hope my insights can be a positive tool in helping you and your management staff evaluations going forward. Thank-you for your time and all you have done to bring championship ice hockey to the nations capital.

Sincerely,

Doug Cunha

There is no mental toughness out there. How do you blow a 2 goal lead to Ottawa in the last 20 minutes when they didn’t even want to be on the ice the first 40? MENTAL TOUGHNESS. this team has none right now.

Probably not the best to tell people to “chill” when they have lost 4 of 5 and have blown leads in all of them (2 of them were 2 goal leads too).

Of course it’s November, so it’s ridiculous to discuss anyway. Then again, the Caps will always feel inferior to Pittsburgh until they can win when it matters, and THAT’S not in November either.