Wow. I took a quick family vacation; stopped blogging; and a lot happened while we were away.
We had just come off a two game winning streak at the Caps beating both NJ and Buffalo in convincing fashion. All felt right in our little corner of the world.
Then we made a trade - a smart one for our team - that added a big left winger and cut some salary for us to have “optionality” at the trade deadline and for future use to keep our young core of players together. But we did trade a great man; a great player; and our captain. We then played Carolina and got spanked. I think the team was over confident playing Carolina at home and we were still a buzz around the trade. I will miss Chris Clark and thank him and his family for everything they did for our franchise.
Then while the league was gearing up for the wonderful Winter Classic, we went out on a crazy two game West Coast swing over New Year’s break. We were as far away from Boston as possible, weren’t we? And Mike Green was left off the Canadian Olympic team which I think was the wrong decision by their team management. I believe Mike Green is a unique and spectacular talent and one of the top D men in the NHL. We have Mike’s back. We believe in him. I know this snub will motivate Mike for the rest of the season. We as a franchise sometimes don’t get the respect we have earned yet but the only way to right that wrong I believe is to win a Stanley Cup. We get the joke. We have collective chip on our shoulder. And I guess I will be rooting harder now for the USA team and for the Russian team to light up the Canadian team at this year’s Olympic Games.
We then played an amped up San Jose team, a power house team, and they beat us pretty good scoring on TWO penalty shots. That was a rarity but again if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. So we beat them at home, they beat us at home. They are the class of the West and they have a deep and talented team. They are scary good when they are playing with confidence at home.
We then went to LA and played a very good game. We lost 2-1. We lost on a short-handed goal against. We again didn’t score on our 5 on 3 power play. Our special teams are struggling but this was a winnable game and a game that we didn’t deserve to lose. We then took a very long flight home. We get a day off to rest and then get back at it for a couple of home games before we go back out on the road.
We are in the middle of the season doldrums. Our coaching staff will motivate our team the right way. We will be fine. I am confident.
The lesson? Never take a week off and don’t look back as someone might be gaining on you. Go Caps!
Tags: Chris Clark, Hockey, Mike Green, NHL, Olympics, Ted Leonsis, Ted's Take, Washington Capitals
A group of losses won’t make me give up on this great team. They’ll be back into the swing of things in no time.
Besides, tomorrow is my birthday so they HAVE to win!!
Beautifully said, and I agree that this was a very smart trade. Fans that don’t like it need to realize we don’t have our eyes on being #1 in the NHL league, we have our eyes on the cup. I am already loving Chimera, and contemplating getting his jersey to welcome him to DC. This 3 game stint will come to an end tomorrow, and we will bounce back as we always have. One comment/question, it seemed that Clark was the one organizing fun activities for the team to do. Has anyone picked up that role? I feel they need a day just to play around.
ted-i too was very disappointed about mike being left off team canada. i believe he was omitted in large part because of his playoff performance last year, which is absurd given that i believe he had undisclosed injury related issues. Further, his most recent performance in the Worlds was spectacular and i am sure he would have excelled at the olympics.
on a personal note, i know it has to be tough on mike. i met him at a caps event two summers ago and thanked him for his efforts on behalf of canada. i told him it was very much appreciated by all canadians and it was very important to us. he looked up at me, smiled and said that he knew how important it was for canadians and expressed how much it meant to him too.
best of luck mike.
and ted– very bad karma to be hoping team canada gets humbled. i am sure that in spite of mike’s omission he will still be pulling for his country!
Go Canada Go!
Go Caps!
> The lesson? Never take a week off and don’t look back as someone might be gaining on you. Go Caps!
I think that you got it wrong, Ted. It has nothing to do with you taking a week off. However it has someting to do with the post in your blog before you went away.
I guess you just jinxed the luck. Oh well 
Go Caps!!!
I was so ecstatic to hear that Greenie was not going to team Canada, since I will be rooting for team Russia to go all the way in these Olympics. When the score is tied, I did not want to see a top goal scoring defense man score goals against Russia in the open ice format that the Olympics are.
Deadskins are done…the wizards are shooting each other…the nats, well why bother…it’s a perfect storm lining up for the Caps in DC- this is our year!
Right on! Tonight we get back to Caps hockey!
Ted
If the slide continues it will be hard not to think the trade of captain clark had something to do with it. Whether it is the chemistry of the lines or heavy hearts or mental, naming a new captain will but the ship back on course. Whether it is Alex, or Brooks, it wont matter. Hard to say no to Alex if he wants it, but nevertheless a new captain whoever it is might be what the caps need to get back on track. Love the trade thou, now we must find a way to make our team better from it. LETS GO CAPS
Ted,
I agree with you about Mike hopefully it will come back to bite the Canadian team in the Olympics, hopefully Mike knows how much all the CAPS fans love him! Hope to see our guy break out of this mini game losing streak tonight at VC, Let’s go Caps!
Ted
Glad to hear you took some time off/away, and that you spent it with family. Hope your holidays were merry and bright.
Almost everyone seems to be thinking/saying/writing either “blame it on the trade,” or “the trade has absolutely nothing to do with it.” I would suggest that the trade has been one factor in the recent less-than-stellar performance–but can’t accept that it’s all a result of the trade. And while I don’t like to see good guys like the Captain and Juice go, I recognize the value proposition of getting Chimera in return, not to mention the cap space with which GMGM can now work.
Regarding rooting for Russia after the US, I think I’m with you. I love Canada, Canadians, and boy do they have some phenomenal players. But Ovie, Varly, Semin, Fedorov, Kozlov…how can we not support these guys?
Cheers.
Thank you so much for what you said about Mike Green. I think he’s one of our best weapons. I HOPE CANADA GETS SPANKED!!