A remarkable thing happened this morning and I wish to thank you all.
I have received more than 250 emails and most of them are offering up thanks and words of encouragement to us as a franchise and to me personally. Your regards and good wishes are most appreciated by me and my family. Thank you. It has me energized.
Last night’s defeat was deeply personal and deeply agonizing to me. I feel like I let so many people down and my deepest desire is to build a franchise that is built to last. One that helps create wonderful lifetime positive memories between family members and between friends and communities of interest and to help bring a city closer together by winning a championship.
To fall short so early in the process this year is quite humbling.
But my personality and outlook on life is thus “if it doesn’t kill you–it will make you stronger”.
We won’t do anything rash or make any decisions out of emotional angst. We will collect our thoughts. We will be energized by our failure. We will seek to improve. We will be diligent in our research and we won’t deviate from our plan. We still intend to build around our core. We will make adjustments. We will keep our upside. We will accentuate the positives and we will tweak and change around the negatives where needed.
I am committed to hard work, to investment, to constant improvement, and to getting it “just right”.
I do not have a defeatist attitude and I am not being delusional. We have work to do that is obvious, but I am ready to get back at it starting today. Thank you for your support on this troubling and humbling day. As I have said…We have miles to go before we sleep. The woods are dark and deep. We are committed to improvement and we will be better next season. Onward. Thank you.
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Hey, I just searched this site on Bing and wanted to take my time to say thanks for adding this to the page. It is very informative on curing panic attacks and it has helped me understand more about them. I will be sure to browse around a little more. Thank you once again!
The pain of the loss has now subsided and we are looking forward to the next season. We will cheer even harder and enjoy the wins even more and when playoff time comes again we, as fans, will be ready to rock the Phone Booth and watch our beloved CAPS lift the Cup. Thank you for an exciting season.
Ted,
Thanks for an overall great season. My family and I have a ton of great memories from this season to share. Both my ten and four year old daughters went to their first and second games this season (crushing wins in both!) My ten year old has since watched every game at home with me since mid-season. Obviously she was crushed with defeat last week, but it gave me a chance to share your quote above and let her know that she’ll appreciate the Cup even more when it does happen.
Remember Cup or no Cup fans will never be satisfied. Riggins once said that immediately after a Super Bowl victory a fan opened his limo door and told him they HAD to repeat next year.
Thanks again and keep doing what you guys are doing!
No matter how talented your team is;
you can’t win in the playoffs without
solid goaltending. The times the Caps
have gone the farthest, they either had
a peaking goalie (Olie) or an averge
goalie who got hot at the right time.
Ted- For those that say they have truly been caps fans for a long time and then in the next breath state the entire team is flawed- I truly doubt either their knowledge or tenure as a caps follower.
Back during the Kevin Hatcher, Iafrate, etc..days, I had to read article after article in the Washington Post about the boring “lack of excitement” defensive game the caps play day in and day out. However, I must say: I do believe offense wins games and defense wins championships, but there has to be a balance. I think McPhee and you have done a great job building and doing your best to find the right recipe for a winning combination. JUST because it hasn’t come to fruition yet doesn’t mean the team is completely flawed, it means there are some more tweaks. For everyone else out there, look across the other 30 or so NHL teams and see how much management has done to make as drastic of changes as this organization has to try and find that right combination. No, we did not lift the cup this year but you CAN NOT ignore the fact that management, along with adding Boudreau, broke many Caps records this year and for the first time ever captured the President’s Trophy. Are those accomplishments taking 3 steps backwards? Wake up.
As a season ticket holder, fan, and coach myself, I will TOTALLY agree with the previous statement someone made along the lines of “Hardwork beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”. The HEART (Desire and killer instinct) have to come out stronger to raise the cup.
I’m a Montreal Canadiens fan. What I notice about the Washington fans is that they fully expected to win this final game. They never even considered the possibility of losing. That’s why the Canadiens won. We didn’t assume they would win, not just because we were the underdog but because we weren’t arrogant.
Personally, I think the coaching is all wrong for the Capitals. They need people who can analyse the situation and come up with ideas, not just “shoot harder”. Unless this happens, the caps can’t improve.
May 1, 2010
I am a Washington Capitals fan.I was upset the team did not advance to the 2nd round. I heard a rumour about getting rid the head coach. I think that is the dumbest idea and please don’t unless it is absolutely necessary.He is what Washington is made up of and when I heard this I thought whoever started it must be crazy. I’m not blaming anyone in particular but I guess somethings need working on. Good Luck next year and you have at least on fan in Canada cheering your team on.
We had a wonderful season, obviously down about the ending.
If you read the fantastic book; “Fooled by Randomness”, by Nassim Talieb you can exactly read about the effects of chance on our lives.
Humans, especially the media try to backfit a story and assign causality when things are many times determined by chance.
You let anyone tell me that 95 shots on goal with a few hitting the crossbar and another one going in and being waived off is not a matter of chance. A few one hundredth of a degree in change of angle and we are not even having this conversation.
Please forward to Ted and the Coach, I am sure they would appreciate the book. I just hope harmful changes do not result from a statistical aberration wholly assign able to chance.
Thank you
David Navari
Ted,
While I would love the opportunity to be GM-for-the-day and make some changes to personnel (like trade the defensive liability in Green and get something real in return– couldn’t resist), I’ll let others to that.
Many thanks for your outstanding vision and leadership!!!! While this post season has literally made NHL history, I will not overlook how far the organization has come. Being a lifelong Caps fan for 35 years, I can remember the frustration of the past post seasons. While we have had numerous strong teams, I never felt like we had THE team to win it. This year I honestly believed we had THE team that could win it. What a nice feeling to have. And during the regular season the team performed up to that expectation. Having the decades-worth of disappointment and very low expectations, at least for one season and hopefully seasons to come, we ALL have that expectation. I never really felt that Abe had the same conviction or passion to win the Stanley Cup as yourself. I watched as he made money on the Caps and plowed it into the pitiful Bulletts. You have a strong vision for the Caps and I appreciate it and will not take it for granted. Lastly, many thanks for you words on THE FAN 106.7 yesterday. You’re words were reassuring and I’m ready for next year. “This to shall pass.”
Teddy, Your post is right from the heart! You have built a franchise that will last a life time! It was a difficult moment and we will shake it off because “THE TEAM”, THE FRANCHISE, & YOU have given us
many great moments and memories from the regular season. The fans have faith in the future because as my son would say Ted Leonsis is a very determined man.
I still have faith in this team, a few tweaks and adjustments and you will be ok. One point, do not let the players run the team, that’s what I see, tougher coaching is required, no more Mr. Nice guy, their way does not work!
It must be genetics. As far back as I can remember the Caps have struggled in the Post Season.
Lots of questions though:
George:
Theodore is a goner, is Varmalov the answer?
Green & Semin, how many more Post Seasons are we going to hang with them?
I don’t know if you are aware but after the game 7 loss Brooksie (laich) came upon a Mother and daughter with a flat tire when he was on his way home, still in his suit he changed their flat tire,stayed with them for 40 minutes, apologized to them for losing the game(they were Caps fans) and when asked how they could thank him, he replied to help someone else who needs it when they come upon them. I hope the Caps organization and their fans appreciate not only his play on the ice but what a good man we have in our organization,We are fortunate to have this fine young man on our team!
“A loyal and devoted fan since 1986 and will continue to be”! Go Caps.
While it is clear that the current roster has the physical tools to win any game, any series, and a Stanley Cup, it is much more difficult to determine whether these guys have the mental/psychological makeup to do so. Those of us not in the locker room have no idea what is going on in there, and we certainly don’t know the players well enough to determine what’s going on in their heads. We think we see problems, but we don’t really know the causes — we can’t really know the causes. All we know is that when the going has gotten tough 3 years in a row, this team went nowhere.
This is not unprecedented in the NHL. Ottawa had a similar team years ago, and San Jose has been in this situation several times. The Rangers were a threat to win a Cup for several decades, but didn’t get there until Messier showed up, and haven’t had a sniff since he left. Having failed to find a Messier, Ottawa finally gave up and dismantled their team, and San Jose has made significant changes as well. It hasn’t worked in Ottawa, and we’ll see about San Jose.
Ted, you and your management team have to figure out whether this group of players and coaches have the ability to change mentally. Can they learn what it takes? Will they do what it takes? Will they risk themselves to block a shot? Will they commit to actually playing in the defensive end, covering somebody and making the effort to break up the opponent’s play instead of simply skating with them, or worse just standing there waiting for somebody else to do the work and get them a breakout pass? Will they take what the opponent gives them and find a way to make that work, instead of stubbornly trying to stay with what the opponent has stacked themselves up to stop at all costs, hoping we won’t change our approach? Will they be determined to win — and will they actually win — not just the 50-50 pucks, but the pucks that initially would seem to be 20-80? Will they go to the net, play for the rebound, even knowing that they are going to get hammered?
Some have already proven they will do these things: Knuble was doing it all series, including on the goal-that-should-have-been the other night. Laich, who scored our only allowed goal the other night by crashing the net and then changed a woman’s tire on the way home, also gets it. Don’t you dare trade that man or I will give up my season tickets.
Others have actually taken a few steps back, including the Captain, who was not the same player after the Olympics and the suspension. Yes he got some goals and a few assists, but he didn’t make a positive difference. Somebody or something clearly got into his head a few months back, and we need to get them out of there.
Is there a Messier out there who can come in and make this team into a Cup winner? Probably not. Is there a coach who can make a difference? Not unless he can change the way these players think.
It is interesting to look at Hershey’s success. First of all, Bruce and Woods both won Calder cups down there, so that gives you a hint that the problem ain’t the coaches or their system. The vast majority of the top players on that roster the past 4 years are AHL lifers or at best future 3rd-4th line NHL players. On our current top 2 lines, only Laich played there. Their leading scorers will never be NHL stars. Many of our most highly regarded prospects aren’t even there — they are in juniors, or overseas.
The Bears do have NHL-quality goaltending, a couple of first-pair NHL defensemen (who played great together the other night, by the way) plus lots of guys who will do what it takes to win in the playoffs, at least at that level. They may not be big enough or fast enough to be NHL stars, but they are winners. Maybe we need to let some of them bring that winning approach to the NHL level next year, even if it means we score a few less goals, or aren’t quite as entertaining, during the regular season.
I will ALWAYS be a Caps fan (about 25 years running now), and this won’t make me quit. I believe the core nucleus of this team need to stay, with the exception of the you-know-whos who were absent. Something needs to be done either this offseason or before the deadline.
It’s time to go with the youth in Hershey…bring up the ones that have been waiting their chance, and see how they do. Now’s as good a time as ever.
Is there any way we can bring in Dale Hunter and Olie Kolzig as assistant coaches, so they can be a part of us winning the Cup?
Wishful thinking, but they deserve it for all the years of service to the Caps!
I don’t like all of the calls for GMGM and Gabby’s heads and the hand wringing. Let’s have a little perspective, please. We failed at the ultimate goal. But please consider we got to watch a wonderful season of really exciting hockey with many ups and some downs. Life isn’t so bad. Here’s to next year.
Good to recognize the need for serious soul-searching, but not be hasty and ‘blow things up.’ On the other hand, something more than ‘tweaks’ will be necessary. There has to be some accountablilty for failures.
Ted,
Thanks so much for a fabulous Caps season….a record breaking year in many areas. As season ticket holders since 2000 and a fan who watched Labre skate his first game in a Caps uniform, we have much to be thankful for. A great owner, GM, coach and players who are only going to get better. As a result of the way we lost to Montreal, I believe the “young guns” will become the “wiser guns” and continue their exciting brand of regular season hockey, but next season be able to adjust to the team’s defense that they will be facing.
You’re a great man and we’re proud to be associated with you and such a classy, professional, yet family oriented Team like the Caps!! As Bruce says you’ll need a “really big cupholder” next year!!
Go CAPS
Some of us forget that we are not entitled to a Stanley cup. Only one is given out every year. The statistics are consistently against you. What we can do, and expect, as fans is continue to support our team. This instant gratification or entitlement is a by-product of our society needing constant results. It is impossible. Improvements are needed, absolutely and the ownership can make small improvements. Over time some of the players we consider valuable may loose that stature and we will gain new ones. Some players are not playoff ready and strategically we can move them on over time. Too many teams destroy systems before players get used to the system, constantly flip flopping to get the newest scheme. Remember 3 seasons ago we got in to the playoffs on the last day of the season. Last year we fared much better and were heart broken in the second round. We are only 3 seasons removed from the bottom of the NHL. Have faith that our under 25 team still has a lot of growing to do. Admire them for their commitment to this city and these fans. To the fans who want the team to be turned on it’s head, go root for the Redskins. Ted is patient, not everything goes our way but to the people who stayed behind after Brooks’ goal know there is always hope in a Caps fan. The Stanley Cup is the only competition in professional sports where heroic players can come out of nowhere. Congrats Montreal, I hope this isn’t a fluke for you.
Ted – Sorry to hear about the game 7 loss. Caught me totally by surprise. You got any room for a tough checking forward over there, things aren’t looking too good here in columbustown, and I still have broom marks on my behind from last years playoffs!
Ted,
Didn’t you say in February you had arrived… that you didn’t have miles to go before you sleep… Enjoy the president’s trophies… let the real hockey teams enjoy hockey’s real prize. For all us fans of other teams, please don’t change a thing!
Wooo!
What a great regular season and what a terrible ending in the playoffs. As a rabid Caps fan since the ’70s I’ve seen ‘em all and this one was the worst. I was really angry at Mike Green for his unthinking cross check that led to Montreal’s first goal and his non-clear on their second goal. Of course, the real reason we lost was our power play failures (of which Mike Green is an important part). I’ve heard a lot of people say we must trade Green but that is ridiculous. Hopefully he’ll grow and learn from this. We do need a stronger defense for the playoffs, though. Thanks to you and your management team for an exciting, ultimately heart-breaking season.
The Caps have arrived!
Ted, we feature today and this weekend at Sports Doing Good your “take” on the series loss. You run the team like many other owners should run their own, i.e. with a feverish desire to win so as to bring joy to countless others. Things happen, often not to our liking but your commitment long-term to the team, the fans, and the community will inevitably bring that joy to you and the fans. Good luck next year and every year after that.
Hoya Saxa.
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Thanks, Ted, for being rational.
Ted -
I am a huge hockey fan and have the following thoughts:
1) As a fan – I would love ot have someone who cares as much as you as my owner. You want to win and take losses not just as an owner looking out for the bottom line, but as a fan who is upset his team did not succeed.
2) Your team is built very well and is a few simple players away from contending for a cup. You need a strong solid goalie and one defensive defenseman to play with Green and allow him more freedom to roam.
3) If you really wanted to take a step towards winning for a long time, I would make the following trade: You trade one of your prospects (probably Carlson and a offensive prospect) to Montreal for the rights to Carey Price and Hamrlik. This makes very good sense for you. True you will be losing a blue chip defensman and another offensive prospect – but you will be getting a superstar goalie for a long time. Price will be awesome the day he gets out of Dodge (Montreal). Hamrlik can be a stop-gap until your younger players develop and altough getting long in the tooth, he is calming influence on the young players, a good dressing room guy and a wonderful teacher to young defenseman.
Backstrom deserves at least 7 mil next year. Plus two 20+ goal scorers are coming off rookie contracts. Green or Jizz got to go.
I am sorry that the Caps lost. While I am an avid Pens fan, I come from DC and I honestly think hockey is at its best when the Caps play the Pens.
Thanks for all the work you do to make the Caps a success in DC, and through them making hockey great in DC and in the NHL. You have a classy group of people — like Brooks Laich (fixing a tire for a fan on the Roosevelt bridge after the game? Awesome.). You’ll have your moment with the cup.
As a season ticket holder and a die-hard Caps fan, I have to say that this loss really really stung. I can barely listen to the pundits and read the paper. However, I am stunned by the hate from supposed fans after the fabulous
ride we had in the regular season. Yes, the end was bad, but let’s not forget the thrill they gave us for 8 months. Remember Phil Mickelson couldn’t shake the “He’s great but he’s never won a major” reputation until he won his first Masters. Fast forward 5 or so years and he has collected several more majors and all is forgotten. This Caps team will forget this when they win their first Championship and will see it as a defining moment in their careers after they win multiple times. Which they will. Thanks Ted for bringing together this group of players and this coach. It has been a fabulous ride.
Ted,
Thanks for giving me and my daughters an amazing time together, routing for the Caps. As a 25 year plus fan, I have never had such a fun season. To have our daughters, 11 and 14, join this with me was really wonderful, and the last couple of weeks I re arranged my schedule to watch the games with them, and we were lucky enough to go to 5 or 6 during the season. It turned into a wonderful family experience. Yes, great lifelong memories.
You have a great team assembled, keep it together. GMGM has done a very good job, despite the last week.
Yes we need a couple of bruising 3rd and 4th liners to punish teams who gang up on our skill players. They don’t have to be stars, just bruisers. I didn’t ever see lack of effort on this team. It is what it is..a lot of teams will lose on their way to winning the cup.
Ted,
We are sad but filled with hope. We often hear the darkest hour is just before the dawn. The dawn is near. After the playoffs, we look forward to beginning the 2011 season and crossing paths.
Best Wishes to you and yours and the entire organization!
Greg
PS GO CAPS!!!
I wanted to say thanks for being calm and not blaming this loss on one or two guys (like it seems everyone else wants to do). Hockey is a team sport, and this is a fantastic team. This was a terrific season! A lot of fans seem to have forgotten all the accomplishments the Caps had. It’s too bad about the post-season. This just wasn’t the Caps’ year.
Looking forward to next season!
Ted, you can learn and become better from this and the leadership you’ve shown will lead us from these tough times right now. No major overhual is needed. Bodreau is an amazing coach and you should keep him. He can’t go out there and pick up a stick. He tried to motivate several major players but they did not respond in showing up for this series. Some of these guys might have to go (not Green) We definately need 2-3 major players, 1 top defenseman, a second line center, and a goalie, as I think our young goalies are not there yet. Good luck and thanks.
Ted –
Thank you for your great ownership style and the wonderful work you have done building a world-class hockey franchise in Washingon. As fans, we feel fortunate to deserve this.
The question I am left with after Wed night is: Why did Bruce Boudreau not make the adjustments to what the Canadiens were doing? What else do you have a coach for?? Also, why did Bruce panick during and after Game 5…not only can’t or are not willing to make the Xs/Os adjustments, you don’t have the calm temperament to keep things even keel. Our players were even tighter for Game 6 as a result, and his best efforts to “lighten the mood” failed for Game 7 — the team was super-tight and we all saw that.
Bruce also treated Jose Theodore like dirt, the goalie that effectively earned us the President’ trophy. What Varly proved last year is that he is a speed horse, and there is some peril in riding him like a long-distance one. After two spectacular games in MTL, Jose was the perfect answer to relieve him in Game 5, or in the very least after losing 2 games in the series, Jose was the perfect answer to be the change of pace for the crucial game 7.
This playoff loss is squarely on Bruce Boudreau: I just don’t know what confidence the players, fans have in going into another post-season with him.
It took a seasoned sage like Badger Bob who had already climbed the mountain with Calgary to get Mario over the top. We have to find our Badger Bob for Ovechkin!
Hi Ted, it’s Matt, a Caps fan from Australia.
I can’t imagine how you are feeling.
It still hurts – 2nd round has started. This is too much like the same thing every year. It is great to be passionate about a team, but the very same thing happens every year. It is punishing and painful.
The sloppiness of the players when they were under pressure was unbelieveable. These guys are professional athletes, and absolutely fell to pieces. Great hockey players do not start to mishandle passes and fall apart like the Caps did. I seriously don’t know if I can continue to support the Caps. I almost feel that if I force myself to be a Penguins fan (for instance) and do not even notice the Caps – life will be better????
Ted – this is too painful. I have been a Caps fan for 25 years and used to go to cap Centre when I lived in DC – too many years of pain.
Regards – Matt from Oz
Ted, it turns out that defense, goaltending and coaching are important in the playoffs. You guys should have taken a page from the 1993 Penguins team – offense is great for the regular season, but it gets you nowhere in the playoffs. Not to mention that OV is incapable of taking criticism about his play in his own end. OV is unable to be coached and is simply one-dimensional. In short, he is a giant jerk. His jackassery and stupid comments to the press only fuel other teams to raise their games against him. Making comments about Halak’s arm shaking was juvenile, spraying snow in an eight year olds face in Montreal was juvenile. And, to give this guy the “C”, what a joke.
son i am disappoint
The first-round loss was depressing, although at least it wasn’t Pittsburgh or Philly or one of the hated New York teams. I am still steering clear of sharp objects and high bridges.
That said, your decision to “step back” is the right one, so that everyone can decompress a little. Ovie is still the best player on the planet. Backstrom is a magician who isn’t far behind. Semin and Green disappeared in the series, but they’re great players who picked a bad time to play badly. More than anything, the Caps ran into a goaltender who was blazing hot.
This talk about firing the coach or dumping Green or Semin is insane. They are great contributors to a team that had the best season in team history. Tip your hat to Halak and the Canadiens (again — thank god it wasn’t the damn Penguins) and wish them well.
Then go out and find a Hal Gill type of player, a mountain of a man who can defend and can put the butt end of his stick in someone’s mug and clear everyone from the front of the net. Or is Gill, himself, available?
Your blog is great — we appreciate the interaction from the top. Don’t do (or let George McPhee) do anything rash. Don’t replace Coach Boudreau, and don’t dump your core of young stars. Get a big, strong, tough defenseman (preferably one who can be an occasional enforcer, too).
Remember, before he came to Washington to make a national mockery of the Wizards, Michael Jordan spent years leading the NBA in scoring and winning nothing. He never won a thing without Scottie Pippen and either Horace Grant or Dennis Rodman.
Same with Ovie. He’s the greatest player on the planet, but the team needs to have the right blend of great talent and gritty players around him.
I love this team. I always have and always will. This team does not owe me anything, when I pay for my ticket I don’t feel like I’m owed a championship, I’m paying for a hockey game. My fandom is not validated by wins, nor is it invalidated by losses. For me an early postseason exit doesn’t negate the amazing ride this season has been. My biggest disappointment isn’t that “we” didn’t win the cup, it’s that I don’t have any more Caps games to watch until this fall. If the Oilers could come back to dominate an entire decade after suffering the Miracle on Manchester, I’m confident this team can. Here’s to the future Stanley Cup parades in DC. Thank you for giving us something to cheer for every winter.
Ted,
This team can no longer fear losing.
It must hate losing.
The worst thing to do is panic when the sporting world has crashed down about your head. Fire the coach, trade everyone and then what have you done? Gone backwards?
Its now obvious that enough lessons were not learned. As Dick Patrick’s cousin once said “We didn’t have enough of what it takes inside of the organization. We didn’t have enough backbone.” He then fixed the problem.
That’s where this needs to head next, past the healing to the fixing. At least one great player is going to have to ask himself some very tough questions, ones that don’t come with easy answers. You can talk about being great or you can be great. Take your pick, but if you pick the later know that the price is high.
As an outsider looking in there is a good core in place, but the difference between the 2010 Capitals and a championship team is significant. It is both on and off the ice. It is in the locker room and the coaches office. It is in the front office, the ticket office, especially the broadcast booth and yes in the stands.
Understand the price and be willing to pay it. Take a look around at what others do and learn from it rather than try to pull it down. Be willing and humble enough to take yourself off the pedestal and work as if you have nothing going for you. A great coach once told me “always play like its 0-0.”
May I try that again with the typos removed?
- – - – -
You’ve been working at this for 11 years if I remember correctly, Ted, and the Capitals have gone from laughingstock status to respectability during that time. This year, the team has brought a lot of pleasure and even a sense of friendship to thousands of strangers whose only common interest was in rocking the red. So there’s no criticism, no finger-pointing or fault-finding from this end — just thanks for lifting up our spirits. Let’s hope that one year soon, Lord Stanley’s cup will be hoisted by our own team. Thanks for a great year.
I thought losing in the cup finals to Detroit was the worst feeling, after waiting 24 years to get there. Today’s feeling, I have to say, is equal to if not worse. With the great season we had and all the records and having so many 20 goal scorer’s, the great play of Jose, the 14 game win streak, winning the President’s Trophy, It all had the makings of history and a deep playoff run.
I live and breath Caps hockey and have for all 35 years.
This one really hurts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of our accomplishments this season and I will be back in my seats next season but the constant failure to advance in the playoffs is very disappointing. I know I’m not the only one
feeling this way. I’m just trying to feel better about it 25 hours later and it’s hard.
I want to see the Caps win the cup so bad and I thought like most that this was our year. As the video board said before each playoff game as the picture of the Stanley Cup was shown “Nothing else matters”.
Let’s go guy’s! What do you say we try even harded next season to bring the greatest trophy in all of sports to DC
You’ve been working at this for 11 years if I remember correctly, Ted, and the Capitals have gone from laughingstock status to respectability during that time. This year, the team has brought a lot of pleasure and even a sense of friendship to thousands of strangers whose only common interest was rocking the red. So there’s's no criticism from this end, no finger-pointing or fault-finding from this end — just thanks for lifting up our spirits. Let’s hope that one year soon, Lord Stanley’s cup will be hoisted by our own team. Thanks for a great year.
Remember the Islanders of the late ’70′s … endured three consecutive heartbreaks in the playoffs, including after winning the President’s Trophy, and listened to people tell them that they had “no heart” … only to win the first four Stanley Cups of the ’80′s. Stay the course, Ted.
Uncle Ted, please know that not all of the Caps fandom is angry with you and the team. I will stick by this franchise because I believe in you as the owner who truly has its best interests at heart. I believe in our players, even after all they’ve been through, as some of the most talented and dedicated players in the league. This WILL make us stronger, if we let it.
Ted,
As saddened as I was with the loss, I am confident in the players’ and your ability to make the necessary changes to push us over the hump next year. Thank you for the work you’ve done to make this franchise relevant again and I look forward to you doing the same with the Wizards.
P.S. Please consider changing the Wizards color scheme back to red, white and blue. Everybody I know, including myself, misses the Bullets and, while I know changing the nickname back is highly unlikely given recent events, DC teams, like the Caps and Nats, should be red, white and blue (except the Skins). The current colors are boring and certainly don’t help with popularity and marketability, so please just think about it.
“Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger …”
This phrase had to have been made up by a guy who didn’t win much if at all. He needed a way to feel better.
The Caps should be the strongest team in the post season next year and beyond after 2008, 2009, and the gut-wrenching 2010!
Mr. Leonsis,
Today, I was ashamed to be Caps fan. Not, not because of last night’s loss, not at all. I was ashamed because of our collective reaction to the loss. Everyone had an opinion about the Caps miserable failures. But we lost the game/series simply because the Habs won it. It wasn’t just the blocked shots, it was Halak who was able to block the barrage of shots that the clearly superior team was able to take in the first place. We just need to admit that Halak played a game for the ages, and we were the victims. We are not the first or last team to face a huge upset (and thus the name). We are not the first or last team that should have won the Cup…but didn’t. But culturally, there’s somethign wrong with us if we think that unless we win the Cup, we just suck.
We enjoyed every Caps game, and were thrilled by an outstanding season. Mr. Leonsis, you have put together the most exciting team in the league, and helped “create wonderful lifetime positive memories” for all of us in Washington.
At a time when all of us want to focus on all the wrong things, let’s please not forget all the “right” things we’ve been enjoying since October. Just our luck we had to face a goalie that stoppped 134 of our last 137 shots of the season.
Proud to be a Caps fan!
Ted:
Pay no attention to folks like JIM and ZULJIN — I’m guessing they don’t even know that the puck’s not a sphere. If you’re feeling down, come up here to Hershey and watch what your kids are doing, and how this franchise is just going to get better and better. Champions need to learn and grow in order to be champions. JIM and ZULCHIN would have traded away Yzerman because “he can’t win the big game.”
Ted, I’m sorry I panicked and pulled Varly with 1:40 to go while on a PP. I didn’t realize it would paralyze the PP unit into being more concerned about puck control than scoring. I resign. — B. Boudreau.
You need a goalie, and you need a goalie desperately before the window closes.
Mr. Leonsis,
Thank you for being the voice of reason. Dissappointing, yes,and it is easy to point fingers. But let’s look at positives….. it is more difficult for it to be a learning experience but that’s what it has to be. Thanks again.
Ted,
I appreciate the team’s efforts this year, even though they didn’t get it done when it mattered most. I have enjoyed the season, and the regular season record will be hard to match in the future.
Some players never transformed their games into what we know as NHL playoff hockey. I just don’t know if players like Semin and Flash will ever understand how to take care of the dirty work required in postseason; it just doesn’t seem to be part of their DNA. It will be interesting to see what George does in the offseason. I am hoping that he finds a solution to the obvious 2nd line center deficiency that keeps other team’s top D focused on the Ovie/Backie/Knuble line.
I appreciate your looking forward and not getting stuck on this defeat. Clearly you and your organization know that there is more to accomplish. I will be there next year, and hope that the lessons learned this postseason help fill Gabby’s really big cup holder very soon.
On a lighter note, what is the team’s playoff record when the rally towels are given out? It seems that on these nights, we NEVER win. I know that it is just a coincidence; the Caps clearly never solved Montreal. But as soon as I walked in and saw rally towels, I started to get worried.
As much as it may hurt, sometimes you have to take a step back to jump ahead. A Game-7 loss by one goal is very close to getting it done. An early exit by a dominating regular season team is nothing new. In the ’90′s, Detroit and New Jersey bounced back to win the Cup. This is still a young team with its best players under 25. They still have to learn how to step it up for a full game in the playoffs and a gritty shot-blocking defenseman would be a great addition.
Keep the Faith!
Ted,
Ultimately, the story about Brooks Laich helping the two ladies with the flat tire last night on his way home is what I will choose to commit to memory for this post-season. He is truly a “double bottom line” player: heart and soul=goal scoring plus a wonderfully decent human being.
http://www.onfrozenblog.com/2010/04/29/more-leadership-from-brooks-laich.html
We are all smarting over this all-too-early exit from the playoffs, but Brooks’ compassion in the midst of what I’m sure was an awful night for him shows the character of our Washington Capitals.
We will not be swayed, at the end of the day, by this defeat, and with your constant even-handedness and ability to see through temporary setbacks we will figure out what we have to do as a hockey club to be successful not only in the regular season, but during the playoffs (two very very different things, we now know!)
God bless you and the Caps, Ted, who have meant so very much to so many this season in DC.
Go Caps!
Lisa Cole
Nice statement and I support your position. Let everything settle and then take stock of the situation. I appreciate the classy statement and next year I’ll be back in my seat and owner + team + fans will have another go at it. GO CAPS!
Hi Mr Leonsis,
I’m a Montreal-Businessman. Reading your analysis of the serie helped me understand why you are a successful businessman and a prominent NHL franchise owner. Thanks for the insight you are providing to the fans.
Nice revisionist history! Look back to February.
Savor it Ted. Enjoy it. You have arrived.
The Caps have experienced these gut wrenching collapses for over 20 years now, aren’t they strong enough? Good lord, how much stronger can they get? Speaking of strength, maybe if Green hit the weight room as religiously as he hits the bars in Clarendon he wouldn’t get pushed around every postseason.
One bad week does not erase 6 months of 82 games in which the Washington Capitals showed themselves to be the best team in the NHL, hands down. The Caps organization is also the best in the NHL, and you can thank yourself and Mr. McPhee for that. Don’t blow the team up, strengthen and improve them. I’ve been rooting for the Caps for 36 years, I can wait another year for the Cup.
Well I’m sure if you put your nose to the grindstone, and don’t look back the future will be yours for the taking; to continue with the clichés, that is….
Again, are you planning on apologizing to R.J. Umberger?
“As I have said…We have miles to go before we sleep.”
Back in February, you said exactly the opposite.
You and your organization felt much to satisfied and proud of an awesome regular season. That’s not to say it’s not something to be proud of, but not until the playoffs are over.
My deepest feelings involve the way in which the Caps lost the series. Don’t make any rash decisions at the front office. Get rid of Theodore for God’s sake, though. Buy him out and send him packing. He has a fear of the playoffs for some reason.
George MacPhee is likely one of the best GM’s in the business and the Caps are lucky to have that talent. Afterall, he picked Backstrom, Ovie, Semin and a ton of other talent. That is some serious talent. He failed to get a pair of defenceman that are defensive in nature at the deadline. I know the team is young, but there were some serious mistakes made by Green and Corvo that I think cost them the series. Even though Boudreau is an awesome coach, maybe send an offer to Dale Hunter. He has a system in place that has leaped his team to Memorial cups. He must be thinking NHL at some point. Get some defence and work on a structure that can match the likes of the Penguins and Wings. Mike Babcock is obviously not a genious but he has a hockey system in place that is both offensive and defensive.
Go Caps Go! Look forward to the product on the ice in 2010-11.
Ted, this team is a perennial contender with a bona fide superstar – that’s the best one can reasonably hope for – cups WILL come. Don’t go crazy changing the team – tweak yes but major surgery no. Boudreau is a GREAT coach. We match up badly vs MTL – we did in the regular season too. Not a lot you can do with a goalie as hot as Halak – combined with a monster like Gill. Trade or dump semin green and flash if you have to – ok. But don’t blow up the team. People are upset and overreact – its a darn good team. Having a perennial contender is what this town needs. A cup will come….
First…I apologize if my comments are in the wrong place, if it isn’t a Blackboard discussion board I get confused.
I enjoy reading your blogs! I happened upon this blog and got to reading the reponses. Some of them are a bit disappointing….especially the ones where folks are telling you how to do your job? I don’t always agree with decisions and outcomes of administrators I work with BUT I have found I have to put some trust in the fact I do not and am not privy to all the information they base their decisions on. From what I have read in blogs, your book and from listening to your interviews on NHL HOME ICE XM….I am putting my trust in you doing what is best for the team!
Given the mix of reaction, we must live in Washington. For the true believers, last night was a crushing blow. But here’s the good news, it’s only a game…a great, wonderful exciting diversion. We woke up today, pulled up the boot straps and moved on. Look forward to what year might bring. Go CAPS!
Hey Ted,
I really like your optimism for the Capitals future. Nice to see and NHL owner who is not afraid to come out and share his thoughts on the team’s performance with the fans.
Other owners should take a page from you.
I also had a chance to interact online with several Caps fans and I must say I am really impressed with the team’s fanbase.
All the best for your Capitals next season, now come help cheer on the Habs!!
Hey Ted
Your comments are getting alot of play in Canada. Bottom line you need a goalie bottom line big guy. Montreal finished 19th in the NHL when factroing in the western teams. Taking that into consideration plus factoring in the fact that you guys were up 3-1, this was a choke job of the century. WOW!
I thought your franchise had arrived. Guess not. Enjoy that President’s Trophy.
OK. The Caps fought like hell in 2008, had to win out for an improbable stretch just to make the playoffs, then battled Philly to a seven-game loss. It was heartbreaking, but the thought process was, “They’ll learn from it and improve.” Last year was a step forward, as Washington reached the second round (if barely), only to then lose in seven games to a bitter rival — who then went on to clinch the Cup.
“They’ll learn from it and improve,” right? I mean, the bitterness of defeat, and knowing your rival went on to win the Cup … fuel to the fire (that and the key player on same rival roster winning the gold for Canada, ahem …).
And then a major step backward last night. There is no sugarcoating it. Many question if this team’s philosophy and makeup have what it takes to achieve real postseason success. I know Ted is aware of this. Read Boswell’s last two columns. They’re spot on.
Yes, it took Detroit awhile to build a championship franchise. Edmonton, too. It takes time. But you must listen to knowledgeable voices and study history to determine if and when to make major changes.
Commenting on the boss’s blog Mr. Sloan?
Dear Ted,
Let me start off by thanking you again for bringing this franchise to where it is. I’ve been a partial plan/STH going to Caps games since the mid 80s and I can still remember being 11 years old and being surrounded by Pens, Flyers, Sabres, Red Wings, and Rangers fans at the Cap Centre.
Even during our run to the finals in 1997/98 the stands were still littered with opposing fans. The last 3 years I’ve seen nothing but a sea of red and it makes me smile everytime I head to my seat in 108 at the phone booth.
Thank you.
Today is very sad day for all Caps fans around the world. Only consolation I have personally is that one of my all time favorite players , Steve Yzerman, didnt take his first Stanley Cup back to Detroit till mid 90s. 14 years after first stepping into the NHL.
Those Detroit teams , much like our Caps were a great team to watch over the course of the regular season but when it came to crunch time ( the playoffs ). They failed miserably year after.
It wasn’t till management brought in the correct personnel , scouts , players, coaches, that they finally won Championships.
You could see in game 5 that Montreal adjusted their Defensive game but the Caps would not adjust their offensive attack. It was same thing every rush, skate into the zone, toss it into a corner and launch a shot on Halak without anything in front. Halak and Montreal’s D ate up any 2nd or 3rd rebounds.
Montreal played rope-a-dope and the Caps fell right into it. They waited till we made a mistake and capitalized everytime.
I will always be a Caps fan and I will always attend games and watch on TV. The bandwagon is overflowing and epic failures like this will only cause casual fans to fall off.
There is no excuse for this. A hot goalie? no. Biased refs? no. A bad bounce? no. We had 3 opportunities to put them away and squandered everyone.
Plain and simple Montreals guys beat our guys in all facets of the game : on the ice, on the bench, and in the dressing room.
Thank you,
Ted,
I really hope you and your team take a good hard look at the effort put forth by some of the players in this post season and direct your changes in that area. I am not talking about goals and points but just overall desire and effort. I think that is what has me “seeing RED” after this 1st round loss, I feel that this town went Caps crazy for the entire year and then in the playoffs it really looked like some of the players did not want to put forth the effort to earn the victory.
Upsets happen, that is what makes sports great….but when something has never been done before (like a #1 seed blowing a 3-1 series lead) there has to be something more as to why the Caps were outplayed, out coached, and out hustled.
Ted,
Your comment ” One that helps create wonderful lifetime positive memories between family members…” touched me because my most cherished childhood memories rotate around myself, my brother, and my late father following the Redskins. We had season tickets at RFK and my father dug into savings so we could go to SuperBowls 17 & 18 together. As a man fighting an MS related disease the traveling was not easy for him. The Redskins franchise is a lot different now & my only passion for them comes from my memories of those days sharing the highs & lows with my brother & father.
In the last 20 years I found a new passion: The Caps. I was at Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals when it seemed like almost all of the crowd was cheering for the Red Wings. I was disgusted and ready to give up; not because of the loss, but because I did not agree with how the team was being run. Then you bought the team and I liked what you were saying… so I stuck around. Your first victory for me has been Flyer games full of Caps fans! But now, like you, I want more. I have no doubt we’ll get there. And now that my brother has a son & my wife wants to start trying ourselves, I look forward to the Caps creating memories for our future, like the Redskins did for our past.
It was tough to watch the Caps go down the way they did. Credit to Montreal, they executed their game plan well and proved again that hard work as a team trumps individual skill in the playoffs. My biggest disappointment was the fact that the Caps did not utilize their size advantage to create shooting lanes, free up the puck and reduce the visibilty for Halak. Great season boys, better luck next year.
Ted-
Thanks for being there for the fans. I believe!
One thing though…I would not consider replacing Steve Kolbe to be rash. It’s the right thing to do.
For a organization that places such a high value on doing things the right way, the acceptance of Kolbe’s WWF radio announcing style makes me scratch my head.
Most of my Caps experience is via the radio, and this guy is really hard to take. Too much game detail missed. Too many first names and syllables while the game is on (“sem-yon-var-LA-mov”). Too much bombast.
This was the guy who took Ron Weber’s seat?
I think that the OLYMPICS hurt not only the CAPITALS, but the NHL as a whole. TOO MANY GAMES with TOO LITTLE REST !! I hope that the next time the OLYMPICS occur, the NHL does NOT allow our star players to leave the team for a couple weeks.
BUT, the CAPS need to prepare to be shut down again if we don’t change our style of play and learn some DEFENSE !!
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Great quote. If only it were true! If it were, Caps’ fans would be Supermen. No, all which does not kill us only serves to provide us frustration and despair. What I find absolutely amazing is that the discussion boards were abuzz today with the debate of whether this series loss was the greatest Caps’ playoff failure of all time. The fact that this topic is even a point of discussion illustrates how truly moribund this franchise is. Sadly, most of the memories surrounding this team are bitter ones; not something I want to pass along to my friends and family. Fans gave the Caps another chance after the lockout, but the fans’ perseverance is not inexhaustible. I know it’s not all your fault and your efforts are sincere, but thirty-six years of consistent failure is just getting to be too much to bear. How much more do you think we will tolerate before you suffer another “the market has spoken” moment? Sorry for the rant – you’re too good a guy for this – but I needed to express how many of us deeply feel.
Ted – you are an amazing owner and I applaud your post, very classy. After the emotions settle you need to take a hard look at the team. The fan will be there next year, and the following year – but if the Caps continue to choke in the playoffs the fans will fade fast. Love watching Ovie – definitely one of the best individual players in the NHL, but he’s not the leader the team truly needs.
Last night was probably the worst night I’ve had as a fan in my entire life. We’ve come to expect terrible results from many local teams. We don’t want to accept that from the Caps too.
That being said, this blog entry of yours has helped ease the pain. Ovechkin’s honest and obvious heart break at the end of game 7 showed me a lot too. This man had a difficult Olympic tournament, yet he rates this as his worst experience. He loves this team, and he wants to win for these fans. We need to remember that this series was not lost for lack of trying. There were many reasons it was lost, but most of them have to do with a Montreal team that played really great hockey.
Your friend at hockeybuzz had some spot-on stuff to say about you: http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Eklund/My-Pick-for-WingsSharks-Ted-Leonsis-IS-Class-and-UFA-Day-Preview-Coming/1/28085
Ted,
It happens.
Thanks for giving us hope, something this franchise has not had in a very long time. I have read some of these comments, some coming from people who are supposedly “life long fans” and it disturbs me.
I think people have very short memories, just a few years ago the Caps weren’t even in the playoffs. I realize expectations were high this year, but if I’m pretty sure they will be next year as well. There’s always next year, that’s the great thing about sports.
I am truly a life long fan and I can remember when this organization needed to beg for money (Save the Caps) in order to even have a franchise.
After all of the dust settles and you look back, I really thought that addition of all of those fowards that you got at the trade deadline is what hurt the team, and not help very much. It hurt team chemistry, I thought you didn’t look the same after that. Your coach sat people nightly, people who helped you contribute to that long winning streak. You can point the finger at the Olympics, but the reality is GMGM did not get what you guys needed the most: a quality blue-liner, and it left you with HUGE holes in which the Habs took advantage of.
While Carlson is going to be a fine player I agree with those who say that he is the best defensman the Caps currently have on the roster. Mike Green is a fine player and I hope he is a Cap for many years, but he is offensive minded and he also can’t do everything.
Well anyway, I hope you do for the Wizards to what you did for the Caps. I look foward to seeing that franchise blossom over the years just like I have the Caps.
Keep your head up and don’t listen to all of the nay sayers. Hopefully they will be the first to jump off of the bandwagon and what you have left are the “real” fans.
Sincerely,
Ray from Laurel
Keep the FAITH………..WE are still a VERY YOUNG TEAM. Mike Green and Semin needs to be traded. I have been a Caps fan for 30 yrs still a GREAT Regular season. POOF post-season.
I am hoping the PENS win the Cup so OVIE will get Jeslous!!!
Wait, I thought this team already arrived? Funny.
The only thing that happened to this squad was Jaroslav Halak. With Chimera coming back next year, and with a tougher bottom six willing to throw some checks and stop globetrotting with the puck in the offensive zone, this squad can actually make some noise in the postseason.
Dear Mr. Leonsis:
I had a really bad day at work yesterday and the evening didn’t raise my spirits any. I found myself very emotional in the last few minutes of the game thinking perhaps the Caps would turn the day around…it wasn’t to be. I know it must hurt for you, for the team, and it’s clear it hurts a lot for the community. When I read the story about Brooks Laich helping a fan and her daughter last night on the way home, I know you’re building a team of which we can all be proud. We’ll get our Cup in due time…in the meantime, keep up the good work.
Best, J
After following the Caps for 23 years I have embraced every one of the players and the organization. Always a class act. What was accomplished this season was remarkable. To me you all are family and even in the bad times you always support your family. Well said, Ted.
Ted: Don’t listen to the naysayers. You’d be foolish to do anything rash. Full disclosure – I’m a Pens fan, and while I hate to admit it, I think you guys are better than we are now and will be until the salary cap forces you to part ways with some of your studs. Remember the ’96 Pens team that lost to the Isles? That was the best Pens team of our early dynasty days. Sometimes, it just doesn’t work out and you lose to a lesser team. As a Pens fan, I love to hate you guys. And it’s easier to hate you if a good part of me fears you. You have salary cap space. Please use it. And then hopefully we’ll see you in next year’s conference finals…
Ah Ted,
Firstly, thanks for your commitment to building a great hockey franchise here in D.C. I think the number of consecutive sell-outs and the ever-growing STH waitlist are testaments to your success. However, what hockey fans really want is for their team to hoist the Stanley Cup; the Capitals have failed miserably in that endeavor thus far.
Secondly, I would respectfully suggest that you ask your GM and coach for a detailed analysis of what went wrong this post-season and for their recommendations for correcting those shortcomings next year. I think you are a savvy enough businessman and have been around hockey enough to know whether or not their analysis and recommendations are correct (I agree with your low IQ assessment by the way).
Thirdly, there were a lot of positives to be drawn from the 2010 season – all sorts of franchise records being set; but how do you feel about all that today? If you’re anything like me you don’t feel too good. It will take a lot to overcome the magnitude of this loss (the worst in D.C sporting history apparently). A Stanley Cup would help.
Lastly, all the best to you and your family. I hope you have a great summer.
Any Washington sports fan criticizing an owner for not meddling enough needs help. Seriously? Come on.
While many are claiming that the regular season is meaningless, I would counter that the regular season told us a lot about this year’s playoffs. Boston went 4-2 against Buffalo in the regular season. Philly went 5-1 against New Jersey. As for the Caps, Montreal gave the Caps just as much trouble in the regular season as in the playoffs – and that without Halak in net. Were the Caps a better team against the rest of the NHL? Yes. But for whatever reason, Montreal matched up very evenly against the Caps. Add in Halak and you could argue that it tipped the scales in favor of the Habs.
I hold the ownership and management accountable for putting together a team capable of winning a Cup. After that, it’s up to the players and coaches. Our ownership and management did a great job this year. Our coaches and players came up short in the playoffs. Next year is a new year and a new chance for the Caps to put old demons to rest. See everyone in September!
I don’t think the system is flawed. I think some players didn’t rise to the occasion and I’m not referring to Ovechkin or Backstrom. You claim adversity will make the team stronger but that adversity has been there already and the team hasn’t learned. You must play 60-minutes of hockey and you must come out in game 5 elimination games as if it’s you who is going to be eliminated (not vice-versa). Caps have no right to be arrogant or lazy given the dismally atrocious history of the franchise. This team must play every single game like it’s game seven next year and when I say no letup I mean it not even for one split second.
I’m a Habs fan from Montreal. I read our city newspaper this morning and it featured an excerpt from Ted Leonsis’ blog entries. This man has class as do all Caps fans who wrote comments. No excuses, just introspection. I agree with Matt Groff: Leonsis did the near impossible. The Habs are now where the Caps were during the season: in a good place. Who woulda thought?
Yes, a Stanley Cup would have been (and one day will be) a beautiful thing. For the entire season, the Caps have been mind-blowingly good. A President’s Cup with 121 points is well worth celebrating. 54 wins in 82 games is stunning. A full house of Red at every home game has rocked.
Right now, everything seems like it sucks. But the fact is, it doesn’t.
Those of us who have followed the Caps for a long time, especially through all the Patrick Division early exits years ago, may be having a little post-traumatic stress right now, but this team has delivered some of the best hockey in the history of the franchise this year.
Here’s to a Stanley Cup next year. (For now: Go Habs! With the way they played against the Caps, they deserve the Cup. And I’d love to see them crush the Pens along the way…)
Ted,
I’m a Caps fan living in enemy territory (Pittsburgh). They’ve actually been pretty nice to me out here today, but that hasn’t helped me get the sick feeling out of my stomach. Maybe I’ll feel differently as that feeling fades, but right now I am very disappointed to see you talking about “tweaks”. Tweaks aren’t the answer, and if you can’t see that, I don’t think I can support this franchise any longer. I’ve been through too much ache because of failed leadership and over-optimism (which borders on arrogance). I’m embarrassed when I have to defend myself to the Pittsburgh fans, because I can’t argue with much of what they bring up.
At this point, I’d be fine if you traded Ovie, so long as the return is worthy and helps build a TEAM.
Last night’s loss was a huge dissapointment, made all the worse because it looks like the freaking Penguins are set to make a third straight appeareance in the finals.
But we have the President’s Trophy, that is new and something to be proud of.
The good news is that all the newbies now know just what it means to be a Caps fan. Like every other Spring, “we’ve arrived”!
don’t give up, Mr. Leonsis. You have an outstanding team. You will win the Cup. Thank you for your team. Regards and respects from Russia.
Ted,
I’m thinking back to your blog a few months ago when you said that the Caps “have arrived.” At what exactly?
Here’s to more choking in playoffs to come!
Ted,
You are a fantastic owner and your openness is refreshing and appreciated. I wish you all the best as you take on the Wizards (please rename the team/uniforms asap) & Verizon Center.
As for last nights collapse, there is plenty of blame to be passed around, but no one person is more deserving than Mike Green. Yes, he is a great scoring defenseman, but first and foremost, he is a DEFENSEMAN! Mike single-handedly contributed to Montreal’s 2 scores last night because of sheer laziness.
I can’t speak to how Mike conducts himself off the ice, but he is a cancer from what I can tell.
Best to you once again.
Really love reading your post. Perhaps synthetic turf source should help someone out there.
As a Habs fan, I am grateful for our good fortune and especially our great goalie. But I have tremendous respect for Mr. Leonsis, who has proven himself a real gentleman with his remarks as well as a first-rate owner. Ovechkin is the most exciting player in the world and also seems, by every measure, a first-class person. Of course it’s heart-breaking to be a Caps fan today (we’ve known more of that than joy in Montreal in recent years) but your tremendous hockey club will be a force for years to come. If the road to a great hockey team starts with a smart, committed owner, you’re well down the path to a Stanley Cup very soon.
“The message of this series is that desire, hustle and discipline overcome skill.”
PeterKMD is 100% spot on.
My two cents worth:
This team needs to learn defense. Offense is great for the regular season but doesn’t cut it in the playoffs. If BB can’t or is unwilling to teach this to his *NHL* players he needs to be replaced. His system undeniably worked in the AHL but not here in the big leagues. He also needs to be able to adjust to what the other team is doing to us. It was painfully evident in this series of BB’s weakness in this area.
Many other posts have suggested that Green be moved to offense and forget about his “defense” and I wonder why this can’t be done. I also have to agree that it is ridiculous that he is a Norris Trophy finalist. As we saw in this series, Hal Gill is someone who should legitimately be considered.
Speaking of which, pick up Hal Gill or someone like him to anchor the defense. He has beaten us 2 seasons in a row now…coincidence? I think NOT!
Just to clarify things, I am a Caps fan and am trying to offer constructive criticism here. Thanks for reading.
This is what happens when you parade the President’s Trophy around your arena like it means something. This team, as it currently stands, is NOT constructed for playoff battles. Boudreau needs to go back to the A and GMGM needs to resign…I hear Yzerman’s looking for a GM position…
I think it’s obvious now that there is a difference between creating a great team and creating a great PLAYOFF team. The Caps are just a great team. That does nothing for the fans except get them to sell out the season and leave them with heartbreak. Great Playoff Teams have heart and will do the little things. The Caps didn’t do the little things, which makes us all question their heart. In either personnel or attitude, changes need to be made. Hopefully both.
We have arrived.
Ted,
That commitment to building a model franchise is extremely admirable, as is your connection to your growing fan base.
As a Penguins fan who suffered through detached ownership for nearly a decade, the emergence of a hands-on owner in Lemieux has resulted in a direct connection with fans, and ultimately, success on the ice.
HOW you go about building a champion is one thing, but you seem well on your way to developing a great hockey community, and for that you deserve thanks.
Best,
Michael
Thanks for a great season.
It is obvious to me that there are many bandwagon fans. When these recent converts learn the game and become true fans, THEN DC will deserve the Cup.
As long as we have “fans” throwing stuff on the ice at the end of a great game of a great series, we don’t deserve the Cup in DC. (The team deserves it, but not the “fans”).
Let those with the negative attitudes move on. Scream “red” and “oh” during the National Anthem at some other venue.
The true fans will still be here and still cheer and love, win or lose.
I know the players, coaches and Ted want to win the Cup even more than the most rabid fan. Anyone that has played hockey knows what that honor means. It is the ultimate goal. I can only imagine how the guys feel today.
Today, the weather is great. I’m alive. Hockey is a game.
The next season starts in about 5 months.
Let’s go Caps!!
I just wanted to say I was never a Caps fan until last night. I am from Detroit yet when I was watching last nights Game 7 I really felt for the team. I could tell how much everyone in the organization wanted to win, but for whatever reason that was not in the cards. I actually feel kind of bummed today about the loss. I think you are very close to a championship level team, just a few adjustments needed. Good luck.
Ted,
From someone who is not a fan of the Caps please seriously take this advice.
How can a coach, after two losses to even a series at 3-3 say “If we keep playing the way we have we will win” ? You need to have your GM evaluate the coaching market. I’m sorry but Bruce did not adapt to the Habs play at all through the series.
What’s the saying? The definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Keep your head up Ted. And remember when you won the Cup a few months ago for winning a bunch of games in a row and how the Caps had “ARRIVED”.
Well done for you and the Caps for a historic regular season. I know given what we all observed over the course of the last two weeks that this team is built with much glitz and flair, which are great for selling tickets and jerseys but not so much for playoff hockey success. It was very disappointing that no one could even “manufacture” a spark, even in game 7, if not long before then.
Focus, observe, study and be resolute.
My two cents:
Like building a solid football team needs to be from the inside out starting with interior linemen, building a perennial playoff team with success includes having a veteran defensive presence. I hope you find personnel that are fully committed to playing team defense. I do not believe that the proper response would be more offense, even after they’ve been bottled up for the last 3 games. I’d like to see players with more grit, more bruisers, and more maturity. Most of the players are still puppies who for the most part still need nurturing and coaching and guidance. Federov filled that role well last year and helped us to reach the eastern semi’s.
Everyone loves how this team is being built, but the overemphasis on the offense over the years has left the defense young and inexperienced. Everyone is grieving. Keep your head up, you’ll do fine, but please…fire Ernie!
my wife, age withheld as normal, but suffice it to say that we have been married 47 years..became a hockey fan the last 3 years,,she know sports having been a Redskins fan for years and a season ticket holder,,kids played soccer, etc…and she had the following observations which I consider valid..why on the “power play” do they continue looking for the perfect shot…passing until it is intercepted?…why do they not anticipate and “go after” rebounds? Why do they not clear the puck from our end as do other teams? I suppose that with all of the talent.someone needs to address the team effort and constant effort..Good luck next year…they are exciting for the City
Ted, you should be proud. I’m not a Caps fan, but I love watching the Caps. I wanted your team to win sooo bad. You guys play hockey the way it should be played and I want the whole NHL to emulate it… give us goals, fast skating, laser-beam snap shots, action! action!
Keep your chins up and come back next year to keep thrilling all of the true hockey fans in the world.
ela re ted!!!u have some serious problems with your team management when your gm signs a goalie that has personnal problems!!2 such a rich contract,without doing his homework on him.Your coach looked like a deer caught in headlights,refusing 2 change stategy and maybe breaking up backstrom and ovie so 1 of them wouldn’t play against gill!!
Ted thanks for the solid words. Learning to handle defeat with class and to grow with grace is a key part of the “business of happiness.” Happiness can’t just be an emotional state because the reality is that we “don’t always win.” In hockey and in life. I know our window is open. I’m confident that you, GMGM and BB will grow and learn. You’ll see how best to direct the men who play hockey for us and get us to that elusive goal of a Stanley Cup victory. Any climb, any summit to reach has its setbacks. That makes reaching the goal that much sweeter.
Let’s go caps! Let’s go caps!
try to get another top 6 forward for the 2nd line and you’ll be ok.
Thanks Ted…..this team brought hope to this area. They broke many records and gave us many wonderful victories this season. They even brought us that cursed “President’s Trophy”. Please don’t bring that back again.
I will be back next year and hopefully we can figure the “Second Season” out.
See ya soon at training camp ~ only a few months away.
Mr. Leonsis, I am a life long Habs fan. I took an interest in the Caps decades ago, when Langway, Jarvis and Englom were traded for Ryan Walter and Rick Green. This was a tad bit after that 70′s Hab’s team that won four straight cups. I have suffered long as a Habs fan, since 1993 to be exact. I know it isn’t a 40 year drought, but going over a decade without the cup for the most storied franchise in the NHL, it is hard to take.
Hab fans are knowledgeable and tell it the way it is. So I will tell you the way it is. Your team, your beloved Caps really suck and it starts with management and coaching. Your Caps were not built to win play off hockey. Your beloved Caps are now the San Jose Sharks of the East. A talented team of individual players, with a shaky defense, and so so goal tending, that finds a way to choke when it matters the most.
Your GM really has not built a contender. You really don’t even have a core, because your philosophy on the kind of team you currently have, is not built to win when it truly matters, the play offs. I really thought the Caps would have learned something last year when they were taken out by the Pens. Apparently your GM and your coach did not learn anything from that debacle. So I have to be blunt and direct. I am mindful of who you are and how much you care, and I also know you have the power and the will to make changes. Changes have to be made, or this cycle will continue and it will become even more embarrassing.
Your coach was outcoached. Your coach could not motivate his players. What kind of coach treats prima donas like Ovie and Semin by giving them optional practices? A coach who has created a system that will fail when adversity comes to the team. The power play was failing all series long, and both Ovie and Semin were not at practice to try and fix this problem. What does that tell you about your coach?
During the game, your coach could not handle the Habs and did nothing to mix the line ups, and did not even consider sitting out Green who was inept to say the least. To think he is nominated for the Norris Trophy. Really? That is a joke! I can see what Canada did not have him on the team. If they had, Canada would have lost to the USA, the same way the Caps lost to the Habs. He is not worth having on your team. The same with Semin. So what, he scores forty in the regular season. What did he do during the series. He should have be sat out. That would have sent a message to everyone.
Shots on goal mean squat. Look at the bulk of the shots, all from the edge or perimeter, and all the shooting lanes, all the Habs, not just the D, they were blocking shots and hounding the Caps. It was team defense.
The Caps played more as individuals and it got worse as the series wore on. The fourth line actually played gritty hockey, like they were a line, passing the puck and cycling in the zone, and trying to get the puck in the corners, and crashing the crease or at least trying to, but for the most part the team totally choked and it is the coach’s fault.
The line changes, and countering all the Habs moves and matchups were a joke. Boudreau could not match the Habs, even with the last line change, and he could not get his team in gear.
The Habs played a total game, with a focus on team ahead of individual success. The Caps did not put the team first or buy into the very costly price of play all facets of the game as a team. The team that won was the team that showed up hungrier and willing to pay the price for winning. Your beloved Caps are not hungry enough and neither is Ovie. Crosby has so surpassed him it isn’t even funny. Crosby has become a two way player, and compliments and supports his D and goalie, and is an all around player. Ovie is not, and I quite frankly don’t thing he ever will. Unless he does, he will never ever taste success in the NHL or on the international stage. He is too much of an individualist, and only thinks of “me”! He reminds of TO in the NFL.
Boudreau has taken this team as far as he can, and so has the GM. It is time for a change. I hope when your review is done, you have the courage of a man like Lou Lamorello, to fire Boudreau and your GM. They did not and nor will they ever succeed. They don’t know how.
If you are a smart man, and I happen to really believe you are a very smart man, who is passionate about life and a lot of other things including the Caps, you should consider hiring Dale Hunter of the London Knights in the OHL. He should be very familiar to the Caps. As a Hab fan, I came to loath him when he played for the Nordiques, but he is the kind of gritty competitor who has won and had success who does not baby or pamper his players and is not afraid to bench the stars on his teams. The Caps need that kind of reality check and make over.
My best wishes to you and the Caps sir. I really mean that sincerely. I feel very badly for all the Caps fans. But to be successful you need to be a whole lot more hungrier and tougher and you need to put the team first. Currently that is not happening with the Caps.
One last thought. Consider this. You may tinker with a player here or there, and in the end it won’t matter in the playoffs. The Habs just showed the NHL how to play against the Caps and how to outcoach your coach. The Caps are toast and done. If you don’t make changes with the GM and coach and change the philosophy and how this team is built, you will likely not even make the play offs next year. The secret is out.
As they say, “We know the enemy, and the enemy is us!”
Cheers,
Sam in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, a Habs fan since 1967.a
Ted, tough loss that only will feed debate all summer. I know we will move on but it is hard at this point to think about next year. I disagree with people blaming the lack of attendance at morning skate. Because someone does not show up on the ice at a morning skate does not mean they are not there focusing on the game. And those who are proposing effort without skill, well this does not win a cup either. We have been there and done that. What we need is a perfect mixture of skill and effort and we have not achieved a team plan to blend the two. I do question the coaching tactics or lack thereof in this series. The desire I believe was there in most of the players but the game plan and execution was not. How to fix this is a tough question and we fans may not like all of the answers. But after 35 years, I am not going to quit being a fan now. Have a good summer and see you next year for a new beginning.
TSN showed a long close up of Ted when the habs scored to make it 2-0. Was a beautiful sight to see and enjoyed every second of it!
I hate to say it but George McPhee took over this team in 1998 right? It was not really “his” team that went to the finals that year. Since then the Caps have gotten out of the first round, once?? Once, Ted?? He’s even had the chance to rebuild the team as he wishes and still. Once!
Are we sure he knows what it takes to win in the playoffs because that is a looong time. Very sad today…
You looked very sad last night, Mr. Leonsis. My heart goes out to you. I know you put a lot into your team.
You’re right, they obviously don’t need much to get to where they need to be. Good luck.
Ted, I would first like to start by saying thank you. What a wild roller coaster ride the team took us on. So much better than watching a “merry-go-round” team. It’s been a blast and I can already barely wait for September. You have done an incredible job with the Caps organization. I am so very proud to be a fan. As Ovie said, the playoffs are a second season and anything can happen. You have a great GM, a wonderful coaching staff and skilled players who play with heart. I have no doubt that the Cup will come to DC soon and when it does I will be proud to say that I’ve watched the evolution of the Washington Caps.
I wonder if the Caps are about to become the most recent version of the Ottawa Senators?
Back a few years ago the Sens had tons of talent tons of promise, but in spite of it all they couldn’t get it done.
The Sens reaction to this was too little and not decisive enough. Caps would do well to reflect on this.
Ted,
Many of us “old timers” appreciate deeply what your ownership team has done to improve this franchise. You and I have talked on the phone in the past, right after you traded Kono, and I questioned that decision–keeping Jagr and letting a heart-and-soul guy go. But you did what we discussed and blew up the team and started from scratch–kudos to you.
Please read Tom Boswell’s post-series analysis, and take it to heart. As much as some of us love Coach Boudreau, it seems pretty clear that his loosy-goosy, run-and-gun regular season system (and if that’s not what it is, shame on him for allowing it to go on night after night) doesn’t work when it counts. If he’s unwilling to commit to an adjustment that results in a team willing and able to play playoff hockey, he should go. If the players are unwilling or unable to do the same, they should go. As you have said many times, results count. This result is unacceptable.
Ted,
I appreciate all that you have done for this franchise to turn it around and move it towards competition. That being said, the events of last night are more than disappointing; they are devastating. It’s truly a franchise defining loss that will be discussed for decades.
The Capitals led the season in points, goals, power play percentage, but it was all for naught. The team ended up being the first #1 seeded team in NHL history to lose to a #8 seeded team after going up 3-1 in the series. The fans expected progress over last year and instead got a major regression. The Capitals had three chances to close out and move on to the next round. Each time they were out coached, out schemed, and overall out played. 3% effectiveness on the power play? Majorly telegraphed shots from the blue line and faceoff circles? The massive number of blocks by both the goalie and defense? All demonstrate an aimless team that only knows one way to play and, when stymied, ends up panicking and throwing shots directly on net as quickly as possible. In the end, it obviously didn’t work.
I understand the desire to not act rashly or out of raw emotion, but please do recognize that this collapse wasn’t just the failure of the second line or certain players playing poorly in the post-season. It’s a failure of the entire team to adapt and execute as necessary in the playoffs. There’s only a few ways to change that…
Here’s to Rocking the Red in May 2011!
Today…”As I have said…We have miles to go before we sleep.”
Kelli is right on…..
Quoted directly from the “Ted’s Take” February 3rd post….
“We have arrived. We don’t have miles to go before we sleep. We have arrived. Savor it. Enjoy it.”
Ted:
I am a relatively newer Caps and hockey fan. I managed to make 22 home games this year and all 4 home playoff games even without being a season tix holder. I have committed to sharing a season tix plan for next year with another current STH. Being a newer fan, I have not suffered the heartbreaks that other older fans have, but nonetheless, last night hurt bad.
We got outworked, outhustled, and outcoached. Nobody is questioning our talent, but it seems that Desire trumps talent and skill in the playoffs. Even though it was a matchup nightmare, we left Laing, Erskine, and Walker(until game 7) on the bench. These guys showed Desire and grit the whole season. Maybe we’d still be playing if we finally figured that out!
In the offseason, please address the Character of the team and jettison all of those not willing to lay it all on the line.
Oh, and one more thing, I love your book.
Dear Ted,
I am with you all the way. It wasn’t in the cards this year; but, there are still a lot of years to come. Keep looking forward, remain positive, and continue to building the team with your standards. The cup will come.
Very Respectfully,
Sad but Still Hopeful Caps Fan
Thank you, Ted for all you’ve done for the Capitals and DC in general. Wish more owners had your attitude and humility. Love you and ALL of the Caps staff and players.
Ted, I’ve been a huge Caps fan for the past 11 years now. Last night’s loss was extremely disappointing, pathetic, and inexcusable. This is one of the lowest moments I can remember as a fan.
That being said, my passion and love for this team is unshaken. Though the season ended poorly, this team did give us a lot to look forward to. Ovie may not be the greatest player in the world, but he’s the best thing that could have ever happened for the Caps.
I agree you shouldn’t make any knee-jerk changes, but changes are necessary. Tough decisions have to be made, which is unfortunate because I love the make up of this team but some players have to go to make room for the kind of players this team needs. But I still believe that certain players here are the foundation for a championship team somewhere in the future.
Thank you for your commitment to this team and fan base. As sad as I am today, I still must have to say:
GO CAPS!!!
at PeterKMD,
my suggestion to you is if you don’t like how the Caps are being run, go buy your own team! And if you can’t buy your own team, vote with your feet and don’t renew your seats. Seats which happen to still be a great bargin if you compare to other cities.
Tyler, lots of players skip the optional skate. Ovie and Semin routinely did this during the regular season as did Backie, Green and Knuble. Doesn’t mean there not at the facility getting treatment or something. It just means there not on the ice that day. If coach B wants all the players there, then he makes the practice mandatory. But guys who put in a lot of minutes typically take this day off.
“As I have said… We have miles to go before we sleep.”
Didn’t you say “We don’t have miles to go before we sleep” back in February?
Thanks for all your efforts, Ted, and for trying to remain positive. This just plain sucks, particularly for we Caps fans who have spent thousands of dollars over the years watching this team set an NHL record for most blown 3 games to 1 playoff leads. But optimistic cliches and Robert Frost quotes aren’t what this team needs.
Successful playoff teams in the NHL must be strong up the middle. We are not. They must also be willing to make the individual sacrifices Montreal did. We have too many players who will not. Two of those, who currently suck up a disproportionate percentage of our salary cap, take too many stupid penalties. Stupid penalties are the same thing as a me over the team attitude. I play hockey (not nearly on an NHL level, of course, but hockey nonetheless), so I know of what I speak.
We have enough offensive talent in the system already. We need a mix of offensive talent and players who are tough, defensively responsible, and who won’t allow the Caps to lose. Those players are out there, but we need to go get them. Carlson and Alzner are nice players, but do we want to entrust the blueline to a couple of teenagers in the playoffs?
The Caps played hard versus Montreal. That much is abundantly clear. But this team will fail again and again and again in the playoffs if we don’t ex-communicate the redundant, offensively gifted yet selfish players in favor of those who are established, tough, defensive minded, and team first. Tweaking the current core ain’t going to get that done. If you have to get less than fair value for those players in a trade, yet free up salary cap space to sign a free agent or two we really need, then so be it.
No more miles to go before we sleep, please. Let’s make the moves we have to make, and win this thing now, not later.
By the way, I began wording this post in March, well before the Montreal debacle. This is not a knee jerk reaction to one of the most pathetic outcomes in NHL history. The Caps have systemic problems that must be addressed. Here’s hoping that this unexcusable playoff exit will lead to those changes. I’d rather management come to this conclusion now, and not 2-3 years from now, when this core group gets bounced out of the playoffs again for the same reasons.
Thanks for another great season. It didn’t turn out as many of us would have hoped but as you say I believe in the end we’ll be stronger.
I love the sports entertainment product the Washington Capitals Organization provides and am still quite happy I renewed our season tickets….
Thanks again… now I’m left to root for the Habs, Flyers and Sharks…
I too was upset last night with the lost. I’m still sad. But then I think . . . I can’t be nearly as sad, or mad for that matter, as the team. No one is going to beat them up as much as they’re going to beat themselves up. Each one of them will wonder what they could have done differently. We all, including the team, need to remember that they provided us with a great season. No denying that. The really true fans still love the Capitals. We’ll get over this feeling of loss and arrive back at the Verizon Center next season to cheer the team on again. Tell Tomas and Nicky to have a good off-season from me.
P.S. Go Bruins!!!
Ted,
You are such a wonderful and inspiring person. Thank you for corresponding with your fans and not running and hiding after a devastating loss. The Caps fans that are saying mean things are acting upon raw emotions. As a season ticket holder, I was blessed to have many happy nights in D.C. for the last 6+ months. It is an absolute shame that it’s already over, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. We were beaten by a better team in the playoffs. The Caps are young and still unexperienced in the playoffs. I don’t think what happened these past 2 weeks will ever happen again and I do not think this team needs serious revamping. Just more experience and a killer instinct in the playoffs. I’m confident we WILL win the Cup within the next few years. LET’S GO CAPS!!! I can’t wait for October!
Hi Ted,
I have played hockey my whole life and have been a life long Caps fan, my Dad has had season tickets my whole life. Last night was tough to take for many reasons, we just did not look like a hungry team; we looked discouraged.
I am not of the belief that we should reinvent the wheel and fire everybody and start from scratch. The core group is a group that we should not forget has taken us from being pretty awful a few years ago to allow all of us to have expectations. I cannot say that when I was little I would have thought that I would ever say I expect the Caps to win the Stanley Cup. All fans should realize that we have come along way.
I know losing is difficult, we have all lost in something and I think the hardest part about being a fan is that you care just as much as the players, but you cannot physically play and have an on ice impact. So, of course this loss hurts for all of the fans and it hurts just as bad for the players I am sure.
We have a long off season ahead of us, one with lots of questions that will most likely remain until we win in the playoffs next season and although I am upset today I know that come September I will be itching for our caps to start again!
So for all who hurt like I do, Let’s Go Caps! Let’s Go Ovie, Backstrom, Green, Boudreau! These guys brought us to expect success and let’s continue to support them. The team will be different next year because there are always changes.
Ted I am sure you are just as excited as the rest of us to start next season to be hungry for a championship again.
Best,
Robbie
Hire Michel Therrien as your new head coach, trade Green for a draft pick, and sign defenders in the mold of Scuderi or Gill.
Follow those simple directions, with tweaks along the way, and there won’t be anymore first round playoff exits.
Ted – you are a class act! Other local sports teams owners could learn a few things from you!
Thank you for another thrilling season–we’re already looking forward to next year!
This was a meltdown of epic proportions. In my eyes we have surpassed the San Jose Sharks as yearly playoff chokes. This loss won’t be easily forgotten. While you shouldn’t act of emotional angst, you shouldn’t overlook that fact this collapse was one of the worst in all of sports (NBA, MLB, NFL included). Nobody in their right mind thinks we should give up our core or future, but for goodness sakes, please make some changes.
As a life long Caps fan from Delaware, I suffered through
6 win seasons starting in 1974, 4-0 loses in the Cup finals against Detroit. Repeated 7 game series loses to the Islanders in 1987, Pittsburgh how many times?
Last nights loss was the most heart breaking of all.
I am not sure what the cure is but entering the playoffs with the most potent offense and power play in the NHL and only scoring 1 goal in 134 shots is sad beyond words.
I will always be a Caps fan, misery loves company.
Let’s go Caps.
Ted, I want to thank you for the effort that you put forth regarding this team. I truly do appreciate it. As a Caps fan from the start, I am truly hurting today. Please, some changes do need to be made. As the leader you are, I am sure that you realize this. I believe in Ovechkin. I believe in Backstrom(please resign him long term).I even believe in Varlamov. Not so much in Green, Semin or Fleischman at this point. Please be sure George McPhee and Bruce Boudreau make the necessary changes. I believe in them also, but changes have to be made to the way the team is set up.
Thankyou very much for reading this.
Any team, coach, manager and owner that can take a team “from worst to first” as you say in less than three years have my full support. I’m just as deflated as anyone else, but I know we will get there someday soon. I love the Caps, worst or first. Thanks for all your effort, Ted. GO CAPS!
Ted:
I’m not a Caps fan, but I have long admired both your class and your accessibility to hockey fans. As a life-long Red Wings fan, I can attest that even the most successful teams experience playoff heartbreak now and again. I wish you and your team the best of luck in the future…unless you’re playing the Wings!
@Zuljin
“George McPhee resigns”
Why should mcphee resign? He has done a great job over the past couple of years. He has drafted well and made the right trades without giving up much of anything. The coach is directly responsible for the “system”, not Mcphee.
Every team has upsets people. BB built this team from the ground up…literally. He got us 2 the playoffs his 1st season when nobody thought it was possible. Last season we made it to round 2 game 7 against the stanley cup champs depsite dealing with horrendous injuries. We had a horrible upset which I guarnatee yu nobody feels worse about than Ovie and BB! There is plenty of blame to go around, but I will not throw our Captain and coach under the bus after 1 major dissapointment. I am confident that any changes that need to be made will be made…but now is not the time. The shock, anger, and dissapointment is too fresh to objectively deal with this situation. If you are a true fan then give yourself some time before you say these harsh things. I know I slept horribly last night and have not moved on from the loss near enough to talk about the changes needed for next season…relax people…these things happen all the time and as I tell my students…winning isn’t the most important thing in the world. We will recover from this.
Congratulations to Montreal.
My disappointment in the score last night won’t diminsh my love for the game. I will say that I would like to see Bruce Boudreau continue as your coach and George McPhee as your GM. It seams to me that everyone left everything they had on the ice last night. I’ve followed the Capitols since the 80′s and will continue to do so. This game to end the series isn’t as bad as losing in the finals to the Redwings. Keep striving Ted, I’m looking forward to the Caps hoisting the Cup next year (or the year after that if thats what it takes).
I think the team/organization needs a little less talk and a little more show on the ice. It’s great to be an “open” organization and have a coach that gabs, but honestly it’s kind of sickening the degree it got to this year with all the talk about a Stanley Cup. Blame the media or whoever, the team didn’t back up all the talk.
As for learning, everything is a learning experience. However, I thought this team had learned from the past 2 seasons? How much more learning does it take to make it past even the 1st round of the playoffs?
Finally, I wish things had turned out differently but we simply were out coached, out played, and out shown. The last thing I want is to add more fuel to the fire, but lets be honest with ourselves. Sidney Crosby and the Pgh Pens are a better coached team, have better players, and are probably going to their 3rd straight Stanley Cup and possibly repeating. Washington fans need to stop this argument about Sid vs. Ovi (which I admit, is an NHL marketing ploy).
Anyway, I as always will be a fan next year. But lets not be too quick to jump to conclusions about Stanley Cup finals. Clearly the playoffs are a whole new animal that the Caps organization is never prepared for.
Good luck to Montreal.
Ted, you shouldn’t have proclaimed “We Have Arrived”. Have you no respect for the hockey gods?
Ted: +20 years Caps fan and current season ticket holder here. Hope you understand this is the worst loss I experience since been a Caps fan. This team is the best in Caps history and to fail like this is just unacceptable. I trust that you will address these issues and make this team better. I also hope that even thought your blog sounds nice and calm you of all people were mad as hell last night and had a nice close door conversation with the two people who fail to adjust and motivate this team in this series (coach/GM). I hope you understand I will always be a Caps fan but this failure sure made me think twice in keeping my season tickets.
Just goes to show that a strong defense can beat a much stronger offense. It seems that there are some holes to fill by trading to get some defensive superstars. I’m sure some heads will roll and I hope that the Caps will be willing to give up some of their offensive juggernauts (Semin or Green) to pick up talents that are missing from the lineup. This season’s pre-trade deadline was a failure. The only positive that came out of it was Chimera. The rest were invisible during the season and during the short playoffs.
Kelli, way to take Ted’s quote out of context. Here’s the whole thing…
“For just today, we have arrived. We don’t have miles to go before we sleep. We have arrived. Savor it. Enjoy it. Tomorrow all bets are off. We can worry, we can vent, and we can go back to our individual dark places. But for 24 hours I declare a no fly zone on negativity and unhappiness. We deserve our success. We are what our record says we are. At least for one shining moment. Ok back to work. Go Caps.”
Sounds like he was pretty realistic. Folks need to relax. The Caps are the best game in town–by a country mile. They are young, talented and deep. Ovie will grow into his role as a team leader. Chill, haters. Next season is going to be awesome.
Dave
After such a great regular season, this is of course very disappointing to be eliminated already. Have to trust in you that you will continue to do what is necessary to get this team to the cup. By the way, loved your book. Pulled it back off the shelf today,read a few pages, worked on my goals and that has softened the blow from the loss last night. I’ll concure w/Rachel…..sh**t happens.
Guess R.J. Umberger was right. Enjoy the long offseason.
“Starting today we are on a path toward winning….”
On exit.
Too soon Ted, way too soon.
Fair enough points, but, you owe it to the fans that support your franchise and this sport to gain SOME logical insight from the NHL as to why that goal was disallowed. I’ve seen the replay officials delay a game for well over 6 minutes determining if a puck went in on a “distinct kicking motion”. I don’t understand why that same level of scrutiny does not apply here. This is the second time this season a goal was taken away from the Caps against the Canadiens in such a manner as to leave most of us scratching our heads. I look forward to reading the NHL’s explanation, or apology, on this blog.
Ted, Thanks for all the hard work. I put this in my blog and I sincerely mean it, “Yeah, I know I’m getting old waiting for the Washington Capitals to bring the cup to D.C., but I wouldn’t want to get old with any other team.” Your core is there and life as a Washington Capitals fan has improved greatly over the last three seasons. I’m looking forward to future improvements. Have a great summer and GO CAPS!
Last nights game hurt a lot. This morning I’m still in a daze with the fact that our season is over. But want’s helping is remembering the GREAT season we just had. This team is so much fun to watch! Our season ended way to soon, but I’ll be there at Kettler this summer for the Caps events and cheering in September when we start all over again! We’ll get there…. I BELIEVE. Keep up the good work and that includes Bruce and GMGM!
Ted;
This was not the end to the season that many had hoped for, but your influence reaches beyond the end of this series.
Beacaues of your success, the hockey landscape is changing.
Changing for the better.
As a youth hockey coach,
I see kids arrive at our rink that never played hockey before, they arrive wearing a Washington Capitals jersey.
I see kids that have played hockey before and they want to shoot like Semin or Greene.
I hear kids babble some Russian.
I see teams gather in the lobby to watch the Captials instead of rushing home to a video game.
And as you say, you are “committed to hard work, to investment, to constant improvement, and to getting it “just right”.”
Those efforts will continue to grow the sport at the grassrots level.
Sadly the season has ended, but in reality it will take years to truly measure how successful this season really was.
Thanks for a ton of thrills that will fuel the next generation of Mid-Atlantic hockey plyers.
Respectfully
Greg Gries
Ted:
I agree with all you’ve said – but… this is one time where, quite frankly, it’s not enough. I’ve been a Caps fan since the early days of the team. I’ve seen too many years when the team has had another team down for the count in the playoffs at 3-1, 3-2, etc., and failed to finish them off. Too many times the Flyers, Islanders, Penguins, etc. have come back to celebrate at our expense – and I’m tired of it!! I know – not all of it was on your watch. However, I’m frustrated. To quote Howard Beale, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” I waited through the lean years, and the rebuilding years, and only one Stanley Cup run in franchise history – and that in vain? Teams such as Tampa and Carolina can boast a title – what about us? What will it take? I’m not sure what we need, but we need players like Crosby, Gretzky, Lemieux, etc. – players who, in the clutch, put the team on their back and carry them to “the promised land” We don’t have them. We need more leadership and tactical strength behind the bench and in the front office. Somebody needs to be held accountable for this – not just with the usual mouthed bromides, but with the loss of employment to let all know that this will not be tolerated. All players, from today on, should be at your complex, getting ready for next year -working out, imporving skills, studying film – not playing golf or going on vacation. Winners can rest – losers (and that’s what this team is right now – a loser) need to work harder. Better goaltending and defense need to be acquired. More leadership is needed. We were good this year – but it’s not enough – because we are home now, and others are still playing. Immediate action is needed, and a tone needs to be set now as to the goal – the only goal – a championship – of this team.
Further, I’m also diustressed as to the competence of the officiating last night. The call to disallow the goal early in the third period was clearly wrong, and the sign of an incompetant official. He should be fired at once. In fact, he should have been fired last night, and told to pay his own way home. Officials need to be called out more by the owners – since you are their employers. I know the standard line about why owners don’t speak out more – it’s not proper, I don’t want to get fined, etc. Hogwash! If the commissioner fines you remind him – in no uncertain terms, that you – the owners – are HIS BOSS!!! He answers to you – not the other way around!! If he continues to bother owners and not do their bidding – he is out!!! After all, you are not going anywhere – but he can. To have to wait another season to get back to this point – after seeing Pittsburgh, Tampa, Carolina, and other teams win and us still waiting in vain – is too much. Our hearts have been broken way too often. How much more can we take???
Ted, the problem comes from the top; GMGM and Boudreau should be looking for new jobs ASAP.
I thought you arrived, Ted?
What happened?
Oh, and I forgot about Semin, he skipped too didnt he? A skate prior to a game 7. Semin, a guy who hasnt scored a goal in his last 14 playoff games, shouldnt he of been there too?
So, Im hearing that Ovechkin skipped Tuesdays optional skate. As a captain you have to be at the skates, it doesnt matter if your nursing a secret injury, tired, rehab day, etc. Even if your in a wheelchair, shouldnt the captain be at the skate? What do you intend to do about this?
The Caps have arrived! On the putting green. Enjoy watching the Pens win it all again.
It’s good to have a short memory sir.
“We don’t have miles to go before we sleep. We have arrived. Savor it. Enjoy it.”
Ted, I’m impressed by how classy you have handled this. I know my emotions would have rendered a congratulations to the Habs and this post nearly impossible. Though I’m not a Caps fan, I’m confident they’ll get the Cup sooner, rather than later. Good luck!
Thanks for your blog this morning and the great season.
It was a long night for the fans and the team.
I know everyone in the Caps organization is hurting this morning, but please know how much the true fans love the team and the organization, top to bottom. We’ve got your backs. We’re with you today and we’ll be with you when you all finally achieve your goal, the CUP.
Tell the boys to stick together. Lose as a team, win as a team. Individuals sometimes make mistakes and come up short. But if the team sticks together and the players work hard for each other they will ultimately reach their goal.
With great respect and thanks for all the Caps and their associates.
A long time fan
Thanks for your blog this morning and the great season.
It was a long night for the fans and the team.
I know everyone in the Caps organization is hurting this morning, but please know how much the true fans love the team and the organization, top to bottom. We’ve got your backs. We’re with you today and we’ll be with you when you all finally achieve your goal, the CUP.
Tell the boys to stick together. Lose as a team, win as a team. Individuals sometimes make mistakes and come up short. But if the team sticks together and the players work hard for each other they will ultimately reach their goal.
With great respect and thanks for all the Caps and their associates.
A long time fan
I am in no way a Caps fan, but I will admit that Ovechkin is exciting, good for the game, and a potential game changer in any game. As much as I love to hate him, I will admit this.
And your team WILL learn from this. The challenge is figuring out what it is you need to learn. Good luck! Sorry you had to join my Sabres on the sideline…
That’s all we can do, Ted. Thanks for the right attitude, you are the right owner to have. I have full confidence that the correct adjustments will be made for next season and that we will be an even stronger force to be reckon with.
Ted
I’m a season ticket holder for the Caps, and have been a lifelong fan. The Caps are a focal point of our families life, with many positive memories, as you reference. But it will be almost impossible to EVER overcome the negative memory of this post-season. The fans have done their part, filling the building in spite of the drastic rise in ticket prices. I seem to remember states coming from you last year “that which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger”. The entire organization, from yourself to the players, should consider this historic collapse to be a TOTAL failure. To say that we will re-evaluate, not do anything drastic is not doing justice to your loyal supporters. If as you say, the Caps will be energized by this defeat, why didn’t the team play energized from the past 2 seasons of playoff defeats. The point is this: There is ZERO excuse for “coming out flat” in Games 1,2, and 5. Thanks for noticing the blocked shot totals, that speaks to desire and effort. The message of this series is that desire, hustle and discipline overcome skill. Plain and simple. Don’t take the fans support (18,277 every night) for granted. You can only crush hearts for so long. Like Al Pacino says in your in-game video “What are you going to do about it?” Tweaks aren’t the answer, this teams serious flaws were exposed, to get this outworked by a inferior team is a disgrace. Anyone who thinks this was a fluke is living in denial. Fans have long memories, this will never be forgotten. Now what are you going to do about?
Caps could instantly get stronger if they fire Bruce Boudreau and George McPhee resigns. The current system does not work in the playoffs. We can’t win a championship with Bruce, Woods, and Evason coaching this team.
I am sad beyond words over this loss, but I will be back in september ready to make another run for it. Please let Ovie know that his fans still love him and we think he is the best player in the world and ture leader. As the saying goes…sh**t happens.
Ted: this team is deeply flawed. If you and management don’t admit that, you are just fooling yourself. You guys have a LOT of work to do……………
Believes!