Tag Archives: NHL

Praise for our fans

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I credit our fans for the energy you provided to the team last night. 

Thank you. 

The roar from the crowd when the score of the Sabres vs. Flyer’s game was flashed on the screen with 3 minutes left in the game was truly astonishing; you were loud and proud and we are all grateful! 

I am proud that we qualified for the playoffs; this is our fifth year in a row to qualify – that is the 4th longest active streak in the NHL; I believe in longevity and am hopeful we can deliver a team as we noted that can qualify for the playoffs over a decade or more. 

This has been a grind of a season – weird bounces – injury after injury – even one at last night’s game to our goal tender - we now have two great goal tenders on the bench with aches and pains; it is a great testament to our team that we have yet a third option to play in net. Not many teams have that luxury. 

We have one game left to play – we have qualified for the NHL playoffs but we don’t know where we will be seeded; we can finish in the 8th spot – in the 7th spot or in the 3rd spot. Stay tuned and we will all know opponent and schedules on Sunday evening. 

Thank you for your expressions of support overnight in email; and thank you for being such great fans. Onward and Go Caps!

This says it all for next 3 days

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A good overview here on the final two games in next three days and the implications around the NHL. 

I am antsy for game time and seeing you all here at Verizon Center at 700 pm tonight. Being loud and proud tonight gives our team energy; and I am hopeful we will respond by playing with passion and great vigor. 

Thanks for your support – Go Caps! A good read here.

Tied Up

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Four games left to play.

We are tied with Buffalo in points but have the tie break. We are situated in the 8th spot. We both have played the same amount of games.

We are 4 points behind Florida. We play them at home next week. We have both played the same amount of games. We are two points behind Ottawa but they have a game in hand.

Every game is a big game. We play tonight at home, our second to last game of the regular season at home against Montreal. I look forward to seeing all of you at Verizon Center. Go Caps!

 

Standings oddity

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We sit with 78 points in the 8th spot in the East. 

San Jose sits in the 8th spot in the West with 78 points. 

Did anyone call that? 

Both the Capitals and the Sharks would be clinging to the 8th spot – after 70 games or so – with 78 points each? 

Also – take a look at this year’s goal differential between the best teams and the worst teams in terms of standing points – Boston in the East has more than 60 goals positive on us. And last night – they lost 6 to 1.

 

 

Youth Must Be Served

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A good read by Mike Vogel. Click here.

The Capitals system has four of the Top 75 young prospects in the NHL. And we have the # 1 prospect in all of hockey.

We are playing rookies in the line-up this year and we are playing several other young players as well. Our core is young. Our D core is young. We have young goaltenders as well. Youth must be served.

 

Better Late Than Never

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It was frustrating to read this weekend’s Washington Post story on Alex Ovechkin because it contained so many references to unnamed sources. My assumption is (or should I say “my sources” tell me?) that many of those comments came from disgruntled former business associates and those who aren’t fans of Alex. We all have detractors, and high-profile athletes have more than others. That’s the nature of the business, and Alex recognizes that comes with the territory.

But it was interesting to see the Post blog George McPhee’s comments today. In many ways I thought this was an important part of the story that didn’t find its way into Saturday’s online version or the feature in Sunday’s paper. Too much to include? Too favorable? Too inconvenient? Not sure, but I’m glad George’s comments saw the light of day.

I won’t debate each point that I believe to be inaccurate or unfair, but I have to set the record straight on one thing: Alex’s parents have not meddled in our franchise. We have nothing but respect and admiration for them, and they always have been supportive and a positive influence.

It is what it is – there was a storyline to fulfill and quotes, anonymous as they may be, were needed to support it.

In addition to talking with George, one of the reporters sought a comment from me. Below is what I conveyed (in its entirety) via email while traveling.

When asked about how my interactions with Alex are different now than when he was a 19-year-old, I responded:

“Alex has constantly displayed an enthusiasm that is contagious, and his zeal for the game and life in general always has been present. But now he has become more aware of his impact not only on the ice but also with our fans and in our community. His responsibilities have increased significantly throughout the years, and he has embraced that role.”

I also was asked that since the season “hasn’t gone as planned,” how concerned am I that Alex won’t return to his pre-2010 level of production. My response:

“The game has changed since Alex entered the league, and we are looking for him to be a better all-around player. We want him to adapt his game to be productive within the framework of our team, not necessarily in comparison with others in the NHL. The ultimate goal is to construct a team that wins a championship – that’s Alex’s goal too. That said, he still is a two-time league MVP who has scored more goals and more overtime goals than any other player since he entered the league in 2005.”

Better late than never.

Nothing Else Matters

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Just win and take the two points and come on home for a back-to-back game against Toronto tomorrow night.

That was a big time positive road performance. Terrific to see against a very good Bruins team. A true team effort.

We miss Mike Green but we must overcome all obstacles in our way and have no distractions. The pixels that are being generated can wait to be addressed at a later time but again all we need to do is focus on performance and points. See you all on Sunday at 5:00 pm. Go Caps!

 

Hockey is for Everyone

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You may have read Clinton Yates’ recent column in The Washington Post Express or perhaps a subsequent Q & A on The Washington Post’s website. Clinton is the local news editor for the Express and a longtime Capitals fan. He’s also an African-American who has encouraged us to work a little harder to reach the African-American community. I think we have made some nice strides, but I also know there is continued work to be done.

We have reached out to Clinton and invited him to meet with members of the Capitals organization and with representatives from the NHL. We will share with him some of our initiatives as well as NHL platforms and strategies on diversity. We also will seek his input and feedback on how we might be able to improve and redouble our efforts.

Hockey is indeed for everyone, and we want to continue to grow our great game locally, nationally and globally. We want to be inclusive and welcome fans from all walks of life. We empathize with Clinton’s perception and we work collectively to connect with various communities.

As some of you may know, February was Hockey is for Everyone month, and the NHL and the Capitals celebrated the league-wide initiative in a variety of ways. The NHL really has done a terrific job of activating around this platform and has been extremely strategic when it comes to inclusion and participation for our current and future fans. HIFE is in more than 30 markets and provides support and unique programming to nonprofit youth hockey organizations throughout North America and emphasizes access to skating rinks for boys and girls of all ethnicities.

Locally we support Fort Dupont Ice Arena and the Fort Dupont Hockey Club, having donated more than $150,000 to the hockey program and rink in recent years along with a $50,000 personal pledge I made last week. We have a great partnership with the rink’s executive director and general manager and a long-standing relationship with Neal Henderson, who has worked tirelessly for more than 30 years with the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, helping boys and girls on and off the ice. It was wonderful when NBC Sports helped to tell his story during Hockey Day in America. It is an amazing commitment – Neal is a true hero.

Just last week I was joined by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider and several members of Congress for a briefing hosted by the Congressional Hockey Caucus, which discussed the positive effect that hockey has on youth in the community. We were joined by Hockey Caucus co-chairmen Democratic Reps. Brian Higgins (N.Y.) and Mike Quigley (Ill.) and Republican Reps. Patrick Meehan (Pa.) and Lee Terry (Neb.).

One of the new, great NHL programs is the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Scholarship, which is a four-year academic scholarship for participants of the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative. The scholarship will provide opportunities for qualified HIFE participants to attend any of the country’s 47 public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) or Predominately Black Institutions (PBIs).

A few days after the caucus we hosted the Congressional Hockey Challenge, a charity game at Verizon Center. The game benefits the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club and Fort Dupont Ice Arena. In the four years of its existence that game has raised more than $350,000.

The Capitals players and coaches continue to visit Fort Dupont each year as part of our Rink Partnership program, and we have hosted an annual spring service project at Fort Dupont, allowing hundreds of Caps fans to come out to the rink and work alongside Caps staff and players’ wives and girlfriends in various beautification projects. We also had Councilmember Yvette Alexander and John Marshall (son of Thurgood Marshall), who grew up playing hockey in the area, participate in an on-ice clinic with Joel Ward.

The past three of years we’ve partnered with Serve DC – The Mayor’s Office of Volunteerism to “adopt” four D.C. public schools. This partnership has allowed us to reach students in Title I schools in Wards 4, 5 and 8 and bring hockey to children who wouldn’t typically play hockey to the sport. We’ve also provided these schools with more than $40,000 in monetary grants. We have provided hundreds of fans the opportunity to come out to volunteer at these schools, helping to spruce them up for the start of the school year and even partner with the USDA to build a habitat garden.

Interestingly and coincidentally, Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Northeast D.C. is one our adopted schools, and we have purchased a number of items for them, such as a Smart Board, computer, printer, six listening centers complete with audio CD libraries, educational DVDs and physical education equipment. Last summer we also brought John Marshall to the school to work alongside Matt Hendricks, more than 100 Caps fans plus community members and staff to help prepare the school for the students. Thurgood Marshall students and staff also have received tickets to Caps games through our Tickets for Kids program – it’s a great way for us to share the excitement of live NHL action.

In addition, Mike Green and his So Kids Can program have partnered with KaBoom! to raise money to build Capitals-themed playgrounds for underserved communities in the D.C. area. Last year a playground build was completed the Bloomingdale neighborhood and another is planned for this fall.

We realize all of these relationships are about more than just financial donations. We want to be generous with our funds but also with our time and our pixels. We truly want hockey to be for everyone – and we mean everyone, regardless of ethnicity, age or sex. We have programming focused on kids, women, schools, amateur hockey groups, fan club, military families, disabled hockey, underserved neighborhoods. We have a great game, and we want to share it wherever and whenever we are able. Diversity means everyone.

Stay tuned for more updates.