Dear Mr. Walsh,

Having been a Capitals season ticket holder and fan for over a quarter century, I was very excited when Tomas Vokoun signed with the Caps in July, 2011.  In fact, what made it even more exciting was that the Caps would be getting a proven, world-class goaltender on the roster for the first time since Olie Kolzig was the starter here.  Truly great news for a team coming off a very strong regular season, but that had yet another disappointing playoff run.

This brings us to tonight, opening night, when the Caps are preparing to play the Hurricanes.  Yes, I am sure your client is disappointed he is not going to be starting the game, and yes, he let it slip out to the media in advance.  A minor faux pas, to be sure, but certainly not one that's going to affect his time here in Washington.

The reasons why Michal Neuvirth is starting are truly known only to Coach Boudreau, but they may be based on the performance of both players in the preseason or last year's results against Carolina (Neuvirth was 1-0, Vokoun was 0-2 with an .867 save percentage). I suspect a lot of it is how each of them fared last season against the Caps first two opponents, where Neuvirth was better than Vokoun against Carolina and Vokoun was amazingly good against the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-0-1 and a 1.26 GAA.... well done!)

What is the most disappointing thing to me as a Caps fan during this is that there is no real controversy here, at all, and would not be if not for your careless and ill-thought out remarks to the media.  The media are always looking to find a story, and by creating one, you might be impacting the Caps chances to win this season.  I find this to be reprehensible.  If you want to look out for your client, the least you can do is help enable your client to be successful.  Trying to create controversy in his own locker room is no way to help your client.  If you were my agent and made disparaging remarks about my employer to the press, I'd fire you on the spot.

What is most compelling though is that Vokoun has handled this very professionally.  After his slip up, he was showing his kids around the practice facility, introducing them to his new teammates.  He was being a family man, and he was being a professional.  It is a shame the same can't be said for his agent.

Mike L.

Caps Season Ticket Holder since 1985-86