Boudreau: Should he stay or should he go?

I think French doesn’t have enough time in service and has had virtually no exposure to the bigs either via playing or assistant coaching (that I know of).

French makes no sense to me, as he’s a Boudreau disciple. It would not be nearly a substantive enough move to warrant being made because there’d be no real reason to expect vastly different results.

I think the only way this would work is if the reality is that BB has “lost the room”. While this is a possibility, I wonder about the continued viability of the system @ the NHL level. To be honest, even in lazy mode, this team has too much freaking talent to be completely shut down as long as they have been if the system still works. We’ve scored 4+ goals 4 times since December 1 and two of the games were empty netters(4-1 against STL and Ovie’s hat trick goal against the Leafs). So essentially that is 2 offensive outbursts in 27 games (4 goals in the SO loss to TOR and 5 against NJD). That would seem to indicate that there’s something wrong with the system. Granted, you made the point that French was able to adjust in the playoffs, an important trait that BB has generally lacked. He seems to be more of the buckshot type…I’m going to keep throwing the same thing at you and just try and stop it. Problem is, the league has figured out how to stop it. Not sure a continuation of having the new boss be the same as the old boss would be the right idea. Part of me wants to say shaking up the system is no good mid season…but hell it worked for Pittsburgh. I didn’t vote in my own poll, seemed like it would be disingenuous.

I like French, but maybe we need a different perspective. Is there any assistant coach with the Wings worth looking at?

I would think there is. If they keep playing as they are, there will not be a playoff appearance.

Not much reason to let him go now.

A Power Play that has sucked – and that is not hyperbole considering who is out there – since before the Montreal series? Everyone points to that series as when it started to go downhill, but it was failing significantly before that and has been very bad ever since.

A woeful offense (you can find stats for that all over the thread).

We were supposed to win the SC last year – now we’re ready to settle for a wasted season (missed playoffs) before we make a change?

I’ve asked this before, but can anyone point out anything that shows that Bruce Boudreau has answers for the offensive problems facing the squad that was being compared to the Oilers of the early eighties?

Related to Lindy Ruff, I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more talk in league circles.

Unsure where GMGM fits into this discussion. I think/hope we all agree that he has done monstrously well at identifying, signing, and drafting talent as well or better than the vast majority of NHL GMs. The Capitals are for sure (at the very least) playoff contenders every year for years to come. I’m not sure there are many front offices that can compete with his: Detroit and Pittsburgh? Maybe Nashville given the awful situation that team is in? I know Ted believes this, since his mantra is essentially: it is a matter of time. I tend to agree with that wrt Boudreau, too, but I feel like no matter what happens in the final 30 games, his success will be judged in the postseason this year. There’s no way, in my opinion, that he won’t be given the chance to succeed in the playoffs this year.

Is the coach failing or are the players failing? This, my friends, is the biggest conundrum with the Capitals.

Actually, this is completely irrelevant. If the players are failing, it’s the coaches fault – even if it’s really not. You simply cannot make massive roster changes mid-season. It’s on the coaching staff at this point.

In sports today, coaches seem to come and go.

Comparisons to other sports are irrelevant. The impact of coaches and systems vary from sport to sport. Football coaches probably have the most impact, followed by hockey, then basketball (whatever the hell that is) and baseball. There is almost zero evidence that baseball managers have a significant impact on their team’s performance one way or the other.

I know that a large number of people in Caps Nation have been clamoring for a switch to a more defensive style much like the one Bruce has adopted now. What I don’t understand is WHY.

Because this team doesn’t have enough offensive talent to win on offensive talent alone. The Caps shouldn’t need to trap for 2 out of every 3 periods of hockey and, for the most part, they don’t. The Caps occasionally played the trap last night, but it was when they had a lead and it was primarily limited to situations wherein Montreal had clear puck possession.

Then, we have last season’s playoffs. After fireworks in the first four games, our offense ran away and hid for the last three, scoring a total of three goals. The powerplay also ran away and hid, going something ridiculously bad like 1-60something (the exact number escapes me).

Offense tends to have hot and cold streaks. Defense (not goaltending, but defense) generally does not. Playing better defensively gives the Caps the ability to weather the inevitable cold streak.

So after playing a run-and-gun system for three seasons, playing up to or beyond our potential in two of the three, and then seriously underachieving and losing in the third because our offense couldn’t get it done in the last three games and our powerplay couldn’t get it done at all… Why in the hell did we decide we needed to play more DEFENSE?

Eight game losing streaks and generally uninspired play through the first half of the season will do that to you. Without improved defense, this team has very little chance of winning when the scoring dries up. If the Caps can kill penalties and shut other teams down 5v5, then Ovie doesn’t need to put up 3 points a game. Right now, it doesn’t look as though he’s capable of that, which means that improving the defense is the only thing the coaching staff can do to make this team win, barring going back in time and extracting 07-08 Ovie’s mojo, then bringing it back to the present.

that I have heard on this site….you are absolutely correct and I am not a CAPS fan.

BB needs to fired. This team has alot of talent and the problem is that to be honest, I dont think hes a very knowledgeable coach. Every time I read the papers it is, “Well we played a good game but we didnt get the breaks or the bounces.” How long do u want to read that before you are like, ok do u have a actual hockey IQ? Can I get an answer other than we got unlucky?

I think you also need guys like Backstrom and Semin to get pissed off…they are too soft. Find your balls…

To be honest I’d love the Caps to lose in the 1st round again…and they will unless they get rid of that fat turd or they turn the corner somehow…

Just wondering, but does that shooting luck tend to improve at a statistically interesting rate after the coaching changes?

Great job capsfansteve on assembling all these stats. That’s no small feat and your analysis is much appreciated.

Couple of things.
1. you should’ve made BB walk…he could clearly use the exercise ;)
2. Do we really play up to the talent anymore? The answer would assuredly be yes in 08/09 and 09/10. Looking only at Dec. 1 on against playoff caliber teams: Dallas-uneven play. Colorado as previously mentioned, we played horribly for 2 periods and then came back with a flurry. Wet the bed against the rangers. Same early awfulness late charge that wasn’t quite enough against Boston. Pitt, MTL, Pitt: all games I thought the team played well for the majority of the contest. 2 straight whitewashes against Tampa. Vancouver and Philly= see: Colorado, Boston. Rangers=lazy Caps. Then there was last night which started so well…and yeah… So lets see, 3-7-3 our last 13 against playoff contenders and in only 3 of those games was there not a significant stretch of the Capitals being lazy asses. Hard to make the assertion that we “play up to the opponent” of late.

Related: this is not the team that we hope to go into the playoffs with. We’re missing Alexander Semin, Eric Fehr and 2nd C coming in trade. Ovechkin and Backstrom are having career slumps.

This team is going to the playoffs and the team will re-evaluate coaching after the playoffs. I’m on board with firing Boudreau if the Caps don’t advance to the conference finals.

Be that as it may, you DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, fire a coach that has a Team headed to the playoffs, even in the WORST CASE scenario. It’s just not done. Ever. For any reason. Ever.

Lou Lamoriello, Larry Robinson and their Stanley Cup banner would beg to differ.

Lastly, even if everything goes to hell in a hand basket and we continue to suck big donkey balls at Verizon and away, 93 points is still a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. At least every year since the lockout with exception to the 2007-2008 season. So: calm. the frick. down. people.

With all objective calmness, a team with this talent level barely scraping into the playoffs with 93 points and essentially zero probability of winning the Cup ought to be considered an abject failure. Ask the Ottawa Senators or the San Jose Sharks how “just making the playoffs” feels as you realize that your window has slammed shut.

The Caps have this season to win with this team. Laich, Knuble, Brads, Gordo, Hannan, (should have been Poti and Erskine on here, sigh). . . all UFAs. Several RFAs.

Maybe Johansson and/or Perreault mature. Maybe Eakin or Kuznetsov come up and light the league afire. Maybe, maybe, maybe. This team has a window to win, and it’s not going to be open forever. Calm, outraged, somewhere in the middle – this fact is inescapable. The Young Guns won’t be young forever.

As rare as it is, Montreal did fire Carbonneau 2 years ago when they were in the playoff picture. They had gotten off to a great start that year, then had a horrible stretch in February, fired him, and the team ended up in 8th place in the Conference and were swept in 4 straight by the Bruins.

After the season, they let many of their impending free agents walk, including Kovalev and Koivu.

Otherwise Ted Nolan is out there. Andy Murray is out there.

I am on the fence as to whether to do it now or later, but have a feeling it’s coming by May any way you slice it.

normally I’d agree…but that was not exactly a prototypical losing streak. We had cameras in the locker room and we were gearing up for the winter classic. That would not have been a good time to fire a coach.

would’ve made for some good TV though.

Keep in mind it was Abe that hired George, not Ted.

Also keep in mind that Ted has kept George on the payroll for the last 11 years and that successful franchises tend to have stability in management.

Last year’s Flyers were probably not a typical 8th seed but rather a good team who was having a bad season, especially during December when they let Coach Stevens go. There was likely enough hysteria on Flyers boards then. I remember reading articles where they were talking about the fact that their team captain and other young stars were spending too much time partying; etc. and their captain should have the “C” removed. And Pronger complaining about the work ethic.

the Caps are middling in offense, but are #8 in GA and #2 on PK.

The problem with your argument is that, as unsustainable as the Caps’ bad luck on offense has been, so has been their luck in keeping the puck out of their net. Varly isn’t going to keep up a nearly .950 Sv % over the long run.

Right now, the concern is less about results and more about process. This team has had bad process for years, but got good results. Right now, both the process and the results look crappy – one only hopes that the team is going through a transition period to a better process and that eventually the results will follow.

About the “panicking” comment – I’m getting a little sick of people telling others not to panic. I don’t really hear panic in this post or the comments, mostly what I hear is valid concern and the occasional foray into resigned acceptance that this just isn’t the Caps’ year and the reasoned conclusion that changes need to be made.

The problems evinced by this team are nothing new and haven’t been dealt with in a significant way during Boudreau’s tenure. Every year that goes by without winning a Cup is one less year that the Caps have with this core of players. I know it seems like Ovie, Backstrom and Green will never get old, but believe me, they will. And it’ll happen sooner than you think. If the team knows that Boudreau isn’t the coach to lead them to the Cup, changes need to happen sooner rather than later.

Give it some time.

When the Caps got dumped by the Flyers in the first round, everyone said, “they’re young and inexperienced – give it some time.” When the Caps came out flat against the Rangers, then lost to the Pens, lots of people said, “that’s progress, they lost to a better team, give it some time.” When the Caps got upset by the Habs, folks said, “they ran into a hot goalie, give it some time and come back next year.” Give it some time. . .

And yet, every year we have the same discussions, over and over and over again. Every year, we wonder why this team can’t give anything close to consistent effort. Every year, we wonder why the Caps go away from doing the little things that help teams win games for weeks and months at a time. Every year, we wonder why the Caps seem content with spacing out for 2/3 to 3/4 of every game, only to “turn it on” when they want and come away with a close win or an OT/SO loss. Every year, we wonder why the Caps come into the playoffs flat and get caught off-balance and have to scramble to get back into a series. Every year we wonder why the Caps are seemingly outcoached in the playoffs.

a defensive system is one that will pay dividends in the long run. It’s how Montreal won the series last year. It’s how Philadelphia made it from last-minute berth to Eastern Conference Champions. It’s how so many of us complained the Caps needed to play after the Montreal series was over. Yet, as the Capitals stand in 5th place in the East, we clamor for Boudreau’s head. Please.

The defensive system Montreal employed helped, but it also helped that Halak and Cammalleri played out of their minds and that Boudreau and his players failed to adjust to the tactics Montreal was using. Philadelphia did/does not play the kind of trapping system the Caps have implemented. Neither did Chicago, or Vancouver. Nobody, at least nobody I heard, was complaining about the Caps’ lack of defense against Montreal. We complained that the Caps lost focus early in games, fell into a hole, then failed to use power play opportunities to catch up. We complained because Ovie kept doing the same move, over and over and over again – the same move that he’s been using with no success this year.

My problem with this team and Boudreau as a coach is that the only things they do with consistency are their bad habits. For three years, the Caps’ offense has gone on hiatus at various points. Every single time, pundits, fans, the team and their coaches all say, "we need to get more traffic in front and get pucks to the net. . . " and yet somehow it never seems to happen with any consistency. For three years, we’ve watched the Caps lose focus for a period and either fall into early holes or give up goals late to turn a 2-3 goal lead into a tie game.

At some point, after three years of watching the same bad habits come out time and time again, someone needs to say “enough.” The culture of the team needs to change. The lack of focus needs to be addressed. The “woe is us” attitude when anything goes awry needs to stop. The team needs to be better prepared, or they need to know that there will be consequences if they fail to implement the coaches’ plan. On bad teams, the star players do what they want. On good teams, when the star players fail to execute the plan, coaches hold them accountable. On great teams (Wings), the star players just don’t fail to execute the plan. Every time the Caps get down, every star player on this team goes into “fuck it, I’ve got this” mode and plays like an individual. It starts at the top with Ovechkin, and not a single coach does anything to stop it – far from it, they encourage it by allowing him to skate ludicrously long shifts.

How much more of this is it going to take before the management wakes up and realizes that this team doesn’t need a jolly fat uncle, they need a coach. They need a leader who will tell them, nay force them, to do what’s needed to win. Or else.

My guess is that it’s shortly after we get knocked out of the playoffs in the first or second round.

Caps have 5 dependable D, 6 if Erskine is playing well, 7 if Erskine is playing well and Poti is healthy. Green is good on both ends of the ice, Schultz is a great complement to Green, Carlson/Alzner are showing themselves to be as good a pair as Green/Schultz, Poti (when healthy) is a solid dman, Hannan is reliable but not fantastic, and Erskine can be solid.