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Caps Fire Bruce Boudreau

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Their drubbing by the Sabres made me certain that this was coming. But Dale Hunter? Really? It seems Leonsis is allowing nostalgia to cloud his judgment. I guess he has grit?

Well, his junior coaching record is pretty impressive 431-184-17-30 (.687 win%). Not sure how that might translate to the pro level though.

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This is probably the moment where Boudreau essentially lost his job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbmRKVJWEB8

For those who don't know the story:

That shift in philosophy was never more evident than against Anaheim on Nov. 1, when Boudreau kept Ovechkin on the bench late in the game when the coach pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker. Instead, Boudreau chose to go with, among others, Jason Chimera, Joel Ward and Laich, the Caps' best line that evening. The Caps tied the game, and Ovechkin was on the bench when overtime started, although he did provide the principal assist on Backstrom's overtime winner.

Television cameras showed a ticked-off Ovechkin seething in the final moments of regulation and using a derogatory term against Boudreau. Was that moment Boudreau lost the franchise player? If so, it speaks volumes about Ovechkin's character.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/12488/with-boudreau-out-how-will-ovechkin-respond

Edited by haroldsnepsts

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I apologize if I'm kinda behind on this, but what was Boudreau's locker room speech on 24/7? What was so bad/controversial about it? Also, Ovechkin comes off as a little kid that pitches a s*** fit if he doesn't get his every wish. He's got unbelievable skill, but he seems like a little whiny prick.

I know the star player always wins these kind of battles, but I don't place the blame completely on Bruce. Sure, you've got to demand respect and earn the respect of your team, but when there are dickheads like Ovechkin and Semin who float around and play hard when they feel like it, its got to be difficult.

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Honestly I think that's the less offensive possibility of what he called Boudreau.

Hard to tell from the clip, but I think it's either that, or he called him an f-ing british cigarette. Not sure though.

I second this. That was my assumption.

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I apologize if I'm kinda behind on this, but what was Boudreau's locker room speech on 24/7? What was so bad/controversial about it? Also, Ovechkin comes off as a little kid that pitches a s*** fit if he doesn't get his every wish. He's got unbelievable skill, but he seems like a little whiny prick.

I know the star player always wins these kind of battles, but I don't place the blame completely on Bruce. Sure, you've got to demand respect and earn the respect of your team, but when there are dickheads like Ovechkin and Semin who float around and play hard when they feel like it, its got to be difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXkGJtY4A4E

At the 45-49 second mark I just feel sorry for him. Worst time to stutter IMO and the rest of the speech didn't seem like it had a lot of emotion behind it. He should've used his own advice by not thinking he wants to be a coach but actually be a coach. If all you have to do is use the f bomb a few times I think even I can become a NHL coach.

At 3:37 that's rage. Short, emotional, and by being short has more weight to it than sitting there for a minute while someone yells at you sounding like a scared child themselves.

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That clip of Ovie getting "benched" show so blatantly that he has no respect for Bodreau. I doubt it was only Ovie that had a lack of respect for him.

As a coach you gotta make it 100% clear from day 1 that you're in a charge and that you treat all players equal. Bodreau seemed to think that he could be buddies with the players and let them do whatever they wanted as long as they won, only to think that yelling 'f***' over and over would make them respond if they were playing bad. When he finally got the balls to sit Ovie in a key moment, even if it was the right decision, it was too late.

I can't imagine Ovie acting like that against Babcock or Scotty Bowman. Dale Hunter will probably enter the locker room in Washington with a lot of free respect just from having a history as a very good player. But he has to keep it. Will be a tough task with primadonnas like Semin, Green and Ovie.

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Not to mention this embarrassment.

ept_sports_nhl_experts-315449138-1294597192.jpg?ymIB5XEDjE12byXy

I don't get this one?

At 3:37 that's rage. Short, emotional, and by being short has more weight to it than sitting there for a minute while someone yells at you sounding like a scared child themselves.

Was Hull yelling at the whole room including himself or a particular individual?

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You know, I honestly thought that Columbus would fire their coach long before now. They are giving him a lot of rope before he hangs himself, that's for sure. Then again, considering what he's got to work with and where he is, maybe I should not be surprised that he hasn't been given his walking papers.

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Guest Crymson

You know, I honestly thought that Columbus would fire their coach long before now. They are giving him a lot of rope before he hangs himself, that's for sure. Then again, considering what he's got to work with and where he is, maybe I should not be surprised that he hasn't been given his walking papers.

Nash is probably the person most responsible for the team's lack of success.

Edit: Mason, not Nash. Oops.

Edited by Crymson

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Guest Crymson

Does that mean that Ovechkin is the person most responsible for Washington's lack of success?

No, because he's not the goalie. If a team's goalie is letting in far too many goals, that team can't win. The the goalie is the one stopping all the pucks; no player on a team is scoring all the goals. Other players will still be scoring.

Edit: Whoops. I just realized that I wrote Nash instead of Mason.

Edited by Crymson

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