Expectations
Tomorrow night will be the first real time that Capitals fans will get to see Bruce Boudreau's fabled "system" which won him a Calder Cup in Hershey two years ago. Boudreau has been very hush-hush about this new system, holding as many details about his system in and being as vague as possible to prevent other coaches from preparing against him (no Bill Belichick in the NHL eh?). So tomorrow night will be Boudreau's first real crack at making a stance in the NHL.
Now Capitals fans have been thrilled with the 3-2-1 start Boudreau has had (set in comparison to the 5-9-1 start) but he hasn't really had a chance to implement his system in the players. They've still been doing what former coach Glen Hanlon taught them (dump the puck, pray you get it, hit no one). Boudreau is said to have a more aggressive style, which is something Caps fans have been longing for a while. And the team has certainly been playing more aggressively and better under Boudreau than Hanlon, but there's no reason to be too optimistic.
Now, Boudreau has had some success in hockey previously to be sure. I mean he made the Calder Cup finals twice and won once in the last two years (a bit like winning the Arena Football Championship) so his resume is solid. But the problem is that Boudreau is the third consecutive coach to make his NHL head coaching debut in Washington (1 winning season in 5 years, notice the trend?). Now everyone had these same sorts of expectations when Bruce Cassidy took the reigns in Washington. And for a while we were enthralled with him as the bench-box. I mean, he was named one of DC's most handsome men (that gorgeous hair...those dreamy eyes...). But then the team started winning, Cassidy started riding the vets, and pretty soon we wanted him gone (the way his voice peakes when he insults the player's families...).
And then we had the same sorts of expectations for Glen Hanlon. I mean, after Cassidy, we were willing to take ANYONE (Randy Carlyle?). And we gave ol' Hugs a pass for a few years because we were rebuilding, we didn't have anyone on our team who could compete in the NHL (not named Alex). Finally, he answered the question that the ESPN pundits had been asking: what will he do with a team that on paper is legit? (The answer: nothing). So Hanlon was gone.
So Capitals fans before you all start nominating ol' Gabby for the Jack Adams award, remember it is early in his reign, he's getting his feet wet, and this team could regress to where they were in November. So don't raise those expectations...
Now Capitals fans have been thrilled with the 3-2-1 start Boudreau has had (set in comparison to the 5-9-1 start) but he hasn't really had a chance to implement his system in the players. They've still been doing what former coach Glen Hanlon taught them (dump the puck, pray you get it, hit no one). Boudreau is said to have a more aggressive style, which is something Caps fans have been longing for a while. And the team has certainly been playing more aggressively and better under Boudreau than Hanlon, but there's no reason to be too optimistic.
Now, Boudreau has had some success in hockey previously to be sure. I mean he made the Calder Cup finals twice and won once in the last two years (a bit like winning the Arena Football Championship) so his resume is solid. But the problem is that Boudreau is the third consecutive coach to make his NHL head coaching debut in Washington (1 winning season in 5 years, notice the trend?). Now everyone had these same sorts of expectations when Bruce Cassidy took the reigns in Washington. And for a while we were enthralled with him as the bench-box. I mean, he was named one of DC's most handsome men (that gorgeous hair...those dreamy eyes...). But then the team started winning, Cassidy started riding the vets, and pretty soon we wanted him gone (the way his voice peakes when he insults the player's families...).
And then we had the same sorts of expectations for Glen Hanlon. I mean, after Cassidy, we were willing to take ANYONE (Randy Carlyle?). And we gave ol' Hugs a pass for a few years because we were rebuilding, we didn't have anyone on our team who could compete in the NHL (not named Alex). Finally, he answered the question that the ESPN pundits had been asking: what will he do with a team that on paper is legit? (The answer: nothing). So Hanlon was gone.
So Capitals fans before you all start nominating ol' Gabby for the Jack Adams award, remember it is early in his reign, he's getting his feet wet, and this team could regress to where they were in November. So don't raise those expectations...
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