Ovechkin vs Boudreau

[mister_mcgoo]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...=pm_sports_pop

My take on it is that BB has lost his relationship with the players and it doesn't matter what he says, they aren't going to listen to him and they aren't going to play for him unless he makes it right. It doesn't matter that BB is probably right on many points, if he's lost the respect of his players (especially his elite players) then he can talk all day and all night and it won't make a bit of difference.

Its sort of like arguing with your wife/girlfriend, you can make dozens of excellent indisputable points backed up with irefutable evidence and logic but there's no way you can really 'win', its impossible

[ericdaoust]

Their style of play was never an issue, it was their execution and effort level that ended their playoff runs.

[andrewklassen]

Agreed. I've felt this for a while. I like that BB stood up and benched AO at the end of that one game where he was playing poorly. I think that's the kind of accountability that's needed. Like you say, however, the kicker is the lack of players response to him. When what's being said is falling on deaf ears you can't get rid of all the players.

It would be really interested to see Bylsma coach WAS [I know it'll never happen]. It's so clear that he knows how to coach young, star players in two-way hockey without stifling their offensive creativity. Then we'd really know how much of the problem is coaching and how much of the problem is in WAS dressing room.

Here's to hoping for a change...this team and star players used to be fun to watch.

[mister_mcgoo]

Agreed. I've felt this for a while. I like that BB stood up and benched AO at the end of that one game where he was playing poorly. I think that's the kind of accountability that's needed. Like you say, however, the kicker is the lack of players response to him. When what's being said is falling on deaf ears you can't get rid of all the players.

It would be really interested to see Bylsma coach WAS [I know it'll never happen]. It's so clear that he knows how to coach young, star players in two-way hockey without stifling their offensive creativity. Then we'd really know how much of the problem is coaching and how much of the problem is in WAS dressing room.

Here's to hoping for a change...this team and star players used to be fun to watch.

yeah I agree, on the one hand I hate to see players acting like prima donnas and disrespecting the coach, that should never happen. But coaches need to realize that they're not above the law and they're not the ones actually out there on the ice...they have to be sensitive to what their players need from them. And that 'my way or the highway' style of coaching only goes so far unless you're an icon like Scotty Bowman or something like that. The job of the coach should always be firstly to get the most possible out of what he's given and second to work on improving the game of all players. Ovie is never going to be a defensively responsible winger, its not his game. So with a guy like that you do your best to work on the little things to make him a more complete player bit by bit but you don't stiffle that awesome scoring talent by trying to fit him into some bullshit mold that you think all players have to fit into. So what if he has defensive lapses? pair him with a RW who is strong 2-way to counteract it a bit, and task that RW with helping Ovie improve his 2-way play

[shortcuttomoncton]

I'm shocked that the current corps is still together. McPhee clearly trusts this personnel a lot more than I would. One or all of Semin, Green or Boudreau would have been out the door if I was holding the axe.

[ovi42]

yeah I agree, on the one hand I hate to see players acting like prima donnas and disrespecting the coach, that should never happen. But coaches need to realize that they're not above the law and they're not the ones actually out there on the ice...they have to be sensitive to what their players need from them. And that 'my way or the highway' style of coaching only goes so far unless you're an icon like Scotty Bowman or something like that. The job of the coach should always be firstly to get the most possible out of what he's given and second to work on improving the game of all players. Ovie is never going to be a defensively responsible winger, its not his game. So with a guy like that you do your best to work on the little things to make him a more complete player bit by bit but you don't stiffle that awesome scoring talent by trying to fit him into some bullshit mold that you think all players have to fit into. So what if he has defensive lapses? pair him with a RW who is strong 2-way to counteract it a bit, and task that RW with helping Ovie improve his 2-way play

I think you make a good point here; I'd like to see Ovi spend some time with Laich and see how that plays out...

[fungchen3]

The problem I have with the Caps incorporates the coaching staff and management more than the personnel on the ice - after all, management is responsible for assembling the right personnel. IMO, the reason the Caps don't have their name on the Cup yet comes down to a couple of things, but the main one is: McPhee's refusal to part with Alzner in a deal to land Pronger a few years ago.

The Caps were built to be a high-octane, firewagon offensive team. They are loaded with gifted stallions who need to run free in order to be successful. The minute you start putting restraints on guys like Ovechkin, Green, Semin and Backstrom is the day their production drops, team chemistry takes and hit, and the overall morale among players dries up.

Instead of adding proven winners and leaders on defense (like Pronger), the Caps overcompensated by issuing a "defensive scheme" edict that held players accountable if they didn't put defense before offense. What we saw was a team who dominated during the regular season and fell flat in the post season (even with their newfound team Defense). In the process, the high-octane offense dipped to all-time lows and players and fans were equally frustrated. The Caps went from being one of the most exciting teams in the league to being a conservative team who still wasn't able to get it done in the playoffs - all the while, I thought they were going to pull a "Rocky Balboa" and "switch back to SouthPaw" in the playoffs so their opponent was caught off guard...nope.

I also think that 24/7 HBO series was the worst thing that could have happened to BB. The whole world got a peek-behind-the-curtain at what type of D-Bag he is. I mean, really. I have plenty of respect for authority figures, but BB comes off as a major clown - I could see how players would be tuning him out after a while.

[blayze]

The Franchise Player wins this battle 10 times out of 10. Just look at Vinny and Melrose in Tampa.

Boudreau's days are numbered. Good riddance too, I respect him as a coach, but he just couldn't evolve the team's game... I don't think there's must substance behind his passion and after 24/7 I have to say I didn't like him much as a person.

[mister_mcgoo]

The Franchise Player wins this battle 10 times out of 10. Just look at Vinny and Melrose in Tampa.

Boudreau's days are numbered. Good riddance too, I respect him as a coach, but he just couldn't evolve the team's game... I don't think there's must substance behind his passion and after 24/7 I have to say I didn't like him much as a person.

yeah what it comes down to is that coaches can't act like they are bigger than the game or the team because at the end of the day they're just coaching, its the players who are out there competing. We saw this with Patrick Roy years ago...you had one of the best goalies ever to play the game, playing for the most storied franchise in hockey and that ******* Tremblay went and ****ed it all up. Everyone has an ego, sometimes they need someone to help em keep it in check and I suspect that hasnt happened for BB in quite some time

[blayze]

Boudreau with another bone-headed move benching Semin last night. That's only going to rally the players against him since Ovie and Semin are practically joined at the hip.

Boudreau needs to drop this master of the universe complex... he's digging a deeper hole.

[MT319]

Boudreau with another bone-headed move benching Semin last night. That's only going to rally the players against him since Ovie and Semin are practically joined at the hip.

Boudreau needs to drop this master of the universe complex... he's digging a deeper hole.

Isn't Semin practically joined to most everyone that posts in here's hip

[blayze]

Isn't Semin practically joined to most everyone that posts in here's hip

I personally can't stand Semin as a player. I think he's got some sick talent and magic hands, but he's too much like Kovalev to me... turns it up a notch once in a while when he feels like it, but the rest of the time he's just coasting.

I also hate the fact that he only seems to step it up when Ovie steps it up.

Finally I wanted to conclude this summary of Semin on this note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I01Ncx4VSno

[ericdaoust]

I personally can't stand Semin as a player. I think he's got some sick talent and magic hands, but he's too much like Kovalev to me... turns it up a notch once in a while when he feels like it, but the rest of the time he's just coasting.

I also hate the fact that he only seems to step it up when Ovie steps it up.

Finally I wanted to conclude this summary of Semin on this note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I01Ncx4VSno

Just like in other categories, ugly (or awesome?) fights earn the same amount of points for poolies.

[MT319]

I personally can't stand Semin as a player. I think he's got some sick talent and magic hands, but he's too much like Kovalev to me... turns it up a notch once in a while when he feels like it, but the rest of the time he's just coasting.

I also hate the fact that he only seems to step it up when Ovie steps it up.

Finally I wanted to conclude this summary of Semin on this note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I01Ncx4VSno

Yep, too bad Chicken Fights isn't a scoring category otherwise guy would be pure gold.

[Fighting_Emu]

Isn't Semin practically joined to most everyone that posts in here's hip

This seems like trolling.

Off topic? Check.

Needlessly rude/adversarial? Check.

Unsubstanitated? Double check.

Im not even going around looking for "empty" posts either. This was just a thread I am interested in and had subscribed to and when I saw the last post I knew without a shadow of a doubt the topic was being rail-roaded and that there was no way there was any insight/opinion on the AO vs Boudreau standoff.