It’s pretty simple, cheer for the team to do well but don’t go to crazy, win or lose. If the Caps get shutout by the Bruins (a very good hockey team that is playing very well) the reaction should be something like, “oh well, they’ll get ‘em next time. The Caps did beat them a couple of times already this season.” On the other side, it’s important to celebrate wins like shutting out a division rival to take over first place in the division and a playoffs spot. However, don’t get to high on those wins. There’s always another two points to go after.

Basically, resign yourself as a fan to the fact that this Caps team is good enough to win but that they’re probably above average, at best. They can probably make the playoffs this season and might be a dangerous club considering the road they need to travel to secure a spot. However, in the current Eastern Conference standings, they are as likely to just miss the playoffs this season.

So, cheer for the Caps. Celebrate the hits, saves, goals, and wins. Feel bad about the injuries, bad bounces, and losses. But for your own sanity, relax. It’s just part of being a Caps fan.

If the Capitals continue to struggle, have another bad month, or suffer another disappointing Stanley Cup Playoffs, then what?

A month ago, I asked that rhetorical question after the firing of Bruce Boudreau and hiring of the current Caps head coach, Dale Hunter. Here we are, a month later and the Washington Capitals have gone 5-6-1 under Hunter’s guidance. Prior to Boudreau’s firing, the Caps started the season with a perfect 7-0-0 run, only to fall apart and go 5-9-1 until Gabby’s departure. Clearly, the roster has not responded to the coaching change (or it has and the situation is much worse than we could ever imagine). After two bad months, it’s time for more changes to right the ship in Washington. What to change though?

I don't envy this guy. (photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images North America)

Clearly, another coaching staff shake up would probably cause more harm than good. So, some sort of roster change is the most likely the next step. Dale Hunter could shuffle the lines a bit. He could reunite Mike Knuble with the first line duo of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Hunter could control minutes and scratch under-performing players. However, these were all things that Bruce Boudreau tried before he was canned. Perhaps, the recognized, player leadership should be looked at.

I suggested just over a week before Boudreau was let go, that the Washington Capitals should take a look at a possible team captain change. Alexander Ovechkin is probably the most popular hockey player ever in the DC area. His energy sparked the growth of interest in the sport over the last 5 or 6 years. However, that growth will stagnate if the team doesn’t start winning again. I also suggested that the Capitals have not performed as well after Ovi was named captain of the team, as they did before the “C” was sewn on the Great 8′s sweater. There has been a long-term trend of inconsistent, uninspired hockey since the end of the 2009-2010 season. It might be time for the Caps organization to recognize players who consistently play motivated hockey, with and without the puck, as the leaders of the team. The problem is the potential reaction from Ovechkin should the captaincy be taken away. He was touted as an NHL superstar since joining the league. Guys like that don’t take kindly to titles being taken away from them. Ovi could become the proverbial “locker room cancer”. As I also suggested back in November, whatever team identity and chemistry is in the room could be shattered by a disgruntled Alex Ovechkin. Considering the coaching change didn’t motivate the team, changing captains probably wouldn’t motivate the lineup anyway.

The coaching staff and general manager George McPhee need to find the right buttons to push for the roster to promote motivated hockey. Drastic measures like trades and waivers is the next logical step. I have always advocated shopping clumsy defenseman Jeff Schultz and uninspired winger Alex Semin on the NHL trade market. Unfortunately, with the way both have played or not played as healthy scratches, they don’t have much value. Maybe the rest of the club would take notice if one of them was waived. A drastic measure but it could send the message that the only players Dale Hunter and George McPhee want on their roster are players that contribute.

The Washington Capitals continue to play unmotivated and uninspired hockey. The Stanley Cup can no longer be seriously considered the goal for this season. It is very difficult to recover from two bad months in the NHL so, the goal now is just making the playoffs. In order to do that, the Caps players have to find a way to play better. It’s really up to them. Just like it was a month ago.

It's time for Alex to be Ovi again. (photo credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images North America)

Happy December to all. With all the holiday joy floating around many Caps fans just want one early Christmas present. Dale Hunter’s first win as bench boss. Many are hoping it will be against the arch nemesis, Pittsburgh Penguins. After a good start against a red-hot Blues team and a few more hours of practice both on and off the ice the Capitals seem more acclimated to the new coach.

The Penguins have had a stellar start to the season. They now sit atop the Eastern Conference table but have very little breathing room. The Penguins have gotten a boost lately. The much-anticipated return of Captain Sidney Crosby has been everything they had hoped for. In the five games since his return he has 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists). He also has a plus 7 rating and 8 PIMs. Nothing really brings out the best in top world talent like a showdown with the best. Hopefully, the Caps come in mentally prepared cause the best in the world will be on the ice this evening.

Match Up: While much fan fare has been given to the Pens Captain Crosby lately there is a stable of talented scorers behind him. James Neal, Evgeni Malkin and Pascal Dupuis all come in with 20 or more points. Then Pens also boast 6 other players having 10 or more points early on the season. In net the Penguins haven’t had a whiff of controversy. Marc André Fleury has been outstanding in-goal this season. He is off to one of his better starts having won 13 games and putting up a .922 save percentage to go along with a goals against average of 2.17. The Pens are  an offensive team but are a Scrooge when it comes to goals against. For the season they have the fourth least goals against in the Eastern Conference.

X Factor: This is one of the first big tests early in the Dale Hunter era. Not only is the monkey on his back because he is win less thus far but c’mon it’s Pittsburgh! It’s Sidney Crosby versus Ovi. This game really doesn’t need much build up. There will be a massive fire in both locker rooms. You know #87 will bring his best. It’s time for #8 to bring his. This season really hasn’t been Ovechkin’s year. He was to have a big turn around after a year that wasn’t to his liking. Look for Alex Ovechkin to really turn it on tonight.

The Caps should respond positively to the coaching change. (photo credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The start of a new era. Not a new arena or a group of players. It’s the start of the Dale Hunter era in the Capitals organization. The Caps appeared to have tuned out Bruce Boudreau. Coaches are generally the first to go. After that, players start to get moved if improvements aren’t made. Then, there is typically a house cleaning of sorts. Talk was heard this summer about making major moves to add to this team that didn’t show the effort in the post season. Those moves came in the form of signing key free agents. Despite the  early jump the Capitals got off to changes still had to be made. It just shows that the NHL is a performance based game. Teams either show a downfall after a coach gets relieved of his bench duties or experience a massive lift.

Perhaps the Caps will experience the latter and get the boost the Penguins did in 2009 with their march to the Cup after Dan Bylsma replaced Michael Therrien. The first test for the Caps will be a team in a similar situation only a few steps ahead. The St Louis Blues visit the Verizon Center and boast a 7-1-2 record in their last ten games thanks to the return of coach Ken Hitchcock to the NHL. This isn’t the same Blues team that many saw early on and will be a good test for the Caps. Coaching performances have always been based on the performances of their players. The Caps haven’t been performing up to the level expected out of them.

Match Up: The Blues made a massive turn around in a short amount of time. The record in the last ten games speaks volumes to the message being passed around by Ken Hitchcock. The Blues have played a more strict defensive style but have still been able to bring a physically punishing, offensive element to their game. Only four players on the Blues have a negative rating on the season as they are held more accountable in their own zone. In the net, Brian Elliot has really turned in a great year in the early absence of Jaro Halak. Halak struggled as did all the Blues early on. When Hitchcock took over he attempted to play Halak more but quickly turned to Elliot. On the season, Elliot has 10 wins in 11 starts, a save percentage of .951 and a sparkling goals against average of 1.31. Scoring is improving as David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Alex Steen all have 15 or more points for the season.

X Factor: This will be the first game in the post Bruce era for the Caps. As I said, Coaches are judged by the performance of their players. The Capitals have been playing lazy hockey up to this point. Relying on natural talent and skill only gets a team so far. At some points in the season the players were putting in minimal effort which gets you minimal results. The leaders on this Caps club have to be held accountable now for their actions. Pieces are in place for them to succeed, it’s just a matter of them actually lacing up the skates and doing so. Here’s to hoping the Caps have a massive push tonight against the Blues. The whole Capitals team must come out with a massive fire to regain their early season success.

Everyone is aware of the poor performance of the Caps under Boudreau the last few weeks that likely led to general manager George McPhee deciding to make the change. What has Dale Hunter been up to?

Dale Hunter's number was retired by the Caps in 2000. (photo credit: bluelinestation.com)

Since retiring from the NHL with 1,020 points and 3,565 PIMs in 1,407 games, Dale Hunter became the co-owner, president, and head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s, London Knights. Under Hunter’s leadership, the Knights won the 2005 Memorial Cup. Coach Dale Hunter worked with Rick Nash, Corey Perry (a member of that 2005 Memorial Cup team), Patrick Kane, John Carlson, John Tavares, and Nazem Kadri during their OHL careers. All of those guys were first round draft picks. It could be said that Dale Hunter knows how to work with the current generation of young, NHL talent.

Personally, Dale Hunter was one of my hockey heroes growing up. I watched him lead the Capitals through so many battles. I watched Hunter lead the Caps to their only Cup Finals appearance. Despite his reputation as a fierce competitor that sometimes stepped well beyond the line, I primarily remember Dale Hunter as the hardest working Capitals skater when he was on the ice. Coaches tend to guide their team’s in a direction similar to how they played the game. I am expecting Coach Dale Hunter to bring a sense of player accountability. I expect to see increased work ethic every shift, period, and game. Hopefully, the players get the message.

That’s really the big question. Will a new voice from Hunter be heard by a core group of players who have tuned out their coach for so long? Obviously, we won’t know until we see the on-ice product.

The message from George McPhee is quite clear. He believes that the pieces are in place to win and that the problem was coaching. If the Capitals continue to struggle, have another bad month, or suffer another disappointing Stanley Cup Playoffs, then what?

The Caps celebrate a goal against Jonas Hiller of the Anaheim Ducks on 11/1/2011 (All Photos Credit: M. Richter)

The Caps have been busy this fall.  They’ve recorded the best start-of-season win streak in franchise history, they’ve lapsed into a slump that has had local voices questioning Boudreau’s fitness as coach, and they’ve reached the four goal “50% off at Papa John’s” threshold five out of nine possible times since the start of the season.

Off the ice, things have been just as active.  Some of the more notable items have included:

• The team has continued their Hockey School program, with four school visits already on the books this year reflecting involvement from a half-dozen different players (including the Great 8 himself).
• The semi-annual Inova Blood Drive, known among Caps fans for the limited edition Bobble-Heads which are given to participants, set a record this fall with 685 units of blood collected.
• The wives and girlfriends of team members have been active in the Love For Lokomotiv project, with over $7000 in bracelet sales reported.
• Movember is alive and well in Washington (Karl Alzner has already received a mention in Puck Daddy for his ‘stache).

John Carlson helps prepare bags of donated food at the Capital Area Food Bank on Tuesday.

Most recently, the Caps have launched their annual Courage Caps campaign, and John Carlson was celebrating the Monday night win over the Phoenix Coyotes by donating his time and notoriety to an afternoon of bagging and sorting donated goods at the Capital Area Food Bank.

Carlson is one of just four US-born players on the Caps, and only three of those are now on the active roster (Tom Poti is #4, and while we wish him all the best, it’s unlikely he’ll be coming off the injured reserve any time soon).  It’s fitting, therefore, that he’s the poster boy for this year’s Thanksgiving food drive – he actually grew up celebrating American Thanksgiving.

Aside from the volunteer effort that took place Tuesday afternoon, the Caps will also be conducting a food drive at this evening’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.  The first two thousand fans to give dry goods, non-perishable goods, or a monetary contribution at Verizon Center’s F Street entrance will receive a John Carlson poster and a ration of good karma.

Things started off so great, so much so that I didn’t want to jump the gun and develop an opinion based on just that atypical start. That is not supposed to take anything away from their historic start, just not a good baseline to go from. It was great to see them come out of the gate so well, but that measuring stick isn’t the standard to measure by. Now, on a 4 game loss streak, it is not the time to develop an opinion. A lot of people undoubtedly will. The time to develop an opinion wasn’t their season starting streak, and now this current streak isn’t the time to either. But given that the Capitals are so streaky, it’s a source for discussion. I will try to extract commentary on the entire coaching and leadership aspect of Washington’s current dilemma. I leave that, as always, to the more knowledgeable writers on this site and elsewhere. So, I thought we’d take a look at the goaltending, and how it plays it part in the current situation and how the current situation affects goaltending.

To take a look at the current, we have to first take a look at the start of the season, or rather this summer’s off-season, as these big changes in net started there.

Vokoun is #1 in DC. (photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

So that obviously means, the topic of Vokoun’s July signing. People began to talk, weighing in with their opinions. Most of them fell into a few categories. Those who are Caps fans, but were in love with Varlamov and were hesitant that Vokoun could equal his skill. Those who are fans of the Caps, thought it was great addition, hands down. Those who are not Caps fans thought he is over-rated and won’t do well. Homers are kinda predictable in that regard.

It was my opinion, and I still support, that he will do well. I based that on a simple premise: Vokoun, in Florida, never had as much overall talent playing in front of him as he does in Washington. Panthers goalies could be said to be the one’s responsible for propping up that franchise. Strong goaltending has been fairly common in Florida. The ‘Beezer, Luongo (pre prima donna era), Eddie Belfour was there for a short stint, and of course Vokoun was no slouch there either.

Counter-point to that, is that Capitals, never had as much talent playing in net behind them, in a current or past era.

Olaf Kolzig was a great franchise goalie, but I think Vokoun’s got the over-all edge when compared heads up to one another. Not sure who else you could bring to the table to make the case of great goaltenders in Washington.

When I think of great goal-tending pedigree, the Capitals do not come to mind. Places like Montreal and New York immediately do- even a casual fan may be able to name at least a great goalie or two from those teams. But in Washington- not so much. Sure, some good ones and some not so good ones. As far as some of my favorite goalies to have played in Washington: Beaupre, Malarchuk, Liut (real smart move there, Whalers) and Theodore top my list.

But moving on to the current, how is that signing working out for the Caps? In a surprise move to start the season, Vokoun sat. The nod going to Neuvirth. Interesting move. Spend the cash on a stud and he sits. As far as speculative opinion on it: It seems to me, the intent of having Michal Neuvirth start the first game of the season was to send a message. One could assume it was directed to Tomas Vokoun. As if to say, nothing is a given, and nothing should be taken for granted. Perhaps Vokoun had a lazy preseason. A dull sheen on an arrogant presumption, that he’d walk into Washington being the starter, with not much effort needed. I have no details, nor inside information to confirm or deny my hypothesis. However, for whatever Boudreau’s reasons were, they were right and justified. Given the start they got off to, it was the right way to go.

With part of the season gone, as I am writing this, the Caps just lost their fourth game in a row, the last one to Toronto, 7-1. While Gustavsson was beastly, stopping 40 of 41 shots for the Leafs, this loss reveals much about the current situation in Washington. They are the Caps, and lost to Toronto Maple Leafs by a solid margin. A good part of Toronto’s current lineup are call ups due to injuries. Which brings the Caps current season record to 10-7-1. Vokoun’s current personal record is at 8-4-0.

I think it’s a bit premature to hit the panic button or judge hastily at this point. I think Vokoun is the clear starter, and by nature of the game and position, he obviously sooner or later is going to have a bad outing, which I think could be said he had in this Toronto game, getting the yank after 2 periods. It happens, goalies have bad games, or just a series of bad or lucky breaks which of course lead to goals. I still support what I believe about Vokoun. I don’t think the current standings, with Florida ironically leading the division, and the Capitals current slide, last season long. My goaltending concerns for the Capitals, is the order of the rest of the stable, behind Vokoun.

What immediately springs to mind is: I’m not sold on Neuvirth belonging at the NHL level, in the role of back-up on a full-time basis. It’s like he’s being put there as if the Capitals have no other goaltending options. I understand what he did in Hershey. But honestly, couldn’t that simply be attributed to timing? I certainly think the Bears would’ve won Calder Cups with Holtby in net. That said, and you could even extract his stellar call-up run from last year from this equation, I think hands-down Holtby is the better goaltender of the two. And again, this is a pretty ill time to share some of these opinions, given Holtby’s recent performance in Hershey. He’s at a sub .900 save percentage. And while I don’t feel he is of full-time starter talent level yet, Holtby is up to at least the task that Neuvirth is. Why not rotate Holtby, Sabourin and Neuvirth in the back up role in Washington, exposing them to NHL level of talent, or even showcase each talent for late-season trade bait? Sabourin, the journeyman, has had top-level exposure of course, so he’s seen action already, and is certainly up to task in the rotational back-up role scenario. I understand jockeying goaltenders like this proposed situation would be disrupted by the nature of how a season can go, due to injury in the levels above and below the AHL, but if all are healthy and available, why not? There is also good depth level in Washington even below these listed here. Grubauer and Brandon Anderson both show good talent and prospect.

As far as recent goaltenders past, and to the group that may have doubted Vokoun equaling Seymon Varlamov, who was going to take his toys and go home to Russia, re-canted and wound up in Colorado, here is something to digest: .910 save % and 2.61 GAA for Vokoun in comparison to .890 save % and 3.30 GAA for Varlamov and a record of 5-8-1. Seymon’s numbers aren’t all that far removed from Neuvirth’s back up numbers now. Keep in mind, these numbers constantly change, but it illustrates my point fairly well. Don’t pine for Varlamov. He’s streaky, unreliable and injury prone. Goaltending in the NHL has reached a point where a super-star goaltender is becoming more rare, and with that the franchise netminder. The talent level has come to a level that almost all starters run similar numbers. They become interchangeable, and the team atmosphere and of course defense starts to define results. This is not to cast a negative light, it is becoming a reality that should be recognized. There is an absolute glut of plain solid goaltending. Which is why we see a lot of good goalies staying for a short time and move on to other teams, as they are replaced with someone of equal talent for perhaps less money. Long term big money goalie contracts are rare for a reason, as they can leave a team feeling burnt if the goalie gets in a slump or injury prone. Contracts of these sorts would include Rick Depietro, Luongo flirts with it, and Bryzgalov will fight his entire time in Philly to disprove it. These kind of atmospheres don’t leave a lot of room for disappointment or “working things out”. The NHL is a business. A cut-throat one at that. If goalies aren’t getting the job done, the management will find another that will, be it on another team, or pulled from the lower ranks.

This relates to Vokoun because, he is good enough to make a run for the Cup as much as any other top 15 goalie. And while now that sounds like crazy talk, mentioning the Grail, I think he has the required skill set to execute the ever important big save and game. His age and experience allows him to be calm in the toughest of situations, an important skill for an NHL goaltender. I think his addition was a necessary key for a Cup run. I guess we all can safely say that anything short of a deep play-off run by this team will be a huge disappointment. So this current slide they are on needs to end for all of their sakes.

With the talent level on this team, you could take these players and put them on another squad, and most would talk about how scary they are. ow tough they will be come play-off time. The problem is what it’s always been: they are the Caps. Can they come through in crunch time? Can they give up on each of their own problems and quirks and play as a team? Other teams know what we know, and that the Capitals are soft and weak in the play-offs. That may sting, but it’s true. Vokoun can certainly help them, however he isn’t the only answer to their problems. They need to gut check and get some of those players who take the Stanley Cup with nonchalance, to get on board, or bench them until they take being in the show and playing for its greatest prize seriously. There have been strides to change things, dating back to last season. It started to take hold last season, but things seem to ebb and flow with some of the players on the roster. Like a kid that refuses to learn their lesson. An example would be Ovechkin. When he’d lend himself up to the overall game plan, while his offensive numbers dropped, the team did well, and things went smoothly. As for a recent comparison, I can remember a certain number 8 being benched at a key moment late in a game earlier this season. Remembering that he did the same with Vokoun to start the season, I think Bruce Boudreau and the coaching staff in Washington is full aware of this stigma and label the team wears, and has been working to change that.

There’s still plenty of season until the time arrives to seriously talk about play-offs. Where their netminders are concerned though, unless Vokoun goes down or soils the sheets as it were, goaltending shouldn’t be a focus of attention. If Vokoun does go down with an injury or on a huge losing streak, then there would be cause for alarm. If something should happen, I think they need to seriously look at bringing Holtby up. Of course, and while there may seem to be contradiction in this statement: I do not have much confidence in any of the games at the moment, as justified by their recent numbers. But I’m looking at it as being isolated, and that they will solidify things and get out of their collective slump. Point being, Vokoun is solid but will experience some bad games as any goaltender can. But his talent and game allows him to recover from these and keep up his own status quo and stay on par with the rest of the league.

I guess that’s always an issue with people analyzing teams performances. We all have opinions of course and our own preferences color them. Given that I am a goalie (one of questionable and creditable skill however) I of course am not quick to blame goaltending for teams woes. However, not so much to the point I would ignore blatant and obvious things. There needs to be an eye always on the situation in nets, always. But for now, can anyone honestly say that every man on that roster is skating and playing to his expected and best level? There isn’t a one that can be absolved of any responsibility in the losses.

The next game, tonight, is against a Phoenix team with a goaltender whose found new life in his game, Mike Smith. After that, it’s another game against Winnipeg and then a good Rangers team. Should the Caps lose these games, it might be time to retract all bets and start the hysterics. If anything they will need to take a look at some big changes, whatever and wherever they may be.

An older picture of Boudreau and Ovi looking sort of confused. (photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images North America)

I had this whole rant drafted Friday about everyone overreacting, being irrationally pessimistic, and how they did not know what they were talking about when trying to “fix” the Caps via online media outlets. Then, I watched the Capitals get pumped by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-1 tonight. It was only tonight that I really started to think that major changes could be coming to the Caps. There are many highs and lows in an 82 game NHL season. Sometimes making the right change or not making the wrong change can alter the course of a team’s fortune for the season. What can the Washington Capitals do at this point in the season to get back on track?

The easiest and probably most popular in social media is firing head coach Bruce Boudreau. It’s always easier to get rid of coaches and not players. Their contracts usually don’t carry the same monetary guarantees. None of us really know if making a coaching change would help or hurt the Caps at this point. Given the team’s performance during the month of November and the expectations for the Capitals, it wouldn’t be surprising if Boudreau was let go. A change behind the bench could help motivate the players. A different voice might be listened to differently. However, what if Bruce Boudreau isn’t the problem?

Player leadership needs should be looked at as well. Call it coincidence with some of the supplemental disciplinary things that were happening at the time with Alex Ovechkin but I truly believe he has not been the same player since the “C” was sewn on his sweater. In fact, I don’t believe the team has played at the same, highly motivated level since Ovechkin was named the captain in January 2010. They were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in a heartbreaking 7 game first round series. Then, the Caps struggle through the middle of the 2010-2011 season. We all know how the Caps made it to the second round in the 2011 playoffs only to get swept by the Lightning. The expectation was that the Capitals would progress as Ovechkin matured into the leader of the franchise. It hasn’t happened. If another player is named captain, then what?

It could cause more problems than it’s worth. Say they give the “C” to Brooks Laich (my own personal choice). Does Ovechkin shutdown? Does it cause a rift in the room between Ovi’s buddies like Semin and Backstrom, with the rest of the guys? Whatever chemistry is in the room after having such a terrible November for this club so far, is probably not worth risking. Even if you do put the captaincy on someone else’s shoulder, it wouldn’t mean that the entire roster would suddenly come to life and play full, sixty minute games.

That’s the problem now. To a man, the Washington Capitals are not playing motivated hockey. They are just going through the motions when they lose. Since motivation comes from within, the entire lineup has to want to win. Each Caps player given a sweater on any given night has to commit to winning. Can a leadership change in coaches or players help shock everyone into that? Sometimes. Ultimately though, it’s really up to the individuals.

USA Warriors Ice Hockey

As we head into the Veteran’s Day weekend, I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to the Charity Hockey Classic at the The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD this Sunday, at 3:30pm. The University of Maryland hockey club is hosting the event when they take on the Naval Academy. The event will benefit the USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program.

From the Terps website:

Partnering up with  DC 101′s Elliot Siegel and Montgomery Hockey, the game aims to raise a generous donation to give to the USA Warrior program. All proceeds will be donated after the event.

Features include:
- Appearance by  Elliot Siegel
- Tee-shirts for the first 500 fans with donation at the gate
- Raffle prizes including signed NHL gear, gift cards, and more
- Silent auction including several great items
- Special edition Military themed jerseys to be worn by Maryland during the game and used as a part of the silent auction

Check out our Facebook page for the event here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180222378730060

USA Warriors provides a progressive hockey program for our country’s wounded warriors. It’s a great USA Hockey initiative that raises awareness of disabled hockey and of the sacrifices our service men and women make in defense of our country.

I’ll be heading out to the event. If you can, I suggest you do too.

None tougher.

D.J. King going toe-to-toe with Jody Shelley (photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

I sit down after dinner last night and turn on the Islanders and Bruins game. I’m not really paying attention to the game, focusing more on social networks on the iPad. I hear someone take a slap shot and immediately hear the crack-thud of a puck striking a player’s visor, smashing it back into his face. I look up at the screen to see Daniel Paille rolling towards the Bruins’ bench, blood gushing from his face. The crack announce team placed to cover the game by Versus was Dave Strader, Pierre McGuire, and Mike Milbury. Pierre mentions that the visor probably saved Paille from a worse injury than he sustained and basically, prods Mike Milbury, to get into the “visors or no visors” argument again. Instead of focusing on whether a human being, having just been struck in the face by a solid object traveling in excess of 80 miles per hour, was OK; Milbury thought it was a good idea to continue his, “visors will cut fighting from the game” argument. His stance is obviously, that fighting is a necessary part of hockey.

Yesterday, Chuck Gormley, Capitals Insider at CSNWashington.com, posted a story with quotes from different Capitals players on whether NHL teams need “the enforcer” anymore. This comes after the Caps waived and sent career pugilist on ice, D.J. King, to Hershey to get some ice time. Predictably, guys like Jeff Halpern and Matt Hendricks both believe that the days of stashing a heavyweight on the fourth line, are over. They both believe that the game has evolved. Halpern goes the furthest, making the case that every player on an NHL roster must skate well and be able to contribute.

Majority owner, Ted Leonsis, picked up on Gormley’s post making some observations. Fighting numbers are trending down for the NHL this season. Mr. Leonsis states pretty clearly that most clubs don’t want to fight in the playoffs. They want toughness but not necessarily fight to prove it.

With the current style of play in the NHL, players have to skate, everywhere on the ice. I’d wager that most skaters on some of the third and fourth lines found around the league would easily win fastest skater competitions against some top line players from 10 or 20 years ago. The new rules and enforcement of rules has obviously changed the game into a more wide open, fast style of hockey. Ken Hitchcock summed it up best when introduced as the new head coach of the St. Louis Blues this week. He said, “if you’re going to win in this league, if you want to create your offense, you’ve got to play 200 feet now; you can’t play in 150.” In order to do that, all five skaters on the ice, every shift, have to skate, and skate well.

Where does that leave the kid who literally fought his way through juniors and minor professional hockey to make it to “the show”? Unfortunately, if they took that route, they missed out on some critical skill specialization time in their hockey development. Instead of earning roster spots with their fists, those players probably should have worked with power skating coaches. They should have learned technique and tweaked fundamental skills learned at an earlier age, to master skating and puck skills. Fighting gives some players a fast track to advance. If evaluated on traditional hockey skills, they probably never should have made the cut.

I am not saying there isn’t a place for fighting in the NHL. In fact, I agree with Matt Hendricks when referring to the heavyweight enforcer, he says, “if you know he’s over there and you’re thinking about doing something wrong, it might change the game a little bit.” As a deterrent, a guy willing to drop the gloves can protect high-priced talent. Just make sure he can skate too.