Washington Capitals: 5 Reasons Why They Should Keep Bruce Boudreau

As a Washington Capitals featured columnist for the Bleacher Report, I have on many, many occasions called for Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau to be fired.

I wanted him gone in December, and surely wanted him fired on May 5, the day after the Caps were swept out of the Stanley Cup playoffs, by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

What has changed you ask, a lot has. For one, time, and time does indeed heal wounds.

Second, while I believe in every reason Ryan Davenport and Royce Jeffrey gave for his ousting in recent articles on the Bleacher Report, I do feel he is the best option available.

While watching the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins battle it out in the Stanley Cup Finals, I have realized the Caps are not far away from playing in mid June.

This may simply be a matter of getting rid of a player or two. Locker room changes are needed, perhaps shipping off an Alex Semin or even a Mike Green may send a message, and return the talent the Caps lack, but the Washington Capitals are not far behind the two teams playing in this year's Stanley Cup finals.

His nickname is Gabby for his willingness to talk, and under Gabby, the Capitals have been nothing less than amazing during the regular season.

Boudreau has won 195 out of 305 during the regular season since taking over in 07. Winning 64 percent of your games over four seasons tends to spoil a fan base, especially when the Great Alex Ovechkin is also on your team.

Boudreau, who won the Jack Adams award, as the best coach during the 07 season, led Washington to the top spot in the Eastern Conference during the past two seasons.

However, the lack of post-season success has Caps fans, myself included, overreacting.

Under Boudreau’s tutelage, the Caps have appeared in four straight post-seasons, and never been further than the second round.

What bothers Caps fans the most, is not the fact that Washington has been eliminated from recent post seasons. Caps fans are smart hockey fans they know, hockey and they know how hard it is to win A Stanley Cup.

The problem is how Washington has been eliminated from three of the last four post seasons.

In 2009, they blew a two game lead to the hated Penguins. In 2010 against the Montreal Canadiens, they became the first No.1 seed to lose a playoff series after leading three games to one, and this year, Washington became the first No.1 seed ever to be swept in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

It hurts and it angers those that “Rock the Red” on a nightly basis. However, right or wrong, any coaching change is a reaction, and when you consider Boudreau’s regular season success, it is way out of proportion to the small margins deciding winning and losing for the Capitals.

Firing Boudreau on May 5 may have made Caps fans feel like the team was closer to a championship, but in reality, getting rid of Gabby would be pushing the Capitals further away right now.

If the Capitals have made some personal changes during the off-season and they are still playing stagnant hockey and look headed for another early playoff exit in November or December of next season, then fire him.

There are exceptions to rules, and there is precedent for success in recent season after firing a coach mid season.

There is Boudreau in 07 and then Pittsburgh’s, Dan Bylsma in 2009. Bylsma took over with just 21 games remaining in the season and led the Penguins to their third Stanley Cup title.

The Capitals have the talent to do the same should he falter during the early to mid part of next season.

Yes, Bruce Boudreau’s seat is deservedly hot. In fact, if you look close enough, you may even see little flames coming from it.

For now, Boudreau is the man to lead the Washington Capitals into the 2011-12 season. And here are five reasons why the Capitals must keep Gabby behind the bench.

No. 5: Not Many, If Any Could Pull off What Boudreau Did This Season.

The Game That Changed It All

What kinds of comments would you leave if I wrote a Caps season preview for the 2010-11 season that read this way: 

The Capitals will score almost 100 less goals than they did last year. Their power play will not fare much better as the Montreal Canadiens figured out how to stop the Caps extra man unit in the playoffs last year. Look for the Caps to fall to anywhere from 15 to 20 during the season, and finish no higher than No.16.

Alex Ovechkin will struggle badly at times this upcoming season, he will score 18 less goals, with 24 less points than he did the year before.”

Despite these scoring issues, the Caps will repeat atop the Eastern Conference as the No.1 seed. They will do this by having one of the league’s best defenses, penalty killing units, and will have three goalies, each 22-years-old or younger, win 10 or more games.

Sounds ridiculous, and I can see those comments from the Bleacher Report faithful now, but that is exactly what happened hockey fans.

The Washington Capitals scored 318 goals during the 2009-10 season, and were the No. 1 ranked team in every important offensive category that matters in the NHL.

Boudreau’s bunch was a goal-scoring machine that seemed to score at will. Defensively, they were average at best, allowing 233 goals and finishing the year ranked No.16 in the NHL.

Their power play was nearly four percent better than the second ranked team, scoring more goals with fewer chances.

Just as their defense left a lot to be desired, so did their penalty-killing unit. Ranked 25th out of 30 teams, the Caps were not overly concerned with killing penalties with all the goal scoring they were doing.

Even after their historic first round loss to the Canadiens in the playoffs, Washington returned this past season ready to try to outscore the opposition rather than stop them once again.

They continued the run and gun style during their first 25 games, and with a record of 17-6-2, everything looked as though it was going to be OK in the nation’s capital.

The Caps had scored just one less goal through their first 25 games than they did the previous season, and while the 09-10 team continued to roll, finishing with 121 points and a President’s Trophy, the 10-11 version hit a wall.

They lost eight straight games in December by a combined score of 28-11, and were shut out twice in a four game span.

After a 7-0 embarrassing loss to the Rangers on December 12,  Boudreau had seen enough. He decided that if the Caps were going to be a better all around team, they had to change the way they played the game.

Speaking to Bill Potrecz of the St. Catherine’s Standard recently, Boudreau said, "At the time we were in the middle of an eight-game losing streak and we were just trying to change things up," "We had scored 11 goals in those eight games. When you're not scoring, you cannot allow three goals. We play a fairly open game, but let's shut it down a little bit”.

Boudreau finished by saying, “We’re going to have to allow one goal a game to get out of this thing. We found we had success and the players liked it, so we kept going with it."

Boudreau sold the system to great offensive players like Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, and Mike Green. However, they struggled mightily at times with their new identity.

The high powered offense of the Capitals was shutout an amazing 11 times, but Boudreau and the Caps believed they were becoming a better all around team, and one that would produce come playoff time.

After briefly falling to second, behind Tampa Bay in the Southeast, the Caps would go on to win their fourth straight Southeast crown and finish as the No. 1 seed in the east for the second consecutive season.

Washington reached success with their new defensive system that saw them finish as a top five defensive team in the NHL. The penalty killing unit that was so bad the season before, was now the second best unit in the league.

One year after finishing as the best offensive team in franchise history, Washington duplicated the feat on defense.

Bruce Boudreau stopped his team on a dime and turned his entire season around in mid December. Not to mention he did it in front of the world, as HBO was in town for the month filming the show, 24/7 Penguins-Capitals.

One more year with a few new faces and the Caps may be able to combine the best of the past two seasons into one great year.

That could be something special to see Caps fans, and Boudreau deserves to be the man to try.

No.4 McPhee Must Tie Past Two Seasons Together This off Season

General Manager George McPhee may hold the key to Bruce Boudreau's future more than Boudreau does himself.

The Caps have their fair share of expiring contracts this off-season with seven unrestricted free agents and two restricted FAs. Not to mention that McPhee went extension crazy since the end of last season.

Starting with Nicklas Backstrom last May, McPhee has since extended Alex Semin, Mike Knuble, Jeff Schultz, Matt Hendricks, John Erskine, and Tom Poti to contracts of varying length and money.

Tampa Bay showed their division rivals the importance of quality depth when they swept the Caps from the post season.

Washington desperately needs a second line center, depth on the third and fourth lines and somewhere in there must be a player that plays tough, and in front of the opposing goaltenders nightly.

This is not a great free agent class this off-season Headlined by Brad Richards. The Caps cannot be sucked into over spending for players to fix a next year only issue. The Caps need grit and leadership in Washington, and without it, may not go further than two rounds in the spring.

Boudreau constantly preached going to the net and being more physical than the other team. That is a North American style game and fortunately or unfortunately for Boudreau, Washington's top players, play the European way.

Ovechkin plays a hybrid game of both styles, and it would be nice to see him back in the middle slot beating goalies at will. Not leading the Capitals in hits delivered.

Defensive teams are also notoriously tougher teams. Not fighting tougher, but just more physical, and the Washington Capitals are not a tough team. They can stop teams on defense but they do not scare anyone.

Several players should be of interest to the Caps this offseason, and if Boudreau can get a player or two, like the ones listed below in either free agency or a trade, than the Caps should win games like the Game 2 loss to Tampa in overtime.

George McPhee may want to consider extending and invitation to Raffi Torres (above video) in Vancouver, Thomas Kopecky in Chicago or Joel Ward in Nashville. All three are unrestricted free agents.

With a plethora of young defenseman and goalies in the system, free agency is not McPhee’s only option.

In fact, trading a player or two may be the best route for the Caps to take. McPhee is smart enough to know that paying overhyped free agents to fix one or two deficiencies could hurt the Caps with the salary cap in the coming years.

He has done it right to this point by resigning his own players to extensions that are good for them and the Caps.

The catch 22 is that the Caps could still be two years away, and Caps fans may not have the patience for Boudreau for two more seasons.

Remember the Detroit Red Wings of the early 1990’s. Wings fans had gone 42-years without a Stanley Cup and the current generation of Hockey Town's faithful had been suffering for six seasons.

The Wings stuck with a plan and eventually won back-to-back Stanley Cups. They continued to stick with the same plan, and won two more Cups in the next nine years.

Management developed their talent, resigned their own, and added the necessary depth. Because the Wings were financially responsible with their own players, they were able to afford the big name free agent when they needed one.

Boudreau has shown he can be an offensive system type of coach, or a defensive system type of coach. Now it is time for McPhee to get him the necessary talent to pull the two together.

Although I thought he did a great job at the deadline this year, McPhee needs to assume some of the blame.

If Boudreau cannot get the job done after the roster is rounded off, then get rid of him.

Bryan Murray couldn't’t finish the job in Detroit and was replaced by the legendary Scotty Bowman in 1993. There is no Scotty Bowman available Caps fans, so for now, Boudreau is the best shot.

No.3 Are There Any Better Options Than Boudreau?

If the Washington Capitals fired Bruce Boudreau, you can bet Gabby would shoot to the top of the list as a replacement in more than a few NHL cities.

The vacancy Boudreau would leave behind could be huge in terms of the system, and the overall development of the players.

With his time in Hershey and Washington, Boudreau just wrapped up his eighth season in the Capitals organization. Boudreau has shown he has a knack for bringing a player along at a pace conducive to the players and organizations needs.

Most of the players in a Washington jersey do not know any other head coach at the AHL and NHL levels. The adjustment period to a new coach and system for some of the players could set the Caps back a half season, or at worst, an entire season.

Owner Ted Leonsis said in his own blog that any decision regarding Boudreau is George McPhee's to make, and McPhee has stated Boudreau isn't going anywhere next season, but what if a change were made.

Whom could Washington get that is a better fit than Boudreau?

The also-rans include names like, Michel Therrien, Craig MacTavish, Guy Carbonneau, and Ken Hitchcock.

All four have had varying levels of success and failures. Hitchcock won a Stanley Cup in 199 as the head coach of the Dallas Stars. Craig MacTavish led a very mediocre Edmonton Oilers team to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, but every coach has his criticisms.

Carbonneau is not known for beinng a great communicator while Hitchckcock and Therrien are known to wear on players with hard core demeanor's.

The way to go if Boudreau were fired would be to follow the lead of the team that swept you out of the playoffs.

Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman hired then 38-year-old Guy Boucher last off-season. While Boucher had no NHL head coaching experience, he was very successful at every other level.

His youth and no nonsense approach were great for the Lightning, who possess a roster similar to that of the Capitals in star power, youth and some experience. 

Are there any Guy Boucher's available you ask? 

Not exactly, but there are a few who have a similar style and could produce with a talented team like the Caps.

The fist name that pops into my mind is the Florida Panthers recently fired Peter DeBoer. The 43-year-old part owner of the Oshawa Generals of the OHL strikes me as the type of guy that simply needs a little talent to work with.

There is also Team USA 2011 international head coach, Scott Gordon. Gerard Gallant is capable, as he is the hot QJMHL coach after winning the Memorial Cup this year, and then there is former New Jersey Devils captain, Kirk Muller.

Muller and Ken Hitchcock are the two leading candidates to fill the Devils head coaching vacancy.

Considering the history Boudreau has with this team and the overall success they have enjoyed, none of the names listed above seems to be an upgrade when you consider Boudreau's system, and his tenure with the organization.

No 2 Young Goalies with More Experience Could Be Key for Boudreau

Whether it was because of injury, inconsistent play or a gut feeling headed into a specific game, Bruce Boudreau created a three-headed monster in the Capitals net during the 2010-11 season.

Semyon Varlamov, Michael Neuvirth, and Braden Holtby became the first trio of goaltenders in NHL history, aged 22-years or younger to win five or more games between the pipes.

Boudreau started the year with Michael Neuvirth, then after he returned from injury, went with Varlamov for a bit. Then when Neuvirth and Varlamov were suffering from nagging injuries, he turned to 21-year-old Braden Holtby.

Although Neuvirth got the nod from Boudreau in the post season, many give Holtby the edge if there is a competition for the starting job in camp.

Where that leaves Semyon Varlamov is anybody’s guess.

According to rotoworld, Varlamov, who is scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer, would like to re-sign with the Washington Capitals. He has also been rumored to be headed the Russians version of the NHL, the KHL.

Varlamov who battled through injuries this season, and lost the starting job to Michal Neuvirth. Still posted a great 2.23 GAA and .920 save percentage in 27 games.

The likely scenario is that Washington trades Varlamov rather than re-sign him, opening the door for the battle in training camp.

Boudreau must start the season with clear-cut No.1 net minder.

He cannot afford to play goalie by committee for another season. It may have worked this past season because of the situation with the injuries, but goalies have fragile egos, (see Roberto Luongo) and Boudreau could do more harm than good with another year of platooning. 

The Capitals seem to play a more aggressive style of offensive, taking more chances with Holtby in net. His stick handling skills and quick reflexes seem to sit better with his team.

Although, Neuvirth was stellar in round one against the Rangers in this year’s playoffs, he was very average against the Lightning, and outplayed by a goalie almost twice his age.

This past season Neuvirth recorded 27 wins with a 2.45 GAA, a .914 save percentage, and four shutouts. Holtby countered with 10 wins in 14 games and an astounding 1.79 GAA with a .934 save percentage. He recorded two shutouts and chipped in with an assist.

Whichever net minder mans the crease for the Caps next season will be one more year wiser in the NHL, and one more year of experience with these talented goalies could be the key to a Stanley Cup in Washington.

While it is evident Boudreau is returning, he must take advantage of this golden opportunity, although the task may have gotten a little more difficult following the sudden departure of goaltending coach Arturs Irbe last week.

The Caps will fill the vacancy left by Irbe. Many inside the Washington media and even some close to the team thought the goaltending situation was not handled well by Boudreau at times this past season. If that occurs next season, Boudreau’s vacancy will need to be filled next off-season.

No 1 Washington Area Televison Would Never Be the Same

From his non-speaking role in the mid 70's hockey cult classic, Slapshot, to his Mercedes commercials in and around the Washington DC area, Bruce Boudreau has a little acting talent, the operative word there is little.

Boudreau pokes fun at himself and is very likeable.

In one commercial, Boudreau asks a Mercedes salesman to make sure the car comes with an adequate size "Cup" holder.

Boudreau is a serious head coach devoted to the numbers deep inside the game and his players. He takes his job very seriously and no one is harder on Boudreau than Boudreau himself when the Caps lose.

He has issues with shuffling lines and his A.D.D coaching style hurts the Caps at times, but he is the man for the job, right now. 

Boudreau knows the disappointing post seasons that are a major part of this franchises history and he knows the pulse of the fans who love this team.

Boudreau is human and no doubt could use some assurances from his bosses. My guess is, if the Caps finish with another 100-point season and, at the least, make the conference finals next season, Gabby should also be back in 2012 as well.

Having said that, Boudreau is out of options. Ultimately, Boudreau may not be the man for the job, or the coach who is behind the bench when the Caps finally hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup

Another system change is unlikely should the Caps falter at mid season, and if McPhee can add the players to tie together the two styles from the previous two seasons, then Boudreau is on the short hook and one could that could be pulled mid way through the season if the Caps start falling.