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(courtesy photo)

The Washington Capitals have hired Adam Oates as the new coach, and honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about the move.

Oates becomes the 16th coach in franchise history after taking over for Dale Hunter, who couldn’t leave town fast enough once the season ended, and I’m having trouble deciding if he is the right man for the job.

General manager George McPhee definitely believes so — or, more accurately, better believe Oates is exactly who this team needs to help it get over the hump. Because I have a hard time thinking GMGM will remain employed should Oates follow in the disappointing footsteps of Hunter, Bruce Boudreau, Glen Hanlon and Bruce Cassidy — the previous gentlemen McPhee hired to take over the Capitals, even though none of them had ever been a head coach in the NHL before.

McPhee clearly doesn’t value NHL coaching experience as much as other do. Since 1997, every time he’s needed a new coach, he ultimately ends up with a first-timer. Is that a positive or a negative in a world where so many other teams are content to hire retread after retread? Tough to say.

But with GMGM’s job on the line he’s turning to Oates, who might have the thinnest coaching resume of any candidate McPhee has ever hired. Oates has never been a head coach on any level and he’s only been an assistant coach for a total of three seasons.

“I think the best way to describe what we tried to do in hiring Adam was simply to go hire a guy with the most upside, the guy that could really be a difference maker,” McPhee said. “We talked to some terrific people but it kept coming back to Adam as the one with the most upside who could really make a difference here.”

Should that worry Caps fans? Probably a little bit.

The hope is, after playing in 1,337 games over 19 NHL seasons (from 1985-2004) and collecting 1,420 points (341 goals, 1,079 assists) with Detroit, St. Louis, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Anaheim and Edmonton, Oates has more than enough professional hockey experience to make up for the lack of years behind the bench.

On the ice, there’s no denying how skilled Oates was. One look at the record books — Oates ranks sixth all-time in assists and 16th all-time in points in NHL history, and only Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux averaged more assists per-game than him in the history of the game — shows Oates warrants consideration as one of the best playmakers to ever lace them up.

Anyone who wasn’t overly familiar with Oates’ body of work during his playing days learned just how great he was about an hour after the Capitals sent out the press release making the hiring official. That’s when it was announced that the 49-year-old had been voted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin and Pavel Bure.

If Oates was disappointed because he had to wait through five years of eligibility to earn his sports’ highest honor, he clearly wasn’t letting it show when the big announcement was made.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNOj7ZyK6JA&list=FLLhWWH4pXp6TNbWQefaB97w&

When the Washington Capitals acquired center Mike Ribeiro over the weekend, not only did they finally fill the team’s biggest void, but they also said goodbye to forward Alexander Semin.

While Semin’s agent had already let it be known that his 28-year-old client preferred to test free agency, general manager George McPhee helped Semin out the door by essentially redistributing his salary cap space to Ribeiro.

Whether or not the move works out for the Caps remains to be seen, but if nothing else it shakes up the lineup and brings in a dynamic playmaker who excels at setting up his teammates.

Semin, of course, was a maddeningly frustrating player who shied away from physical play and had a knack for taking penalties at the worst possible time. Ribeiro, on the other hand, is a dependable veteran who makes his linemates better. He’s a pass-first player who has a good enough shot to keep defenses honest.

Over the last four seasons, Semin earned $21.9 million while scoring 123 goals and 148 assists for 271 points in 277 games.

During the same time frame, Ribeiro earned $20 million while scoring 78 goals and 187 assists for 265 points in 304 games.

The number that stands out most when comparing Semin and Ribeiro is the games played. Ribeiro has played in 27 more games than Semin during the last four seasons, which works out to roughly seven extra games per season.

Ribeiro isn’t the biggest guy on the ice, but he’s durable and he’s tough. He’s willing to play on the nights he’s less than 100 percent, which makes life much easier on whoever Washington’s next coach is going to be.

And most importantly, while the Dallas Stars have never been confused for an offensive juggernaut, Ribeiro found a way to remain consistently productive — scoring 407 points in 461 games over six seasons in Dallas.

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(photo by Norm Hall)

For one reason or another, more than a few fans of the Washington Capitals seem to have an issue with general manager George McPhee.

Some people look at the team’s spotty record of drafting players outside of the first round and suggest McPhee is only capable of identifying top-tier talent. Some look at past trades and free agency signings and, with the benefit of hindsight clearly in their favor, nitpick just how successful those moves were.

But as is the case with most sports fans, the biggest gripe locals have seemingly had with GMGM focuses on the moves he didn’t make — namely his inability to secure the services of a true second-line center.

Plenty of names have come and gone over the years in Washington’s quest to find a competent center behind Nicklas Backstrom, but none of lasted very long. Well, the Caps are hoping all of that changes now that the team acquired center Mike Ribeiro from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Cody Eakin and a second-round draft pick.

Last season, the 32-year-old scored 18 goals and 45 assists for 63 points — which would have been second to only captain Alex Ovechkin’s 65 points on the Caps.

During his six years in Dallas, Ribeiro’s production has averaged out to 68 points in 77 games played per season. And best of all, he’s found a way to put up consistent numbers on a Stars team that struggles offensively.

Last year, Dallas ranked 22nd in the league in goals scored and had the 30th ranked powerplay, and yet, Ribeiro’s production was still respectable.

Some might ask why the Stars would trade away one of their better players for an undersized forward and a draft pick. The answer to that question likely has to do with Ribeiro having just one year left on his contract (which will pay him $5 million next season).

Rather than losing Ribeiro via free agency a year from now, Dallas opted to move the talented forward now and take what they could get for him.

From a local perspective, McPhee rolled the dice that Ribeiro can fill the team’s void up the middle, and if things work out, they can extend the 12-year veteran before the end of the season.

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(photo by Clyde Caplan)

The waiting game has officially begun for the Washington Capitals.

Once coach Dale Hunter opted to call it quits, his decision eliminated any hope of stability or continuity within the organization.

For better or for worse, there will be a new coach with a new system hoping to maximize the talent on Washington’s roster.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, it appears the general manager George McPhee is in no hurry to fill the vacancy — with some believing that it could be months before Hunter’s replacement is hired.

While it’s wise for GMGM to take his time to ensure the right man is chosen for the job, the reason I say unfortunately is because for as long as the franchise remains in limbo, Caps fans are going to be subjected to rumors and wild speculation about what comes next.

Even now, with the season barely over, people are already tossing around names of possible candidates. And while that’s to be expected in the 24-hour news cycle the sports world is engulfed in these days, it’s also the easiest way to give everyone involved an aneurysm.

For example, two of the names already being floated around are Ron Wilson and Terry Murray. If those names sound vaguely familiar, it’s because both have already been the coach of the Capitals.

Murray took over the team for the 1989-90 season and was here until he was fired halfway through the ’93-94 campaign. His Capitals qualified for the postseason every year he was here and had a 163-134-28 record.

Wilson coached in Washington from 1997-98 through 2001-02, made the playoffs three out of his five seasons and posted a 192-159-51-8 record.

Basically, both coaches were solid, but unspectacular. Both gentlemen put their team in a position to be competitive night in and night out, but the thought of either one of these guys signing back on for a second tour of duty does nothing for me.

Look, I was on board when the Redskins decided to turn back the clock and talked Joe Gibbs out of retirement. After all, he was responsible for the franchise’s defining moments and if he wanted to patrol an NFL sideline one more time who was going to tell him no?

But Murray and Wilson aren’t in the same category as Gibbs.*

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(photo by Clyde Caplan)

It seems like only yesterday I was pushing for the Washington Capitals to sign coach Dale Hunter to a long-term contract in hopes of providing the franchise with some stability and continuity.

After seeing everyone on the roster set their egos aside and sacrifice for the good of the team during a spirited playoff run, I looked forward to what the Caps would be able to accomplish after spending more time in this system.

And all of that was well and good … up until Hunter decided he was better off walking away from the Capitals. Citing “family reasons” the former Caps great informed the team Monday morning that he’s one-and-done in Washington.

“This was a tough decision,” Hunter said during a press conference Monday. “It was the right thing for me and my family.”

Like I said earlier, keeping Hunter was ideal for the Capitals because it meant many of the same players who excelled in the postseason would return next year and know what they were in for. Athletes crave stability. They strive for consistency.

Think back to former Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, who seemingly had a new head coach and/or offensive coordinator each and every season of his college and pro career. How can a player like Campbell ever truly excel at the position when he’s asked to forget everything he’s learned and start over each and every season he shows up for work?

In related news, Campbell hasn’t been very good as a professional athlete.

Now, apply that to the Capitals, who will turn to yet another coach after Bruce Boudreau was fired and Hunter walked away, and you can begin to see my reason for concern.

Had Hunter returned for a sophomore season, I was absolutely on board with bringing back as many of the current cast of characters as he saw fit.

Even though I’ve never been confused for a fan of a headcase like Alexander Semin, I would have been okay with the team re-signing Semin if Hunter wanted to bring the enigmatic Russian back next year.

But now that change is inevitable, I say the franchise has no choice but to blow it up and start over. No, I’m not suggesting that it’s time to ship captain Alex Ovechkin or another building block, like Nicklas Backstrom, out the door.

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(photo by Clyde Caplan)

Although they lasted longer than anyone could have reasonably expected, the season has officially ended for the Washington Capitals and I can’t help but feel a little bummed out.

While it was awesome to see the same group of players who looked dead in the water for much of the regular season pulled it together and begin to peak at the right time, there’s definitely a sense of unfinished business with how the postseason came to a close.

That’s probably because the Caps played such spirited hockey for their 30-day playoff run, only to fall apart just one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals.

Heading into Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, I was chatting with my old man about what to expect when the Capitals faced the New York Rangers in the deciding contest.

Because of how the rest of the series had played out, I told him that I expected it to be another tightly-contested 2-1 game and we’d know within the first five minutes which team was going to win the game because whoever scored first was going to emerge victorious. Sadly, I was right on both fronts.

New York came out flying and seemingly caught the Caps off guard. They were the hungrier and more aggressive team while Washington struggled to survive.

So it wasn’t all that surprising when Rangers forward Brad Richards scored just 1:32 into the game. Unfortunately for the Capitals, whoever scored first ended up winning the previous six games in this series and Game 7 was no different.

And just when local sports fans were warming up to the idea of the Caps returning to the conference finals for the first time since 1998, the door was slammed shut and now everyone involved must turn their attention to a few tough offseason questions.

For starters, will coach Dale Hunter return for a second season in Washington?

It’s no secret that Hunter’s initial contract was for just one season and while it appears the front office would love to have the 51-year-old back, some people close to the situation believe he’s a long shot to return.

If that’s the case, it would be a shame.

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(photo by Clyde Caplan)

Something occurred to me as I watched the Washington Capitals soundly defeat the New Rangers Rangers 2-1 to force a seventh and deciding game in their second-round match-up.

The Caps are now on the verge of doing something they have yet to do during the Alex Ovechkin era — namely advance to the Eastern Conference Finals — and the player most responsible for this improbable postseason run isn’t even on Washington’s roster.

What am I talking about? Keep reading.

Last February, the Capitals acquired veteran forward Marco Sturm off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.

At the time, the 32-year-old was viewed as a low-risk, high-reward player because he cost nothing and if he was able to bounce back from issues with his left knee,  he’d be a speedy skater with plenty of veteran’s mindset and plenty of hockey smarts who could only bolster the team’s chances in the postseason.

Well, anyone paying attention would quickly point out that Sturm’s time in Washington wasn’t all that memorable. The Germany native scored two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 27 total games (counting both regular season and postseason) and it wasn’t even a story when the Capitals let him leave this past offseason via free agency.

The 14-year pro signed a deal with Vancouver, only to be traded to the Florida Panthers after just six games with the Canucks.

Like most players on the Panthers, Sturm’s season was largely irrelevant until Florida faced the Capitals in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

With Washington leading 1-0 in the second period, Sturm stumbled in front of the Caps’ net and landed awkwardly on the left leg of goalie Michal Neuvirth. After the play, Neuvirth was unable to put any weight on that leg and needed help from two teammates just to get off of the ice.

And with that unfortunate injury, the Capitals were forced to turn to Braden Holtby, the team’s third-string goalie. Neuvirth joined Tomas Vokoun on the team’s injured list and, for better or for worse, Washington’s postseason hopes and dreams rested squarely on the shoulders of a quirky 22-year-old.

What happens next is what Disney movies are made of.

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