Really? I would have been interested to see this team play Hunter's style for an entire season. Let's face it, they were a bounce or two away from being in the Eastern Conference Finals. There's an awful lot of talent on that team, just need to tweak a spot or two.

I can't fathom a real fan of the sport of hockey rooting for either Phoenix or LA against an original six team and the Devils.

clearly not enough to persuade a Caps legend to come back and take another swing, which should speak volumes.

let's face it, they've been on the cusp of "something" great for years, and have NEVER made it past the 2nd round. They couldn't do it as a #3 seed or as a #7 seed or as a #1 seed, or as a presidents trophy winner. F*cking San Jose of the east.... i say blow it all to hell and start from scratch, b/c this sh!t aint working no mo!!!

-bt-

I think there's a fair chance the Caps will get "blown" up in the offseason. Semin is as good as gone, for better or for worse, and their three best defensemen are free agents in some form or fashion (I've been arguing with my Caps friends for five years now that they should have traded Mike Green long ago).

Like I said the other day, it's going to be a good offseason to be a Wings fan for once.

that doesn't take into account the fact that i despise the rangers and devils. but thanks for thinking i'm not a 'real' fan. :rolleyes: and here all along i thought i was, thanks for the clariy.

i disagree that the team needs blowing up, or that mcphee needs to go. hunter has home and family in canada. that spoke more volumes, along with his knights, than wanting to coach in d.c.
and we have made it past the second round-i distinctly remember getting swept by detroit in the stanley cup finals.

I think it almost would have served the Caps better had they continued losing after those awful Buffalo and Winnipeg games towards the end of the season. Honestly, the team is not built to win Stanley Cups, regardless of the postseason.

This was like eons ago. Leonsis didn't own the team, McPhee certainly wasn't there, and Peter Bondra was their best player. Oh, and the team didn't even sell out their own arena during the Stanley Cup Finals.

Since Ted Leonsis has owned the Caps, despite his best efforts, the team has not been a playoff success.

if only the stanley cup winner can be considered a success, i guess a lot of teams needs to start tossing coaches, gms and players?
i get what you're saying-to a point. but to revamp everything, when some things have been clicking (albeit not enough to get all the way thru to the finals) i feel would be a mistake. all things considered, i don't think it was a terrible year. i wonder how many teams have changed coaches and made it as far?
in game 5, we were seconds from winning. had we won that, we'd have finished the rangers off at home, there would have been no game 7. that's how close the series was.


anyway, regardless of what happens, i'll be buying nhl center ice and doing it all again come fall....

when you're top 5 in salary cap every year and have nothing to show for it, something has to give

-bt-

i wonder where vancouver and pitt fall?


i just wonder who the new coach will be...and what players will be gone soon. i just hope we keep nick and wideman. and holtby. and alzner and carlson i feel will stay.

Pittsburgh just won a Stanley Cup in 2009.

Vancouver is hopeless.

was in the stanley cup last year

-bt-

And they damn near tore down the city. I think that was a high water mark for the Canooges.

I agree, they didn't win last year and got knocked out as the 1 seed this year. I feel like some changes have to be coming to Vancouver.

Whomever made the comparison with the Sharks was spot-on. How many years did we hear how awesome Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Clowe, etc., are, and they never got past the conference semis until last year. Maybe Devon Setoguchi was the difference?

i feel like many don't give hockey teams the same consideration as in football. only one team can win the stanley cup each year, just like only one can win the super bowl. you don't see wholesale destruction of football teams every few years if they've gone without postseason success. and is it only success if you win it all? does anyone think detroit or chicago needs a complete revamping? boston? and who thinks phoenix is a powerhouse? i'd imagine if i offered a bet on postseason teams for next year in the west, more people would go with detroit to go past the first round rather than the desert dogs or the kings.

anyway, i guess until (and may it be soon) the caps actually win a cup, they'll always be a huge target for derision, regardless of what they manage to accomplish.

no extension offered to semin it appears...becomes an UFA july 1.

Semin was going to probably become a UFA regardless.

I think you're missing the point. Chicago won a Cup two years ago. Detroit in '08 (and they have seriously revamped and will have some serious changes this offseason). Boston just won a Cup last year. The Caps have been a 90+ point team for five straight seasons now, including multiple division crowns, and have never gone past the conference semis. That's not success.

NFL teams are blown up every single season. It's called the salary cap. Take a look at any NFL team's roster and see how big the changes are between this season and four or five seasons ago.

Not to pick on you, but really on the bolded? How many coaches have the Bills gone through in the last dozen seasons? The Lions? Even successful teams can their coaches. NFL teams make wholesale changes pretty much every season. Roster turnover is astronomical in the NFL.