Three questions Caps Nation should be asking
By: Turner Sports Desk
As Washington Capitals Nation prepares for another run at Lord Stanley's Cup there are some burning questions on the minds of Caps Nation. Caps fans have the most accessible and interactive owner in sports. With the Caps Convention coming up in less than two weeks the following questions need to be asked and deserve some honest answers:
1.
How long of a leash does Bruce Boudreau have? Despite all of the signings General Manager, McPhee made over the summer the bottom line for the Caps is are they a smarter, tougher and more disciplined hockey team? The answer starts with the guy behind the bench. If Bruce does business as usual then the Caps will once again cruise through the regular season only to get ousted in the 1st or 2nd round. I believe that the guy that needs to show the most improvement is Bruce Boudreau. He has to drill the basics of hockey into the heads of his European players like hitting, going to the net and positioning. He has to treat all of his players the same and sit the talented ones when they are not getting it done. Bruce Boudreau has to show us something we have not seen before...discipline. He also needs to get better at in-game adjustments as the young Tampa coach embarrassed him in the last playoff series. The bottom line is it does not matter how many new players obtained. What ultimately makes the difference is how all of the players are utilized and that falls on Bruce Boudreau.
2.
Is Alexander Ovechkin a leader? He has insane skills, determination and a drive to be the best but none of that means he is a good leader of grown men on a quest for the Cup. Can Ovechkin tell his buddies to put out or sit? Can he lead from the front and make himself and his buddies skate in optional practices? Can he call guys out when they are going through the motions? If Ovechkin wants a Cup as badly as he claims he needs to grow up. Leadership is lonely at times and you may lose friends in the process. Ovechkin is going to be watched closely this season and we need to see growth, maturity both on and off the ice.
3.
What is the deal with Alexander Semin? - This summer we had two Caps (Matt Bradley and David Steckel) Call out Semin for being a chronic underachiever with a lackadaisical attitude. Of course many will dismiss these comments as disgruntled former employees but for those of us around for more than 5 minutes who know Bradley and "Stecks" they were not trouble makers or guys that were a problem then or now. These were guys in the room and on the ice with Semin with an educated opinion based on time spent. Not to mention Olaf Kolzig made mention of the same thing years ago. So when three people say you are drunk it is time to give up the keys to the car. With three well respected Caps all saying the same thing why are we paying this guy 6.7 million dollars? If he is that good lock him up. If he is year to year you can get three lesser talented but more helpful players for that money. For those of you that think Semin is irreplaceable their are plenty of teams with their name on the Cup that did not have a player like Semin. Boston proved you can win without any super star forwards.