Category Archives: Eastern Conference

A Desperation Move by a Desperate GM

Once upon a time, Capitals General Manager George McPhee was viewed, rightly I think, as cautious and shrewd each spring around trade deadline time. Never one to radically revamp his roster with wheeling and dealing then, McPhee in fact over … Continue reading

Posted in David Poile, Eastern Conference, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Filip Forsberg, Front Office, George McPhee, Martin Erat, Morning cup-a-joe, Nashville Predators, NHL trade deadline, The curse of Washington hockey, Washington Capitals | 17 Comments

A Crisis of Mismanagement

If you are shocked and dismayed by where we are with hockey in Washington these days, you weren’t reading here last July. The Unexpected Rebuild, I called it. The Washington Capitals today on the ice are receiving their just due: … Continue reading

Posted in Adam Oates, Alexander Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Dale Hunter, Eastern Conference, Ed Frankovic, Eric McErlain, Front Office, George McPhee, hockey blogging, Japers' Rink, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Mike Ribeiro, Morning cup-a-joe, New Jersey Devils, New media, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rock the Red, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals, Washington Post, Washington the cursed hockey town | 26 Comments

Boxed in, with but Hope and Wishful Thinking the Only Guide Ahead

Monitoring the NHL trade deadline Monday afternoon was a lot like riding the Red Line in early rush hour Monday morning: there was very little movement. The more I thought about where the Caps stood at 3:00 yesterday afternoon the … Continue reading

Posted in Dmitri Orlov, Eastern Conference, Entry Draft, Evgeny Kuznetsov, George McPhee, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL trade deadline, playoff hockey, Washington Capitals | 1 Comment

‘It’s a Team That Lacks an Identity’

On at least three occasions during Monday night’s national television broadcast the NBC Sports studio tandem of Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick explicitly alluded to the Capitals lacking any discernible identity. It’s a sentiment I began expresing on this blog … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Ovechkin, Eastern Conference, George McPhee, Joel Ward, Morning cup-a-joe, New York Rangers, NHL playoffs, playoff hockey, The curse of Washington hockey, Washington Capitals | 15 Comments

OFB TV: Christmas for Caps Fans — Hello Again, Patrick Division!

When it comes to the Capitals’ past, there are few voices in our region bearing the vivid fidelity of Baltimore WNST’s Ed Frankovic. Ed worked for the Caps during the glory days when the team nightly battled the likes of … Continue reading

Posted in Eastern Conference, Ed Frankovic, Much-needed realignment, New media, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, OFB TV, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ted Leonsis, The Great Old Patrick Division, Washington Capitals, Washington the hockey town | Leave a comment

OFB TV Roundtable: Grading the Caps’ Offseason, Predicting Ovi’s Return to Form

Beginning the brand new hockey season gathered at their favorite sports bar, OFB’s John Keeley, Sky Kerstein of 106.7 the Fan, Ed Frankovic of Baltimore WNST, and “Transition Game” author and Washington Times blogger Ted Starkey talk about the Capitals’ … Continue reading

Posted in 106.7 the Fan, Alexander Ovechkin, Eastern Conference, Ed Frankovic, Hockey blogging, Hockey books, New media, OFB TV, Radio, Sky Kerstein, Ted Starkey, Transition Game, Washington Capitals | Leave a comment

A State of the Nation That Comes Up Small

On May 5, the morning after his hockey team had been swept out of the playoffs in the second round by the no. 5 seed, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, to his credit, logged in to his blog, congratulated the victorious … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Ovechkin, Eastern Conference, Morning cup-a-joe, New media, NHL playoffs, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ted Leonsis, The President's Trophy, The Red Army, Washington Capitals | 28 Comments

Renewed Questions of Leadership

Deep into Tuesday night, a prominent member of Washington’s hockey media, referencing the Boston Bruins’ effort in game 2 of the Eastern conference finals, emailed me this reflection: “This is what a desperate team is supposed to look like down … Continue reading

Posted in Boston Bruins, Eastern Conference, Ed Frankovic, Front Office, George McPhee, HBO's 24/7, hockey blogging, Morning cup-a-joe, New media, NHL playoffs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals | 19 Comments

Are the Southeast’s Walls Crumbling Down?

It was eye-catching and amusing, beholding the verb tense in the opening couple of sentences of the Atlanta Thrashers’ Wikipedia entry: “The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. They were members of … Continue reading

Posted in Atlanta Thrashers, Eastern Conference, Gary Bettman, Much-needed relocation, Radio, Southeast Division, Twitter, Winnipeg Jets | 6 Comments

Reconstruction Time

As implosions go, by a perennially imploding franchise in spring, this may have been an all-timer. And you know where we stand: there should be serious repercussions. On an individual game basis, the scoreboard will suggest that this Caps-Bolts series … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Eastern Conference, Media, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL playoffs, Print, Tampa Bay Lightning, The curse of Washington hockey, Washington Capitals, Washington the hockey town | 72 Comments