Category Archives: Southeast Division

George McPhee Was Mostly the Architect of an Identity Crisis

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Ten years ago, gifted by the draft lottery gods, and with a young but battle-tested general manager presiding over a roster rebuild he’d already appropriately earned plaudits for, the Washington Capitals were supposed … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Ovechkin, David Poile, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Filip Forsberg, Front Office, George McPhee, Martin Erat, Morning cup-a-joe, National Hockey League, Seth Jones, Southeast Division, The curse of Washington hockey, The Great Old Patrick Division, Washington Capitals, Washington the cursed hockey town, Washington the hockey town | 8 Comments

Managing, and Excusing, the Ever Repeating Loop of Mediocrity

“I hope the Caps win a Stanley Cup before I’m dead.” — Kevin Fletcher, age 7, Alexandria, Virginia, earlier this week, relayed by his father on Facebook. The definition of precocious there. Good luck with that, Kevin. This Henrik Lundqvist … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Ovechkin, Front Office, George McPhee, Marcus Johansson, Martin Erat, Media, Morning cup-a-joe, Much-needed realignment, New York Rangers, NHL referees, playoff hockey, Print, Southeast Division, Ted Leonsis, Thomas Boswell, Washington Capitals, Washington Post, Washington the cursed hockey town, Winter Classic | 8 Comments

NHL Realignment Delivers the Long Overdue Demolition of the SouthLeast

Though there surely should have been, we had no mayoral proclamation, no triumphant, inspiring oratory from any of our region’s elected officials, Chambers of Commerce, or business luminaries, no acknowledgment of the Great Liberation that uniquely visited Washington this week. … Continue reading

Posted in Gary Bettman, Hockey Towns, Morning cup-a-joe, Much-needed realignment, Southeast Division, The Great Old Patrick Division, Washington Capitals | 6 Comments

Paroled by Playoff Puck

For me, Saturday afternoon and evening finally delivered long elusive fun at being a hockey fan in Washington, at the very end of the regular season. For me, fun with hockey is when the present and near future offer promise. … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Semin, Boston Bruins, Braden Holtby, Dale Hunter, Florida Panthers, George McPhee, Michal Neuvirth, Morning cup-a-joe, Much-needed realignment, playoff hockey, Semyon Varlamov, Southeast Division, Washington Capitals | 6 Comments

Bettman’s Southern Chickens, Coming Home To Roost

I want hockey, at its highest level, hosted only where it is loved — not where it’s the whim marketing experiment of an expansion-impulsive commissioner, but rather where it’s loved. It has to be this way, because hockey will ever … Continue reading

Posted in Atlanta Thrashers, Gary Bettman, Morning cup-a-joe, Much-needed relocation, Southeast Division, Washington the hockey town, Winnipeg Jets | 20 Comments

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

The First Shoe Has Fallen

An agreement to sell the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group which plans to relocate the franchise to the Manitoba capital is done.

Sources confirmed tonight that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, which would become the NHL team’s new home. Continue reading

Posted in Atlanta Thrashers, Gary Bettman, Much-needed relocation, National Hockey League, Southeast Division, The Great Old Patrick Division, Winnipeg Jets | Tagged , | Leave a comment

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

Another Playoff Party Online for Blogging Pucksheads at WRC

Among a host of impressive media voices we chimed in again on what we think might happen in the Caps-‘Bolts series for WRC-TC 4’s web site today. JP, Dave Nichols of the Capitals News Network, WNST’s Ed Frankovic, Sean Leahy … Continue reading

Posted in Dave Nichols, Ed Frankovic, hockey blogging, Media, NBC, New media, NHL playoffs, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ted Starkey, TV, Washington Capitals | Leave a comment

Tampa vs. Washington: Of Ageless Wonders, Young Guns, and Matt Bradley’s Right Hook

How ’bout a second cup-a -joe this morning — you need it especially if your alarm went off around 4:00 to tune in to matrimony madness across the pond. Meanwhile, back home, it’s time for round 2 of the NHL … Continue reading

Posted in Alexander Semin, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL playoffs, Southeast Division, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals | Leave a comment