NHL: Washington Capitals coach canned

Once a fearless leader that led one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL, Washing­ton Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau was fired from his job behind the bench Monday morning after a dismal start to the season. Under Boudreau, the Capitals had the best regu­lar season record in the East­ern Conference twice in four seasons and, with the help of superstar Alexander Ovechkin, was named Head Coach of the Year in 2008. However, just 23 games into the 2011-2012 sea­son, Boudreau was shown the door replaced by Capitals leg­end Dale Hunter.

"Sometimes [a coach's message] just wears out," Capitals general manager George McPhee said in a press conference. Coaches "do everything they can to get a team going and they coach well for a while but — and I've said this before — it's like having the same teacher for five years. How would you like to do that in high school? It would be hard."

The Capitals under Boudreau started the season 12-9-1 in their first 22 games. With 25 points, they were tied with the New Jer­sey Devils for the and 8th and final playoff spot in the East. However, McPhee sent a mes­sage to his players by firing Bou­dreau: The Washington Capitals are too talented to be fighting for a playoff spot, even if it is only a quarter of the way through the season. Message received.

With players like Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, it's hard to argue with his logic. How can a team with so much talent be struggling so hard? It's no secret that Ovechkin was strug­gling to score goals like he used to, and Semin has recently been called out for his work ethic on the ice. The ship in Washington is slowly sinking.

Now, the ship is under the command of Capitals legend Dale Hunter, who has some serious shoes to fill. In his first game behind the bench, Hunter and the Capitals fell to the low­ly St. Louis Blues 2-1. Perhaps Boudreau was not the problem, but he certainly wasn't part of the solution.