Farewell, Bruce.

And just like that, he's gone. Almost as abruptly as he entered, Bruce Boudreau has left the Capitals, except this time it he didn't have a say in it. There are many who won't be surprised by the firing considering that the Capitals have been in the midst of a miserable month of hockey--losing 7 of their last 10 and falling out of 1st place in the Southeast Division for the first time in a long time. There has also been lots of talk recently about how he has mishandled the superstars of the team (i.e. Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin), and how his reputation as a softy coach has come back to haunt him. With a roster as talented as the Capitals, and considering their futility in the playoffs the last few years, fans (and apparently the front office as well) were fed up with the underachieving that has been synonymous with the Capitals over the past three or four seasons. People were calling for Boudreau's head on a platter.

Considering how this season started (by winning seven straight games) it was hard for me to imagine it falling apart this early. I understood that Bruce had to get it done in the playoffs this year to secure his job, but I certainly didn't expect him to be out before December. It just goes to show how quickly an opinion of a coach can change once he loses the locker room--there's truly no going back after that. I can understand the frustration from the front office and the fan base from the lack of playoff success, and maybe it is the right time to let him go. Sometimes change is what a team needs to get back on track. Sometimes it isn't.

Despite all the reasons the Caps had to replace him, as a devoted fan (that's right, I used to go to games back when you could get Friday night tickets for 5 bucks---now the cheapest are 50), I have to say that I'm going to miss Bruce. Bruce always seemed like an affable guy with a rotund figure that many hockey fans can relate to. From the moment he began coaching this team you could tell he had a passion for the game, and I loved that about him. I really began to love Bruce during the Capitals 24/7 HBO special before the Winter Classic last season. Seeing his home life and his family, and watching this fat, jolly looking man curse like a sailor was truly entertaining, and strangely endearing. To me, Bruce was just a guy who really loved the game of hockey, and I'll always root for someone like that.  I loved seeing his goofy Mercedes-Benz dealership commercials on TV (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the video here) and I loved watching his reactions to horrible calls by referees. I'm going to miss all of that.

Lastly, but most importantly, I will never forget what Bruce did for this franchise on the ice. The Capitals were a terrible team with one budding superstar (Ovechkin) when Bruce was chosen to replace Glen Hanlon on November 27th, 2007, when the Capitals were the holders of a miserable 6-14-1 record. They would go on to post a 37-17-7 record in their remaining games to win the Southeast Division title, a feat they hadn't achieved in seven years. Three more playoff appearances and over 200 wins later, he turned this forgotten franchise into a winner and a contender, and I will forever be grateful to him for that. He might not have had the playoff success we all wanted, or the control over the locker room that we thought, but I have a feeling we all might miss Bruce a few years down the road. Bruce wasn't perfect, and he knew this, but neither are any of us. But Bruce cared about the team and he cared about hockey--he tried his best, and at the end of the day, he did a pretty damn good job-- and in my opinion that's all you can really ask for in a coach.

Boudreau and superstar Alex Ovechkin could never get on the same page this season, presumably one of the main reasons for his firing. 

Now it is Dale Hunter's turn to see if he can give this city a long-awaited Stanley Cup. He is a Capitals legend (his number is currently hanging in the rafters) and he has had great success as a coach in the Ontario Hockey League, so maybe he is the right guy to lead this franchise to the promised land; I certainly hope he is. I'm looking forward to how he treats the guys the in locker room and how the team responds to the new leadership. It's not going to be an easy job, though. Ovechkin isn't the Ovechkin of old, and has certainly been appearing to decline the last couple seasons, both physically and statistically. Nick Backstrom and Semin still haven't stepped up to be the superstars they are talented enough to be, the defense is still suspect, and the goaltending is average at best. But if there is any time to win it all, this is the season to do it, so I guess we will see how it all goes in May and June (assuming the Caps actually make the playoffs).

In the end, regardless of what happens with the Capitals, I only wish Boudreau the best moving forward, and I hope he gets another chance in the league somewhere else. But now it's time to say goodbye to a great man and a great coach. Farewell and good luck, Bruce...it's too bad you could never fill that really big cup holder in your Benz here in DC, but maybe you will elsewhere, and I hope you do. You deserve it.