Remember that game several years ago where the Caps were down something like 6-1 to the Sens and just poured it on in the third to win?
Was this game crazier than that one?
And Ovy's celebration after his 3rd was priceless. Love that guy.
Plusses: + Ovy + Backstrom + Offense + Nylander + Steck and Laing + Getting to watch Spezza, Alfredsson, Heatley and Fisher
Minuses - 6 on 22? Yikes. - THIS close to it being 7-7 - 2 for 6 on the PP is pretty good. 4 for 6 on the PK leaves a little to be desired. - And... um... we let in 2 shorties, so it's sorta like 0-6 on the PP.
Ovie's not going anywhere. If the Caps want to market themselves as winners, they can't let their only true superstar walk. They need to pony up the dough (preferably before he hits free agency) and then make some smart signings.
This is only Ovie's third year in the league. At this pace, he'll be breaking scoring records before too long.
I'd doubt those sources. Until the league cracked down on this team you couldn't even find out what injuries they had; whenever a contract is signed the press release that accompanies it always reads "in keeping with club policy financial terms of the contract will not be released", so I doubt that anyone was able to discover the exact terms for their most important negotiation. I also doubt they would offend Ovechkin by offering him 1.2 million a year less than what Crosby makes.
"Oh yeah, it was bothering me," Ovechkin said. "It was a little bit of pain but it's OK, I feel pretty good tonight. My parents were here, they arrived from Moscow and I was excited. It was a great time." (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/ recap?gameId=271229014)
Big Mama Ovechkin is in town! You know what that means, don't you? It means that the paperwork is going to be signed and the announcement is forthcoming. Thanks, Mama Tatiana! We love your son too!
The come-from-behind 6-5 win over Ott a few years ago was spectacular, expecially in person at the Phone Booth. Last nights game was fun and exciting, but a see-saw game is different than ripping out 5 consecutive goals like that game held.
Garrioch probably felt compelled to write this trash rather then recap a game where the Senators didn't look good all night long. Sure the Senators had flashes last night and the third period was crazy by the Capitals outplayed them. Hopefully while his parents are here negotiations will proceed; with the season Ovie is having his price certainly isn't coiming down. December was an awesome month for botbh Ovie and the Caps - he has to be happier playing in the system Boudreau has put in place then the slow defensive style Hanlon was preaching. LETS GO CAPS!!! Ovie for President.
Someone's going to be eating crow by the end of this season, and it's going to be Garrioch. When you make your living slinging crap, you get crap. Seriously, anyone can write this stuff--that's why lots of bloggers don't.
Until Ovie signs a new contract, we will continue to see this garbage. If Crosby didn't sign earlier, I'm sure Garrioch and Co. would be talking about him going to TOR or some other "hockey town."
I think you're exactly right...although maybe if the NHL had anointed Ovechkin Lord, Saviour and Messiah (or at least co-Lord, Savior and Messiah) more people would be out to see him even in D.C. I've met a couple people who went the school in Pittsburgh the last couple years and they've said that as soon as Crosby arrived and the Pens started winning a few games suddenly everyone claimed to be a huge hockey fan, like they were obligated to go to hockey games to see Crosby. It's amazing what happens when the local publicity machine is backed by the entire league's.
Despite the Pens current backing I don't know what Pitts status is as a hockey town. The only reasons the team is there are (1) the team intentionally tanked so they could draft Lemieux (2) they got lucky and drafted a mullet-loving, ultra-talent, ulta-whiny winger who other teams passed on because they afraid he wouldn't come to North America and (3) they won the Sidney Crosby lottery.
That and there's not a lot of other option in Pittsburgh. I actually like the city but it's the truth. In D.C. we have the Nationals who are new, rebuilding well and getting a new stadium, the Wizards who will probably make the playoffs the fourth straight year and the Redskins who are in the playoffs for the second time in three years (and for many people are a religion), plus a whole range of cultural activities. If you don't put a winner out there attendance in going to suffer because there are so many other options.
But whenever anyone uses attendance to say D.C. isn't a hockey town I just point out that the Capitals have outdrawn the Bruins 6 of the last 10 years - who's going to try and say Boston isn't a hockey town?
DMG--Mario Lemieux made Pittsburgh a hockey town. Rinks sprouted up everywhere and some kids are starting to make the NHL. There was a downturn in attendence for a few years, but I think that many reasons.
Plus when the team has had some of the most talented players in a generation (Lemieux, Coffey, Francis, Jagr, Kovalev, etc) and suddenly loses their stars to financial purposes it's not encouraging.
Obviously, in most any city, a winning team will draw more folks. And the Pens from 2002-2006 didn't do much winning.
Plus the arena isn't that nice, thousands of seats have obstructed views to the jumbotron or even part of the ice itself. Who wants that?
All those factors add up. As someone who's been in both cities for a while, Pittsburgh has more of a hockey infrastruture than Washington and can recover fans quickly. Whether that has to do with factors you site (more choices in sports here, more diverse nightlife, etc) is another matter.
Where does Pittsburgh stand as a hockey city? I would put them at the top tier (of American teams that is) with Buffalo, Minnesota, Detroit, New York and Philly. Things like attendence and merchandise sales don't lie, it's a popular team.
to focality: I agree, if Crosby was unsigned at this point there would (and should) be a lot of buzz about where he might end up.
And at the end of the day it's just a wishful pipedream for these writers (particularly north of the border) to imagine a unique, generational talent like Crosby or Ovechkin in their city every night.
Once there's news to report the reliable and non-ignorant sources (like Tarik or even AO himself) will surely announce what there is to announce.
I have a tendency to get a little overprotective of D.C. when people say it isn't a hockey town. While I am well aware it doesn't come close to the bigger markets I think that historically it has done pretty well for itself. I do think D.C. has two things working against it - the nature of entertainment in D.C. and the infrastructure.
In terms of the nature of entertainment I think the problem is twofold. One is that there is so much news in D.C. all the time. Of course there's the government which obviously generates big news stories every day but then in terms of sports you have the Redskins who are clearly at the top of the food chain and Nationals and Wizards who have had press-worthy happenings recently, so it's very easy for the Capitals to get lost in the shuffle. The other problem is that so many people in D.C. are transplants that there's not as much loyalty (or attendance) as you might expect for a city with the population and wealth that Washington has.
In terms of infrastructure the D.C. area hasn't been great; I remember when I was playing 10 years ago we'd have to drive 40 minutes to get to practice because there were so few rinks (and I grew up in Arlington, about 1/2 mile from where Kettler is now so it's not like I was in the sticks) and there were only one or two other kids in the entire program in my age group from my whole county; now there is at least one team affiliated with a high school in my county and there are a decent number of kids who play at each. It's getting a lot better a lot faster and I think that's crucial because the more familiarity people have with a sport the more likely the are to be fans.
Glad I'm not the only one who thought a deal might be in the works with the arrival of Momma Ovechkin! I pray to the hockey gods daily to keep Ov in Washington (if not TB!) and hope that 2008 brings us a signed LONG TERM deal! I could not imagine watching hockey without Ov...he's what's FUN about the game! Coming to DC in 2 weeks...just to see him play!!! Happy & Safe New Year to all the dedicated Caps bloggers!!
Everybody supports a winner, but no one remembers how they weren't supported during the tough times. Before 1994, could you even find a Rangers fan in New York? But once they won the Cup, EVERYONE was a Rangers fan. But 2-3 years ago, could you find any?
In Detroit in the mid-80's to early 90's, you couldn't even give away tickets to Red Wings games. Now it's "Hockeytown".
When the Caps start winning consistently, and/or the Redskins/Wizards start doing badly (although I can hope that all do well at the same time), they'll draw well. But you're right, there's so much competition for the spectator dollars, and no real rivalry (yet) with anyone in the division, it's not an easy sell. Plus, you will always have those who won't come into the city to see a game because they can't drive/there's no guaranteed parking, or they feel it's unsafe, or too far, or whatever.
Bruce Garrioch is always spouting off about "potential" deals that can only happen if the salary cap disappeared along with every player's No Trade/Movement Clause. I think it's a Family Guy clip that goes "if you have any pooh, fling it now." Bruce does and does it often. Garrioch should be in the CBC PSA spots for Canadian illiteracy.
Never a doubt, eh?
Photo: AP
19 comments:
Remember that game several years ago where the Caps were down something like 6-1 to the Sens and just poured it on in the third to win?
Was this game crazier than that one?
And Ovy's celebration after his 3rd was priceless. Love that guy.
Plusses:
+ Ovy
+ Backstrom
+ Offense
+ Nylander
+ Steck and Laing
+ Getting to watch Spezza, Alfredsson, Heatley and Fisher
Minuses
- 6 on 22? Yikes.
- THIS close to it being 7-7
- 2 for 6 on the PP is pretty good. 4 for 6 on the PK leaves a little to be desired.
- And... um... we let in 2 shorties, so it's sorta like 0-6 on the PP.
But as Gabby said, "A win is a win is a win."
when my friend texted me the score and Ovie's stats i thought he was freakin kidding. awesome. can't wait to see the highlights
Ovie's not going anywhere. If the Caps want to market themselves as winners, they can't let their only true superstar walk. They need to pony up the dough (preferably before he hits free agency) and then make some smart signings.
This is only Ovie's third year in the league. At this pace, he'll be breaking scoring records before too long.
I'd doubt those sources. Until the league cracked down on this team you couldn't even find out what injuries they had; whenever a contract is signed the press release that accompanies it always reads "in keeping with club policy financial terms of the contract will not be released", so I doubt that anyone was able to discover the exact terms for their most important negotiation. I also doubt they would offend Ovechkin by offering him 1.2 million a year less than what Crosby makes.
"Oh yeah, it was bothering me," Ovechkin said. "It was a little bit of pain but it's OK, I feel pretty good tonight. My parents were here, they arrived from Moscow and I was excited. It was a great time."
(http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/
recap?gameId=271229014)
Big Mama Ovechkin is in town! You know what that means, don't you? It means that the paperwork is going to be signed and the announcement is forthcoming. Thanks, Mama Tatiana! We love your son too!
Whew!
The come-from-behind 6-5 win over Ott a few years ago was spectacular, expecially in person at the Phone Booth. Last nights game was fun and exciting, but a see-saw game is different than ripping out 5 consecutive goals like that game held.
Just one fan's opinion.
Fair point, mouse. But this was still amazing.
Garrioch probably felt compelled to write this trash rather then recap a game where the Senators didn't look good all night long. Sure the Senators had flashes last night and the third period was crazy by the Capitals outplayed them. Hopefully while his parents are here negotiations will proceed; with the season Ovie is having his price certainly isn't coiming down. December was an awesome month for botbh Ovie and the Caps - he has to be happier playing in the system Boudreau has put in place then the slow defensive style Hanlon was preaching. LETS GO CAPS!!! Ovie for President.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pkFOYwtpESlmlDRsjSaX-Og
look at his 10 game streaks
amazing player
Someone's going to be eating crow by the end of this season, and it's going to be Garrioch. When you make your living slinging crap, you get crap. Seriously, anyone can write this stuff--that's why lots of bloggers don't.
Until Ovie signs a new contract, we will continue to see this garbage. If Crosby didn't sign earlier, I'm sure Garrioch and Co. would be talking about him going to TOR or some other "hockey town."
The only defense I'll give Garrioch regarding Crosby is that Crosby plays in a sold out building. Nearly every night.
Ovy doesn't. And until that is even close to being the case, there will be rumors about the Caps inability to pay him top dollar.
Rage,
I think you're exactly right...although maybe if the NHL had anointed Ovechkin Lord, Saviour and Messiah (or at least co-Lord, Savior and Messiah) more people would be out to see him even in D.C. I've met a couple people who went the school in Pittsburgh the last couple years and they've said that as soon as Crosby arrived and the Pens started winning a few games suddenly everyone claimed to be a huge hockey fan, like they were obligated to go to hockey games to see Crosby. It's amazing what happens when the local publicity machine is backed by the entire league's.
Despite the Pens current backing I don't know what Pitts status is as a hockey town. The only reasons the team is there are (1) the team intentionally tanked so they could draft Lemieux (2) they got lucky and drafted a mullet-loving, ultra-talent, ulta-whiny winger who other teams passed on because they afraid he wouldn't come to North America and (3) they won the Sidney Crosby lottery.
That and there's not a lot of other option in Pittsburgh. I actually like the city but it's the truth. In D.C. we have the Nationals who are new, rebuilding well and getting a new stadium, the Wizards who will probably make the playoffs the fourth straight year and the Redskins who are in the playoffs for the second time in three years (and for many people are a religion), plus a whole range of cultural activities. If you don't put a winner out there attendance in going to suffer because there are so many other options.
But whenever anyone uses attendance to say D.C. isn't a hockey town I just point out that the Capitals have outdrawn the Bruins 6 of the last 10 years - who's going to try and say Boston isn't a hockey town?
DMG--Mario Lemieux made Pittsburgh a hockey town. Rinks sprouted up everywhere and some kids are starting to make the NHL. There was a downturn in attendence for a few years, but I think that many reasons.
Plus when the team has had some of the most talented players in a generation (Lemieux, Coffey, Francis, Jagr, Kovalev, etc) and suddenly loses their stars to financial purposes it's not encouraging.
Obviously, in most any city, a winning team will draw more folks. And the Pens from 2002-2006 didn't do much winning.
Plus the arena isn't that nice, thousands of seats have obstructed views to the jumbotron or even part of the ice itself. Who wants that?
All those factors add up. As someone who's been in both cities for a while, Pittsburgh has more of a hockey infrastruture than Washington and can recover fans quickly. Whether that has to do with factors you site (more choices in sports here, more diverse nightlife, etc) is another matter.
Where does Pittsburgh stand as a hockey city? I would put them at the top tier (of American teams that is) with Buffalo, Minnesota, Detroit, New York and Philly. Things like attendence and merchandise sales don't lie, it's a popular team.
to focality: I agree, if Crosby was unsigned at this point there would (and should) be a lot of buzz about where he might end up.
And at the end of the day it's just a wishful pipedream for these writers (particularly north of the border) to imagine a unique, generational talent like Crosby or Ovechkin in their city every night.
Once there's news to report the reliable and non-ignorant sources (like Tarik or even AO himself) will surely announce what there is to announce.
Until then nothing adds up to much in my eyes.
Happy New Year All!
Hooks,
Very interesting perspective, thank you.
I have a tendency to get a little overprotective of D.C. when people say it isn't a hockey town. While I am well aware it doesn't come close to the bigger markets I think that historically it has done pretty well for itself. I do think D.C. has two things working against it - the nature of entertainment in D.C. and the infrastructure.
In terms of the nature of entertainment I think the problem is twofold. One is that there is so much news in D.C. all the time. Of course there's the government which obviously generates big news stories every day but then in terms of sports you have the Redskins who are clearly at the top of the food chain and Nationals and Wizards who have had press-worthy happenings recently, so it's very easy for the Capitals to get lost in the shuffle. The other problem is that so many people in D.C. are transplants that there's not as much loyalty (or attendance) as you might expect for a city with the population and wealth that Washington has.
In terms of infrastructure the D.C. area hasn't been great; I remember when I was playing 10 years ago we'd have to drive 40 minutes to get to practice because there were so few rinks (and I grew up in Arlington, about 1/2 mile from where Kettler is now so it's not like I was in the sticks) and there were only one or two other kids in the entire program in my age group from my whole county; now there is at least one team affiliated with a high school in my county and there are a decent number of kids who play at each. It's getting a lot better a lot faster and I think that's crucial because the more familiarity people have with a sport the more likely the are to be fans.
Glad I'm not the only one who thought a deal might be in the works with the arrival of Momma Ovechkin! I pray to the hockey gods daily to keep Ov in Washington (if not TB!) and hope that 2008 brings us a signed LONG TERM deal! I could not imagine watching hockey without Ov...he's what's FUN about the game! Coming to DC in 2 weeks...just to see him play!!! Happy & Safe New Year to all the dedicated Caps bloggers!!
dmg,
Everybody supports a winner, but no one remembers how they weren't supported during the tough times. Before 1994, could you even find a Rangers fan in New York? But once they won the Cup, EVERYONE was a Rangers fan. But 2-3 years ago, could you find any?
In Detroit in the mid-80's to early 90's, you couldn't even give away tickets to Red Wings games. Now it's "Hockeytown".
When the Caps start winning consistently, and/or the Redskins/Wizards start doing badly (although I can hope that all do well at the same time), they'll draw well. But you're right, there's so much competition for the spectator dollars, and no real rivalry (yet) with anyone in the division, it's not an easy sell. Plus, you will always have those who won't come into the city to see a game because they can't drive/there's no guaranteed parking, or they feel it's unsafe, or too far, or whatever.
Bruce Garrioch is always spouting off about "potential" deals that can only happen if the salary cap disappeared along with every player's No Trade/Movement Clause. I think it's a Family Guy clip that goes "if you have any pooh, fling it now." Bruce does and does it often. Garrioch should be in the CBC PSA spots for Canadian illiteracy.
JP, no post about the Winter Classic?
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