The Bus Arrives: Bruce Boudreau

Black Monday was pretty dark for a couple of NHL coaches. Bruce Boudreau got tossed under the bus in Washington DC, and Paul Maurice got his pink slip from the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Boudreau dismissal is getting more press, and the talking heads are saying things like, "Ovechkin had his best season under Boudreau, but..."

The Washington GM said, “[Boudreau] pushed every button he could push. … You make the change and hope that a new voice and a new way of doing things and a new focus gets the best out of these players.”

That's a laugher. Just a couple of years ago, Ovechkin inked a 13-year, $124 million contract extension. His teammates Semin and Backstrom currently make $6.7 million/year each, and Mike Green pulls in $5.25 million. If that kind of money doesn't get the best out of somebody, nothing should. General Managers must want to send desks through windows when they discover that a player isn't "motivated" by Fort Knox.

Best for the Capitals means the Stanley Cup. The Capitals have won their division for the past four years, but always got booted out of the playoffs early. Nothing short of a Cup will be enough for the management and fans.

It's axiomatic that if you own an expensive player, then they own you. You aren't going to fire somebody worth $5 million to send a message to the team, and everybody knows it. And so: bus meets coach.