SBNation.com - Bruce Boudreau's Future In Question After Washington Capitals Quick Playoff Exithttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png2011-05-06T11:59:01-04:00http://www.sbnation.com/rss/stream/19195812011-05-06T11:59:01-04:002011-05-06T11:59:01-04:00Some Washington Capitals Fans Believe Bruce Boudreau Should Be Gone
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<p>You can only experience heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for so long before the fans start to lose faith, and after their sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round this year, it appears that's where some fans of the Washington Capitals are now.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.japersrink.com/2011/5/6/2156955/on-boudreau">Fans like J.P. at SB Nation's Japers' Rink</a>.</p>
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<p>To be sure, Bruce Boudreau isn't "The Problem" with the Washington Capitals. When a franchise suffers <a href="http://www.japersrink.com/2011/5/5/2155308/the-morning-after" target="_blank">soul-crushing defeats</a> in three-consecutive springs (or four, depending upon how easily one's soul is crushed), there's plenty of blame to go around. But, as the old sports cliché goes, you can't fire all the players, so it's usually the guy calling the shots who takes the fall. And in this case, that would probably be fair. <a href="http://www.csnwashington.com/05/05/11/McPhee-expects-Boudreau-to-return/landing.html?blockID=517364&feedID=9656" target="_blank">Bruce Boudreau is a good coach</a> and a great guy. But, for whatever reason, he's never been able to consistently extract from this Caps team a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts when it's mattered most. It's time to find someone who can.</p>
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<p>We'll have to wait and see whether or not general manager George McPhee and owner Ted Leonsis agree with the assessment.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2011/5/6/2157345/bruce-boudreau-coach-washington-capitals-nhl-playoffs-2011Travis Hughes2011-05-05T13:42:38-04:002011-05-05T13:42:38-04:00Bruce Boudreau's Future In Question After Washington Capitals Quick Playoff Exit
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<p>Will he stay or will he go? That's the big question surrounding the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.japersrink.com/">Washington Capitals</a> and head coach Bruce Boudreau in the aftermath of their quick, embarrassing four-game sweep at the hands of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.rawcharge.com/">Tampa Bay Lightning</a>.</p>
<p>One day after that timid exit from the 2011 postseason, as the team gathered at their practice facility in Arlington, Va., team general manager George McPhee addressed the job security of Boudreau with a vote of confidence... or something.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://twitter.com/#!/TarikElBashir/status/66169671925243904">Via Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post</a>:</p>
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<p>Just asked GMGM if Boudreau will be back next season and he said: "I expect him to be back. He's a good coach."</p>
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<p>Maybe we're just reading between the lines a bit too much, but that doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement. You expect him to be back, George? Isn't it your decision to make? He'll either be back or he won't, right?</p>
<p>Obviously, it's a tough decision that will likely be debated internally between McPhee, his cohorts and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, and what other kind of answer can we expect McPhee to give? It doesn't say that Boudreau will be gone, but it doesn't say he'll stick around either. In my eyes, this means the question is still in the air.</p>
<p>The Caps fans over at Japers' Rink <a target="_blank" href="http://www.japersrink.com/2011/5/5/2155414/i-expect-him-to-be-back-hes-a-good-coach#comments">seem to have the same thoughts</a> here.</p>
<p>"Expect?" <a target="_blank" href="http://www.japersrink.com/2011/5/5/2155414/i-expect-him-to-be-back-hes-a-good-coach#66485102">asked commenter Fehr and Balanced</a>. "[McPhee] makes the calls, so why hedge with 'expect?' Is there someone that could override [McPhee]? Is there a chance [Boudreau] would just quit? Unlikely, so the use of expect sets off red flags for me."</p>
<p>It's definitely strange, and while a lot of fans are understandably calling for Boudreau's head after several straight disappointing playoff exits, the Capitals appear as though they aren't making any dramatic, reactionary decisions. This is a story that isn't yet written.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/2011/5/5/2334704/bruce-boudreaus-future-in-question-after-washington-capitals-quickTravis Hughes