When the Capitals finally traded Jaromir Jagr to the Rangers Friday, it was as if a veil of honesty finally dropped down on the team. For months ownership and management had denied any intention to make major changes to team chemistry. But at the same time they were actively looking for some way to “escape” Jagr’s $11 million per year salary, just dumping costs no matter what. [canada.com].

Well the “no matter what” is about to come home to roost. Without Jagr, the Caps have no star power and little scoring ability. Their defense and goaltending are already horrid. So Ted Leonsis’ plan is apparently that if a team is losing games and money, it should lop off its good players to go with cheap, inexperienced youngsters and lose some more games. This is a shambles. Jagr’s acquisition was designed to put Washington on the map and get the Caps to the “next level.” But Ted & Co. never did anything else and left Jags virtually alone. For most of the time, Jagr played his heart out as a leader. At the end, you could see he did not care anymore. Of course, neither did Ted or the Caps, so who can really blame him?

Related Posts:

• Liquidation Sale In Washington
• The Fighting Owners
• Nobody’s Coming

Today the NHL’s Washington Capitals fired second-year coach Bruce (Butch) Cassidy, who had led the team to the worst record in the league. [USAToday.com].

It’s too little, too late, in my view. Caps owner Ted Leonsis — of AOL fame — knew going in to this season that he needed to get some real players to work with superstar Jaromir Jagr and generate speed for the offense. But instead what he and general manager George McPhee did was cut or trade all the veteran defensemen and sign some promising but very raw 19-year old rookie forwards. That’s lead to the Caps giving up the most goals, usually falling behind in the first period. The rest is inevitable.

So this season’s debacle was in the cards month ago. Cassidy is just a patsy. The Capitals should trade Ted Leonsis.

Related Posts:

• Goodbye Jags
• Liquidation Sale In Washington
• The Fighting Owners

Jaromir Jagr says he “want to be the best player in the world,” but the Washington Capitals are considering a trade because he costs too much money. Jagr Could be Offseason Trade Bait for Cost-Cutting Capitals [SI.com].

Well, you can be a great player on a bad team if the rest of the folks are mediocre. Jagr played spectacularly, but his crisp passes were often missed by lackadaisical teammates and when the opposition banged on him — as Tampa Bay did by beating up his face, leaving him out cold on the ice with a blood-splattered uniform — no one on the Caps ever retailated.

Jagr

The Caps have asked Jagr to do it alone, which has never worked in hockey. Orr needed Esposito, Gretsky needed Messier, but Jagr’s got a bunch of mediocre journeymen.

Ted Leonsis, listen up! You want fans to pack MCI Center, get a good team, a consistently winning team. Don’t send players away and go with two-bit has beens and unproven rookies. Pick up a Sergei Zubov — a real defenseman — and a Pavel Bure, a Ziggy Palfy or (dare I say it) a Vincent Lecavalier. Get Jagr his Esposito or his Messier, and you will fill MCI Center to the rafters every night.

Related Posts:

• Springtime for Jagr
• Goodbye Jags
• Littering The Ice In Overtime

The Caps lose on bad officiating in overtime. The fans then vented their frustration at the officials by littering the ice with bottles and other debris after the final goal in the 4-3 loss. [Yahoo! Sports]

Yeah, a 5-on-3 overtime power play is crazy. What happened to the refs “putting away their whistles” in overtime? BTW, our seats are in the 5th row, so we got littered with the stuff that couldn’t reach the ice.

More importantly, Jagr got decked and lay bleeding on the ice after setting up the game-tying goal late in the 3rd period, but no one on the Caps retaliated. That lack of physicality is going to come back to haunt them down the stretch.

Related Posts:

• Viva Les Habs
• Goodbye Jags
• Best Player In The World

Jaromir Jagr showed last night why he is really worth the money the Caps pay him. Two goals — both pure artistry —and two assists led the Capitals to a 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay to take a 2-0 games lead in the first playoff series. Tampa tried to slow him with some fierce checking in the first period, to no avail. Jagr just laughed, saying “You think maybe those guys wake me up by trying to hit me like that?” An awakening of sorts, too, for Jags, who had not scored in 20 consecutive playoff games.

I said last week that it was doubtful the Caps would advance unless something extraordinary happened. Suffice it to say it did. Wrong was I.

Related Posts:

• Goodbye Jags
• Best Player In The World
• Littering The Ice In Overtime

Jaromir Jagr finally gets to show whether Ted Leonsis’ $11 million per year deal for him to join the Washington Capitals last season makes sense. Jagr is a tremendous player, with a flair for improvization, speed and superb strength. Yet with the mediocre supporting cast around him there’s little chance of the Caps progressing far in the playoffs, where they are seeded 6th in the Eastern Conference.

Jagr is “the best scoring threat the Caps have,” but that’s not going to be enough without much, much more.

Related Posts:

• Best Player In The World
• Goodbye Jags
• Littering The Ice In Overtime