Independent voices from the TWT Communities
In last year's playoffs, Ovechkin saw as his ice time dip as low as 13 minutes and 36 seconds, even as he was scoring goals and helping the Washington Capitals win. That was under Dale Hunter, who put an emphasis on defensive play. Don't expect any of that from new coach Adam Oates, who could be the perfect guy to take Ovechkin's career back to superstar levels.
Brian Burke walked the red carpet at Monday night's Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony and was determined not to go there. After doing an interview about former Toronto Maple Leafs center Mats Sundin, the general manager declined to talk about what everyone had no choice but to talk about: the NHL lockout.
As Adam Oates received his Hockey Hall of Fame blazer Sunday afternoon, one fan at Air Canada Centre yelled out: "Finally."
Often along the road to Monday's induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame, ex-Washington Capitals center Adam Oates went unnoticed or underappreciated.
Joe Sakic was four years old when his father took him to his first hockey game.
Just after noon Tuesday, the first report came out that Adam Oates got the nod as coach of the Washington Capitals. Receiving the call about getting your first NHL head job is unreal in itself.
Roman Hamrlik's eyes opened wide. He had just been told that Marc Bergevin was named the Montreal Canadiens' new general manager, and the veteran defenseman had much more to add than anyone recalled.
Lindy Ruff still hasn't achieved his ultimate wish of bringing a Stanley Cup to Buffalo, but at least he'll get a couple more years to try.
Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Mike Bossy, Jari Kurri and Teemu Selanne. Those are the only players in NHL history to reach 300 goals faster than the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, who did so Tuesday night.
Bill Guerin played alongside Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh for more than a season, so he knows what he's watching from afar now that's he retired.
Since he couldn't stay in Dallas and wasn't ready for retirement, Mike Modano made the logical choice: He's going home.
As Hull said, Ovechkin doesn't always need to be skated hard in practice to get production out of him.
"Coaches that never [were stars], they don't understand Ovechkin. Like Dale Hunter. How is Dale Hunter ever going to understand what's inside the mind of Ovechkin? He can't. Adam Oates can," said Hull, who scored more than a third of his career goals with Oates as his linemate. "He understands the mind of a superstar scorer and the ego that goes with it and what it takes to satisfy that ego. And the ego I'm talking about isn't a bad thing; it's a hunger within that guy."
