Is There Still a Lockout?

  I miss the Wizards.

  The outcome might not have ended up in their favor most nights, but more often than not, that was a team who went out onto the court knowing they were just as capable of winning the game as the other team. I cheered for that mindset and effort, so I am on board for Ted Leonsis' slow and steady wins the race approach, but when he applies that same metric to the Capitals, I have to disagree.

 The Capitals were an elite team. They are well beyond the building blocks stage. Premium players have been in place for a while now, but they are still pieces contained within a set of strategies and systems. I know Ted is into the business of happiness, but no matter what smiley face he puts on this current downturn, a great deal of fans- the ones who pay with time and lots of money, are not happy. I know I was insulted when he implied in one of today's blog posts that those upset with the slide are simply not taking the lows with the highs- Ted's Take. There might be bandwagoneers who aren't used to a losing team, but I would hope that a great majority are ones who have suffered through years of mediocre teams and player and coaching changes and know that this configuration of the team should be playing at a higher level than it is. I think it's perfectly reasonable to be disappointed and ask for action.

My broken record is going to keep skipping along right here: When your boss sucks, you don't have motivation to do well. There is no drive to make him look good when he doesn't deserve it. BB has to go.

• If the team needs hustle and drive and speed and a man to stand in front of the goal, why has Monsieur Hustle himself, Mathieu Perreault, been the healthy scratch the last few weeks? Mike Knuble and Matt Hendricks can't do it all themselves.
• Vokoun can't go side to side and the high glove side is weak. The defense does nothing to compensate for that.
• Cody Eakin has not been the ginger revelation that so many proclaimed him to be. There's been a whole lot of nothing coming from him.
• There has to be a way to bring up some new D-men. Even if Green were healthy I can't see him making up for the regular miscues of Hamrlik and Schultz all on his own. There should be enough to rotate some of them up to the press box.
• It may be a coincidence that Ovie hasn't done so well since getting the C, but maybe there is something to him being a kid who feels he has to carry the weight of a team that isn't being motivated correctly from the top down. Some people simply aren't leaders and there's nothing wrong with that. Slide that C over to #22 and see what happens.
• I'm not laying any blame at the feet of George McPhee. He has acquired quality players and that's what he's supposed to do. This bit of intel solidifies my respect. Please don't backtrack later, GMGM.

 I want to be in the business of happiness, too. I admit I haven't finished reading the book but I'd be pretty sure that one of the tenets is not to worry about things out of your control. The employment status of the Caps personnel is certainly something out of my control, but if Ted makes it a point to keep the napkins and straws stocked in Section 104, it seems hard to believe that he'd let the team that people are coming to see suffer from a lack of motivation and leadership.