Hunter Replaces Boudreau as Head Coach

GM George McPhee has announced that Washington Capitals' great Dale Hunter has replaced Bruce Boudreau as the team's head coach. Hunter, whose No. 32 is retired by the team, is the 15th coach in franchise history.

Hunter brings one main thing to the Caps, which has been written about both in this space and in others. From the great Mike Vogel today:

"The Caps were known as a lunch-bucket bunch that prided itself on playing strong defensive hockey in those days, and they were rarely caught short in the work ethic department. A Dale Hunter-coached team is certain to be a hard-working team."

That is one characteristic that Boudreau couldn't coax out of the Caps on a consistent basis. And, if you look at teams that succeed -- especially in the playoffs -- they are hard-working and play for each other. As Vogel writes, the Caps with Hunter didn't have the best players, but they never took a night off or had any "passengers" -- two more knocks on Boudreau.

So not only does this mean the Caps are in for some hard work, but it means that certain players are going to be in for a bit of a culture shock. Fortunately, McPhee has compiled a mostly hard-working roster, so it's not like there will have to be a major personnel shift. But if Alex Semin (or Alex Ovechkin, for that matter) feels like being lazy or complacent, they're not going to get away with it.

Boudreau tried the disciplinary route a little too late. Hunter will start with it today. And, speaking of Ovechkin, if the current team captain needs a role model of how to behave as a leader, he will not need to go too far.

Hunter was perhaps the best captain in franchise history (although Rod Langway might be a close second). And, for the current Caps, these are things that were needed that, unfortunately, cost a very good coach his job.

But for the team to advance in the playoffs, this was a tough choice that needed to be made.