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Boudreau: “I tried every trick... nothing was working.”

Washington Capitals v Winnipeg Jets

WINNIPEG, CANADA - NOVEMBER 17: Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau speaks with the media, including The Hockey News’ writer Ken Campbell (centre) after the team was defeated by the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 at the MTS Centre on November 17, 2011 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Marianne Helm/Getty Images)

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Bruce Boudreau’s firing on Monday may not have been a shock to many following the Capitals’ play of late, but for Boudreau he thinks it came at the right time.

Boudreau spoke with Tarik El-Bashir or The Washington Post about being fired and as you might expect, his take on things was sad but also honest. Boudreau said he told Caps GM George McPhee, “I tried every trick I knew in 18 years and nothing was working.”

When you run out of ideas for how to tweak and motivate a team like that, there’s not a whole lot you can do. As far as the idea that players were tuning him out, Boudreau said he didn’t believe it to be true but that the last couple days he was at the helm people started saying it to him. Boudreau admits he may have been naive.

As far as whether or not Alex Ovechkin was rebelling against him, Boudreau says he’ll never want to believe that to be the case and that the good of Ovechkin’s game far outweighed the bad. That might kill a few columnists’ hopes right there.

Reading Boudreau’s comments you feel for the guy because you get the sense that he really gave it all he had and that the team was just done with him. It’s sad but it happens with a lot of teams. The well runs dry and there’s no way to reignite their will to do what you want. Now the Caps hope that Dale Hunter can find the new buttons to push.