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Washington columnist calls for Caps to clean house

Winnipeg Jets v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals reacts to a call during the game against the Winnipeg Jets at the Verizon Center on February 9, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Greg Fiume

The Washington Capitals’ listless loss to the Carolina Hurricanes was like a miserable cherry on a sundae of sadness. So far, things haven’t been much better on Wednesday as the Caps are down 2-0 against the surging Ottawa Senators through 20 minutes.

With the team’s woes in mind, some critics are calling for extreme measures. Even with that in mind, The Washington Times’ Dan Daly’s stance might startle you. He doesn’t just want changes; he wants the team to clean house - and that wouldn’t stop at Alex Ovechkin.

As each month passes, I’m more and more convinced that only a change of scenery — if that — will ever bring back the Ovechkin of three years ago. If he stays in D.C., “wrapped up” in his “rock star status” (in Olie Kolzig’s words), he’ll go right on scoring 30 to 35 goals a season, and the club will go right on being a disappointment.

File that last paragraph, by the way, under: Words I Never Imagined Writing. But after watching the Capitals come apart against Tampa Bay in last year’s playoffs — and after seeing too many no-shows this season (like the 5-0 abomination Monday night in Carolina) — it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that something is rotten at the Caps’ core.

Interesting stuff. If you ask me, the hockey world might look back at the Capitals as “The team that conventional wisdom and the media destroyed.”

Panic button planning

Instead of sticking with the attacking system that made them horrifying for other teams and elating for fans, the franchise bowed to the sentiment that their system wasn’t good enough. Perhaps it wasn’t, but should anyone be surprised that their stars are struggling to adapt to a style that doesn’t play to their strengths?

For every moment when a Steve Yzerman or Mike Modano can adapt from a high-flying mode to a two-way commitment, there are a ton of round-peg-in-square-hole scenarios.

Return to fun instead

As much as Daly harps on the fact that Ovechkin and Mike Green have been around for seven years, those two players are still in their primes. Maybe the team would be better served blowing up an illogical system and ignoring what everyone else has to say rather than panicking and starting from scratch again?

It’s easy to go nuts when the chips are down (see: Patrick Kane trade rumors) and apparently it’s even easier to forget the really bad times when things get better. The Capitals should remember where they came from and what’s gotten them to a higher level rather than trying to please pundits - myself included.