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Dale Hunter isn’t ready to talk about coaching the Caps next season

Dale Hunter and Brooks Laich

The Washington Capitals can keep their heads high after pushing the New York Rangers to the limit in a seven-game series that ended with a 2-1 loss tonight, but GM George McPhee’s head must be full of questions. As this post illustrates, next year’s team could be very different, yet the biggest question revolves around whether Dale Hunter will coach the team in 2012-13.

Most of the time, the decision is out of a coach’s hands, but Hunter’s OHL options mean that he might just call the shot. He told Katie Carrera and others that he hasn’t made up his mind just yet - or at least isn’t telling, as Hunter said now isn’t “the time to talk about that.”

It’s not surprising that he’s reluctant to inform the media of such a decision at this time, but one must imagine that McPhee and the Capitals will want an answer soon enough. Considering the strategic changes he instituted, the decision to bring back one or more of free agents such as Alexander Semin, Mike Green and Dennis Wideman might come down to Hunter’s own decision.