There were some eyebrows raised on Monday when Washington announced the man in charge of replacing outgoing GM George McPhee would be McPhee’s longtime assistant, Brian MacLellan.
Even more eyebrows were raised when ex-Caps draftee Shawn Simpson (pictured), who spent seven years as both a scout and director of hockey ops in Washington, took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the hire:Shocking hiring of Brian MacLellan. I’ve never met a lazier/less passionate hockey man. @washcaps At times you shake your head. #Laughable
— Shawn Simpson (@TSNSimmer) May 26, 2014
He got close with Chris Patrick. Talked is way in with Dick Patrick. @JasonLaCanfora This is a sad day for @washcaps
— Shawn Simpson (@TSNSimmer) May 26, 2014
(Chris Patrick is a pro scout in Washington and the son of president and COO Dick Patrick.)
Simpson’s time in Washington’s front office overlapped with MacLellan’s tenure (Japers’ Rink, one of the best Caps site on the web, found this pic,) so one would assume the blast on Twitter was somehow related to a working experience, though you know what they say about assumptions.
The Capitals dismissed Simpson as director of hockey ops in 2004 and replaced him with -- guess who? -- MacLellan.
From there, Simpson proceeded to take a job with the Leafs and is now currently a radio analyst on TSN 1200 in Ottawa.