Bruce Boudreau has been fired as the Washington Capitals' head coach, a move that is stunning on one level and easy to anticipate on another. On the one hand, letting go of one of the NHL's most successful head coaches, at least by won/loss record, is a shocker. On the other hand, things with the club had clearly deteriorated, and as the old sports adage goes, you can't fire all the players, so the coach takes the fall.
We'll have plenty of time to discuss whether the Capitals made the correct decision, but as Brian Murphy of Homer McFanboy tweeted earlier Monday morning, there's a degree of sadness in D.C. even from those who support the move. Boudreau was a charismatic figure, a local celebrity that was the key ingredient in shepherding the rise of the Capitals from rebuilding young team to NHL power. He cursed. He had ketchup stains on his face on live TV. He shopped for ice cream, did goofy carpet commercials and always kept the press entertained. Like it or not, Boudreau became a cult of personality around town.
Now, he's gone, and some other city will get to enjoy him. In the meantime, Russian Machine Never Breaks' video tribute to Boudreau is worth watching.
For more on Boudreau's firing, visit this StoryStream. For more fan reaction and more on anything Capitals hockey, head over to Japers' Rink.