Fire the Washington Capitals

Ovechkin falls flat in the playoffs. Again. (Getty Images)

Capitals fans went from rocking red to seeing red last night as their team wilted in the playoffs for the 4th-straight season. This means it's time to break up the roster and get a new coach.

The Capitals made their share of mistakes but the team was also out-played in a series sweep by Tampa Bay. Washington has won its division 4 years in a row, yet the team hasn't advanced beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs in any of those seasons. The low point was last season when the Capitals blew a 3-1 lead in the first round against the Canadiens.  

The core of the Capitals roster (Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom) and its coach (Bruce Boudreau) have remained unchanged since early in the 2007-2008 season. For some teams, like the New York Yankees, years of continuity lead to years of titles. In DC, though, it hasn't happened. Unless the Capitals are satisfied with being regular-season champs every year, the team is going to have to make a major change somewhere.

The Capitals' playoff struggles also raise questions in particular about the greatness of Ovechkin, and it's sort of a mystery why he can't lead his team to a Stanley Cup title. He's a two-time Hart Trophy winner and he averages .63 goals per game in the regular season and .67 gpg in the playoffs, both of which are better career averages than Wayne Gretzky's. But Gretzky won 4 titles, 2 of them before he was Ovey's current age of 25. The Capitals shouldn't get rid of Ovechkin, but they should accept that he can't win a title by himself. Shouldn't a transcendent player be able to carry his team? Ovechkin just doesn't seem to be that sort of player, great as he is.

It's hard to say a team has completely failed when it's won 4 consecutive division titles, but the high-pressure world of pro sports demands more. A stagnant core roster has led to stagnant playoff results, so the team must be revamped if it's going to progress. It might take a coaching change or it might require trading one of the team's stars. But until a mini rebuild is under way, fire the Capitals.