Capitals axe coach, top exec after missing playoffs

WASHINGTON: Adam Oates has been fired as coach of the National Hockey League’s Washington Capitals and general manager George McPhee will not have his contract renewed, owner Ted Leonsis said Saturday.
The move comes two weeks after the end of a season in which the Capitals finished 38-30 with 14 overtime losses for 90 points, three points shy of Detroit for the last Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Russian star Alex Ovechkin led the NHL with 51 regular-season goals but the Capitals struggled with consistency all season.
“This is an important time for our organization, and I feel a change is needed in order to get us back to being a top echelon team that competes for the Stanley Cup,” Leonsis said.
Oates was 65-48-16 in two seasons as the Capitals’ coach while McPhee spent 17 seasons in the decision-making role on player personnel for the club, rebuilding the team into a contender around Ovechkin, the top pick of the 2004 NHL Draft.
The Capitals reached the playoffs 10 times, won seven division crowns and had the NHL’s best regular-season record once in addition to making the Stanley Cup Final in 1998, McPhee’s first season in the post, where they were swept by Detroit.
“George has been a terrific, long-time executive for our franchise and I’m grateful for his commitment to the Capitals organization for the past 17 years,” Leonsis said.
“He was a highly effective manager who is extremely well regarded within our organization and around the NHL. We have the utmost respect for him.” Only New Jersey’s Lou Lamoriello and Carolina’s Jim Rutherford had longer tenure in their current NHL general manager jobs than McPhee, who unlike them was unable to deliver a Stanley Cup.
Oates replaced another former Capitals on-ice star, Dale Hunter, as coach after the Capitals were ousted from the second round of the 2011 playoffs by the New York Rangers.