A new segment of daily (hopefully) rants about goings on in the world of sports, movies or anything else I have an opinion on.
Yesterday it was officially announced by the Washington Capitals that Forward Mike Knuble would not be returning next season. This was a mere formality to the fan base that saw Knubles' playing time, goals and overall effectiveness drop last season dramatically. What didn't diminish was his effort or his character as a man. Whether he was a healthy scratch (meaning he wasn't on the active roster for the game) or whether he was relegated to play with the fourth line (normally fewer minutes per game) Mike Knuble always acted as a true professional which is why he was so revered by the Capitals fan base.
It didn't start out rocky, he joined the team in 2009 and was the perfect fit on the line with young superstars Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The happy go lucky, run and gun Capitals toyed with opponents during the regular season scoring a league high 318 goals en route to the best record in the NHL with 121 points. Knuble scored 29 goals in only 69 games and the majority of them were within 2 feet of the goal crease. He was so deft at planting himself directly in front of the opposing goalie and picking up all the loose change from his line mates. It was perfect. The playoffs that season were not. The Capitals were stonewalled by a ridiculously hot goalie and were sent packing.
The next season was more of the same for the first two months of the season. The Capitals scored and scored some more. Then during a losing streak in December with the HBO film crews covering every waking moment for the New Years game vs Pittsburgh, the team made a dramatic shift in strategy. Instead of focusing solely on offense, it appeared the Capitals were going to focus on nothing but defense. Everybody had to adjust, but it didn't seem to affect Mike Knuble. You don't need to adjust your game when your role is to be in the face of the goalie and score dirty goals. He had 24 goals and played in 79 games during the regular season but was unfortunately injured during the first round of the playoffs and could not contribute in his normal fashion as the Capitals were swept out of the 2nd round.
Year three was full of dysfunction for the Capitals. After a scorching 7-0 start it all fell apart as Coach Bruce Boudreau lost the locker room and then his job. Dale Hunter was brought in and instilled an old school grind it out defensive approach and it barely worked. Mike Knuble was demoted to the fourth line or benched all together for most of the season. He was no longer used on the power play and it was quickly apparent that he was not the right fit for what Hunter was looking for.
When the playoffs began, Knuble wasn't on the active roster. #FreeKnuble was the mantra on Twitter. Die hard fans knew what Knuble could bring to the table and we all hoped he would get his chance. When Nicklas Backstrom got suspended for Game 4 versus the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, it was Mike Knuble that Dale Hunter turned to. He responded as we all knew he would. He scored a goal in a pivotal Game 5 and set up the series clinching overtime goal in Game 7 by driving hard to the net...classic Knuble. The Capitals won 3 of 4 games that series with him in the lineup and all of a sudden people considered the Capitals a dangerous team.
In the 2nd round Mike Knuble managed only 1 goal and 0 assists, but his playing time was severely limited. Whether he didn't have the gas in the tank at his age to compete night in and night out in such a rigid system or whether Coach Hunter didn't give him the chances to shine we'll never know. The writing was on the wall that Mike Knuble's time as a Capital was coming to sad end. He was a fan favorite for good reason, he played the game right, always a true professional and I can only wish we could turn back the clock and have Mike Knuble play another 10 years with Washington.
Thank you for your service Mike Knuble.
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To change directions I feel in the mood to rant about traffic lights. With all the change in technology I had high hopes that somehow traffic lights would become smarter with the ability to recognize traffic patterns and adjust their cycle automatically to reduce traffic. It appears I was wrong. I drive the same stretch of road every day and there is one light that drives me insane. For 2-3 miles before and 5-6 miles after it is smooth sailing, but every day there is a 2 mile backup leading to this one light. It makes no sense that the light can't stay green when the traffic gets bad longer rather than letting the 10-15 cars go through from the opposite directions. Let them sit for an additional 20-30 seconds per cycle so that we don't have to sit through 6-7 full cycles before getting through after the initial backup begins.
I realize I should just bitch and moan to VDOT, but I had hopes that technological advances would fix this. Other lights get shorter at night time and there are cities that go to blinking lights at night. What never seems to get better is rush hour light cycles. I'm sure a smarter man then me can figure out a way to have a quicker response to backups and adjust the cycle of lights better...ok I'm done.
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