Tariq El-Bashir

It was not good.

They've made a change in the assistant coaching ranks.

Kirk Muller, who was a great guy and obviously a very accomplished player and coach, he just wasn't able to get the pieces to work.

I think there are a lot of reasons for that.

I think when you've been doing a system one way for a long time with the greatest power play goal score, greatest goal score of all time, you just kind of default into old habits.

Even though you've talked in meetings about doing things differently, when the pressure's on, you kind of go back to what you've always done.

And it was just predictable.

It was predictable, and it wasn't working anymore.

I think that one of the discussion points –

as they start working through what Alex Ovechkin's return, if it indeed happens, looks like, is going to be role.

You know, he'll be 41 years old at the start of next season.

Expecting him to play two minutes on the power play like he has since 2005, that's just not a smart play.

And I think he gets it.

He does?

I'm not saying he's going to be happy about it, but he wants to win.

And

if Coach Carberry sits him down and goes, listen, Alex, you're still going to be on the power play, but it's going to look different than it did last year.

Your minutes are going to be down from last year.

I think he'll embrace that because he knows at this stage of his career he wants one more chance at a deep run.

And we've seen it in the past.