It never seems to end with the Washington Capitals this season. The latest news of the weird comes from defensemen John Erskine and Roman Hamrlik, two players that have been residing in head coach Dale Hunter's doghouse for much of the past two months, and how they haven't really had much dialogue with their new coach. At all.
One of those players may have to inserted back into the lineup if defenseman Mike Green is suspended for his elbow to the head of Brett Connolly on Thursday night, which means something will have to take place that hasn't happened much recently.
Communication.
Said Erskine, via Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington, when asked if Hunter had spoken to him recently: “Who? Dale? He hasn’t talked to me one little bit. I talk to [assistant coaches] Deano [Evason] and Jimmy Johnson here and there, but that’s about it.”
Erskine also added, again via Gormley, that Hunter hasn't spoken to him since January 18. That's 51 days, or nearly two months. Obviously, that's quite a long time, and surely you can see how that might be an issue in a locker room, as the lines of communication are pretty important in the NHL (or, heck, any job).
Erskine hasn't played since February 12 against the New York Rangers, logging just eight minutes of ice time. Hamrlik hasn't played since February 20.
Photo: Getty Images
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