Caps fire coach Boudreau; replaced by Dale Hunter

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2011 file photo, Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau gives instructions after calling a time out in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. The Capitals have fired Boudreau and replaced him with Dale Hunter. The Capitals announced the move Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, FIle)

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2011 file photo, Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau gives instructions after calling a time out in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, in Pittsburgh. The Capitals have fired Boudreau and replaced him with Dale Hunter. The Capitals announced the move Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, FIle)

FILE - In this May 5, 2011 file photo, Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau talks during a news conference at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. The Capitals have fired Boudreau and replaced him with Dale Hunter. The Capitals announced the move Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

FILE - In this March 18, 2011 file photo, Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau reacts during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, in Newark, N.J. The Capitals have fired Boudreau and replaced him with Dale Hunter. The Capitals announced the move Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2011 file photo, Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau rubs his face after New York Rangers' Derek Stepan scored a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Washington. The Capitals have fired Boudreau and replaced him with Dale Hunter. The Capitals announced the move Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) ? The Washington Capitals on Monday fired coach Bruce Boudreau, who won 200 games faster than any coach in modern NHL history but stumbled regularly in the playoffs despite a talent-laden lineup featuring two-time league MVP Alex Ovechkin.

Boudreau was replaced by former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who was scheduled to lead Monday's practice and make his debut behind the bench Tuesday night when Washington hosts the St. Louis Blues to begin a three-game homestand.

Hired four years ago on Thanksgiving Day, Boudreau went 201-88-40 in the regular season with the Capitals but just 17-20 in the playoffs. This season he tried a new approach, emphasizing accountability and the willingness to bench his star players ? team captain Ovechkin included ? as punishment for subpar performances.

The Capitals started 7-0 ? a franchise record for consecutive wins to begin a season ? but have since slumped badly. They have lost six of eight, including a 5-1 beat-down Saturday night to a Buffalo Sabres team missing nine regular players. Ovechkin has only one goal in the last eight games.

The 51-year-old Hunter played for the Capitals from 1987-99, the last five seasons as team captain, and is one of four players to have his jersey (No. 32) retired by the franchise. He played 19 NHL seasons and is the only player in league history with 1,000 points and 3,000 penalty minutes. His career total of 3,563 penalty minutes ranks second all-time.

Hunter has coached the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League for 11 seasons, compiling a 451-189-23-24 record. He became the fastest coach in OHL history to reach 300 and 400 career wins.

Boudreau turned around a moribund franchise when he was hired in 2007, leading the Capitals to the first of four consecutive Southeast Division titles and winning the league's coach of the year award in 2008. Nicknamed "Gabby," he bought an offensive philosophy that meshed well with Ovechkin and the team's other "young guns" such as Alexander Semin and Mike Green, but he was never able to get Washington beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Boudreau had the team adopt a more defensive mindset during a losing streak last season, but it failed to pay dividends in the spring. The Capitals were swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the postseason.

Boudreau's assistant coaches ? Dean Evason, Bob Woods and Blaine Forsythe ? will remain in their posts under Hunter.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-28-Capitals-Boudreau%20Fired/id-2d7005078a5142df9ba32d30c5ed6820

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'Apology communications' the way to go in solving business crisis ...

MANILA, Philippines - Say goodbye to corporate secrecy and censorship, sincere apology is the way to go, according to the latest Asia-Pacific Corporate Social Media Study 2011.

The study, conducted by global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, showed that Asia is now leading the so-called "apology communication" practice in the corporate world when dealing with a business crisis and it proved to be an effective strategy.

Compared to the 2010 APAC corporate social media study, the present findings revealed that the practice of holding secrets or statements by companies experiencing crises is now "outdated" since it only looks weak and defensive, projecting a very negative image in social media.

"Holding statements today by companies is like hiding behind a shield," said Bob Pickard, president and CEO of Burson-Marsteller in APAC.

He adviced that apologies nowadays by companies must be "sincere and genuine" taking into consideration an organization's reputation in today's digital or cloud era.

Pickard shared everything that famously goes wrong is now called a "PR disaster", citing the BP oil spill, Toyota recall, and the Tiger Woods spectacle as few examples. He said that companies, whether they like it or not, will sooner or later experience a crisis as depicted in the study.

Since the study has proven time and again that "crisis is part of a business" Pickard said there is a need to plan sufficiently on how to deal with it especially in communicating through social media.

?To reach and persuade stakeholders today, it is not just the vocabulary and tone of corporate marketing and communications that must evolve,? Pickard said. ?More important, companies must adopt a mindset that puts listening and acting genuinely and transparently front and centre. And, they must understand how to deal with negative feedback expressed publicly that could resonate and escalate.?

Pickard added that visits in corporate websites continue to decline yearly and it is now essential for businesses to embrace the new media to be able to deal well a business crisis.

The study showed Asia has dramatically improved its engagement in social media since last year. Figures revealed 80% of global companies went digital in 2010 compared to only 40% in Asia.

However, the 2011 figures showed a double increase in size of Asian companies that went digital, now pegged at 80% compared to 84% by global firms.

Pickard said almost any corporation or NGO now can become a media company and so there is now a dire need for more "professional story-tellers" or journalists within firms that could serve as members of a dedicated digital team.

This, as the sheer size of communities has become a communications management challenge and the key is to simplify the complexity of digital story-telling.

An exclusive affiliate of local PR firm Strategic Edge Inc., Burson-Marsteller's APAC social media study 2011 is a review and analysis of social media activity by 120 major companies across 12 markets in APAC, composed of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=752250&publicationSubCategoryId=200

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