Bobby Carpenter Betrayed by Own Words : His Outbursts Took the Heat Off Washington Capital Management

Have you ever hated your boss? Have you ever been fired? Learn from the mistakes of others, we’re always told. If that’s so, we might all learn from the mistakes of Bobby Carpenter, the unfortunate hockey player who has become an illustration of What Not To Do When You Get Fired.

A child is ruled by emotions, an adult by his best judgment. A child does what feels good at the moment; an adult does what he knows is best in the long run. Carpenter, although 23 and possessed of a million-dollar contract, is still a child. And paying for it dearly.

All Carpenter had to do to win his war against the management of the Washington Capitals was keep his mouth shut after he was traded to the New York Rangers three weeks ago.

If he had just held his tongue, he would have come out of his feud with the Capitals looking like an innocent scapegoat -- the fair-haired boy who had endured five weeks of humilitation in the public stocks from a frustrated team for whom he had worked long and well. If he had kept his character a secret, instead of trying to assassinate the character of Capitals Coach Bryan Murray, he would have been remembered as a good guy done wrong.

Instead, as cameras rolled from New York to Quebec, he put his raw emotions on public display. Murray hadn’t been fair to him; Murray hadn’t recognized his talent. Murray was the reason he had been kicked off the Capitals indefinitely, until he could be traded. Murray panicked under pressure in big games. Murray should have won two Stanley Cups by now with all the talent he had in Washington. Murray’s players no longer respected him, and many wished they could have escaped from Washington as he had. As long as Murray was coach, the Capitals would stay pretty much where they were -- in last place.

If Murray and the Capitals’ front office had written the script and tricked him into reading it, Carpenter couldn’t have done them a bigger favor.

Two Stanley Cups? Nobody except Carpenter thinks the Capitals ever had that much talent. A Murray mutiny? Even in last place, the Capitals were one of the league’s tight-knit teams. Murray a panicker? It’s as likely that his emotion helped his team gain its reputation for overachieving.

Carpenter promised he would have plenty to say after his trade. He has kept his word. “I’m told that his father and his agent told him to clam up, but he just can’t,” says Murray. “He’s a kid who doesn’t like to take the blame, and I guess he’s never had to take any. . . . Now he’s put the pressure on himself. His problem on the ice in New York (one goal in nine games) is the same as it was here. He doesn’t want the puck.”

That’s as far as the Capitals or Murray will retaliate. They know better. Carpenter has done all their work for them.

“I see both sides. I even agree with both sides,” said Capitals veteran Bob Gould. “They (management) really hung him out to dry. He had good reason to feel hurt the way it was handled. But Bobby should have left town not saying much. It all would have been forgotten. Now he’s in a town where, if he doesn’t come up big, he’ll really have to bear the heat. . . . He’s made himself look like the bad guy. . . . One thing I’ve learned: Never burn your bridges.”

Even circumstantial evidence has conspired to make Carpenter look bad while making the Capitals, especially General Manager David Poile, look wiser than they probably were.

From the day Washington got Mike Ridley, Kelly Miller and Bob Crawford for Carpenter, the deal looked strong. Now it looks even better. The Capitals have won four in a row and are in the midst of a 7-3-1 run. Already, Washington has nosed past New Jersey, Pittsburgh and, yes, the Rangers in the Patrick Division.

“Maybe, maybe, it’s starting to turn,” said Murray, beaming. “Kelly Miller is on the puck all the time. So creative. He and Gould really complement each other. And is there a better forechecking line than Gould, Miller and (Gaetan) Duchesne? Ridley is smart. His passes, the way he sees the hole, are helping Dave Christian. And Crawford is a safe player who’s solidified our fourth line.

“None of these (new) guys is going to get 50 goals. But they create things for others, they work hard and they’re good people.”

The Capitals under Murray have always cultivated a blue-collar image, one that never seemed right for Carpenter -- the Can’t Miss Kid who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 18.

“In a way, Carpenter was a victim of the (sports) society,” said Poile. “He was built up early, put on a pedestal. He went into a shell because of all the expectations. Ridley is the exact opposite. A small western Canadian boy with a low-key personality. Not much demanded of him. There’s something to be said for small-town backgrounds--an honest day’s work.”

Recently, Ridley was smashed into the boards: 40 stitches in his forehead. He was back for the third period. That kind of thing has always represented the Capitals ethic under Murray.

For the sake of team intangibles, Carpenter was sacrificed -- in a harsh, public manner. He was not a Capital, as the word is currently defined. So, after two years of trying to nurse him around, the team exiled him.

If Carpenter had been willing to accept some blame, if he had gone quietly, he would have left fond memories behind him. And the Capitals brass would have had a self-inflicted black eye.

Instead, Carpenter got his anger off his chest. For a few days, he made himself feel better. However, he also displayed all the reasons why the Capitals wanted to get rid of him. And that may dog him for years.