No Time for a Time Bomb

Bryan’s out. Terry’s in. And the Washington Capitals go their Murray-Murray way.

Let’s see if I’ve got this brother-for-brother swap straight. Bryan-the-elder has one of the 15 best records of any coach in the history of big-time puck-swatting. He has gotten a once-inept franchise routinely into the National Hockey League playoffs, though never into May.

The Capitals are oh-for-the-’90s and on an eight-game losing streak, but the town has not gone after Murray’s scalp with any passion. Most of us were perfectly content with owner Abe Pollin’s explanation for the slide:

“When you lose two players, your number one and number two defensemen (Rod Langway and Scott Stevens), and then Neil Sheehy, it hurts.”

Pollin said that five days ago.

Was he pleased with Bryan?

“Sure.”

Not pleased-as-punch happy, of course, but seemingly satisfied to the point of allowing loyal and competent Bryan the courtesy of another run at the playoffs. Same with most fans.

Bad timing.

Over the weekend, Pollin learned from his main hockey man, General Manager David Poile, that Bryan is a lousier coach than he or nearly anyone else had imagined. He agreed with Poile that a firing was in order.

“Fourth worst record in the NHL” slightly more than halfway through the season, Poile said toward the beginning a recitation of Bryan’s bumbling. Twentieth “of 21 in power plays. Not one of our players is near the top of the leaders in scoring.

“Our strength used to be our goals-against average. ... There is not one thing we can hang our hat on. There is not one player in the eight-game losing streak that I can say has come to the front, that has shown any improvement.”

Poile was not being mean. His manner while announcing Bryan’s firing included enough staggered breathing to indicate the break with Bryan after seven full seasons had been difficult. Poile even offered the best perspective on the only productive coach the team has known:

Bryan “has contributed as much ... as any other person or player who has played or been a part of this organization. In ‘82-83, his first full season, the mandate was to make the playoffs or this franchise would be history. Bryan Murray was the coach who led the Caps into the playoffs.”

So Bryan saved the franchise.

That and 343 regular-season victories have earned him an enormous amount of goodwill. Still, after each of the last few seasons, the Capitals failed to fulfill expectations in the playoffs, and Bryan’s future as coach was questioned.

No one would have been surprised had Poile fired Bryan after the team lost to the fourth-place Flyers in the first round of the playoffs last year.

Instead of bouncing Bryan, Poile gave him a two-year contract.

Slightly more than seven months into that contract, Poile uses his hook. In Washington, all that matters is the playoffs. When the wounded mend, the team could begin a serious surge. Even failing to repeat as Patrick Division champions might not be all that bad.

Why?

Well, the New Jersey Devils finished fourth in the division two years ago and skated into the conference finals during the playoffs; the Flyers repeated that feat last season. Chicago was another fourth-place team that got hot late and made the conference finals in the playoffs.

As to how even one injury can cripple a team, Pollin need look no further than his own basketball team. With John Williams, the Bullets are a playoff team capable of finishing proudly on the plus side of .500; without Williams, the Bullets are scarcely better than the NBA’s expansion babies.

Should Wes Unseld be fired?

No way.

One devoted Capitals fan the other day said he hoped Bryan would allow the injured players to move into the lineup slowly, so as to give the youngsters a chance at the maximum experience and put as many fresh legs as possible onto the playoff ice.

Except for Poile, patience was the prevailing attitude.

“You deal a lot with your instincts,” Poile said. “What you see. How you feel. How you think people are improving or not improving. And you make a decision.”

Poile talked about his hardest conversation in sport: “When you trade a player, at least he has a contract and he’s going to another team. What I was saying to Bryan Murray was: ‘You no longer have a job.’ ”

If Bryan must go, why is Terry-the-untested the correct replacement? All Terry did, it seems here, was learn close to everything about the sport from Bryan.

“There is a substantive difference in the two people,” Poile said. “In manner and coaching philosophy.”

Terry has been terrific in two seasons with the minor-league Skipjacks, successful with younger players against teams stocked with veterans who ought to be superior at that level.

One reason for the strange switch might be called the Quadruple Bang Theory. Most changes jump-start most teams for a while; by that time, Terry will have had time to implement his style; then Langway and the others will be at full strength; shortly, the playoff adrenaline will kick in.

Poile admitted “tremendous risk” with his move and added: “This is not an exact science. At the end of the year, you could be writing it was the wrong decision. It was my decision ... a tough call.”

Over and over, Poile talked about timing, about the time and place having to be right to bring a new coach behind the bench. Poile now has put his neck on the line as never before, it says here, because timing on this one was terrible.