Longtime Minnesota Wild beat writer Michael Russo had some harsh words for the Washington Capitals on the latest episode of his podcast The Russo Hockey Show that was published Thursday.
Russo, who writes for The Athletic and also contributes to Fox Sports North, said that the Capitals did not take their bubble experience seriously during the 2020 playoffs.
Audio
The comment comes at the 8:35 mark.
Fox Sports North’s Anthony LaPanta first observed that “The Islanders’ (performance) is the one that jumped out to me because I didn’t think they’d beat Washington and Washington never even threatened in that series.”
“Yeah, well, I mean the stories from inside the bubble about the Caps basically turning it into a vacation, having pool parties and things like that, you pretty much knew that they had no interest in being there,” Russo said in response.
It’s not clear from the quote if this is Russo’s own observation from following reporting on the team or if these are rumors spreading from inside the bubble.
The Capitals certainly looked listless on the ice for most of the 2020 playoffs and were upset in the first round by former coach Barry Trotz and the New York Islanders in five games. Capitals head coach Todd Reirden was fired days later after GM Brian MacLellan cited the need for a new, experienced bench boss who could “push some buttons on some players, some good players.”
Russo’s comment was picked up by @Account4hockey on Twitter and has gotten a lot of attention from the Capitals fanbase, garnering nearly 1,000 interactions and 50 responses. For many fans looking for a reason to understand the team’s brutal and confounding postseason performance, this was it.
Lmao Michael Russo on the Russo Hockey Show says:
"Yeah well, I mean the stories from inside the bubble about the Caps basically turning it into a vacation, having pool parties and things like that, you pretty much knew that they had no interest in being there."
— J (@Account4hockey) September 6, 2020
One Twitter user said in the mentions of the tweet, “Sounds like they were happy with their one Cup win and there’s no motivation to go for more” while another observed “Time for GM to move some players out and some fresh blood in.”
A source close to the Capitals, who asked not to be identified, said of Russo’s comment, “it’s BS.” The source explained that the team’s problems were hockey related and not due to how they spent their time in the bubble. “People used to make up stories like these about Ovi all the time. When in doubt, make up a disparaging story about Ovi for clicks.”
Jenner Jensen, the wife of defenseman Nick Jensen, pushed back on Russo’s comment as well.
My husband wanted to win a Stanley cup. So did all of his teammates.
— jenner_jensen12 (@Jensen12Jenner) September 8, 2020
Many Capitals players gave a glimpse of what their experience was like at Hotel X on social media, but there was no public evidence of any behavior that seemed abnormal in the bubble. Much of what was published was reported on RMNB or re-posted on our Instagram page.
