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In today's professional sports landscape, fans are connected to their favorite teams and players in so many more ways. There is less go-between and more direct access to the thoughts of players and team officials through Twitter and various other means. Though owners still remain mostly disconnected, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is exceptionally candid through his popular blog, "Ted's Take."
When the club hired new general manager Brian MacLellan, Leonsis said that the new GM's interviews were the most negative of anyone's, calling out the way the team had been doing business, including ownership. Leonsis noted that MacLellan made suggestions about he could be a better owner even.
Now, as it turns out, one of the things MacLellan took aim at in his critique of Leonsis was "Ted's Take."
According to the Washington Post, MacLellan told Leonsis he should consider changing the way he blogs about the Capitals. The owner confirmed to Dan Steinberg of the Post that that's exactly what happened:
In an e-mail, the owner wrote that MacLellan "suggested that I blog about team; not about individual players. That I celebrate team success way more than individual success, and that that culture needs to start at the top. I agreed."
As MacLellan said in his introductory press conference, he approached his interview like he had nothing to lose. Apparently he really meant it.
Challenging the owner on something as seemingly innocuous as his blog posts about the team may speak to the detail-oriented approach MacLellan wants to bring to the job. If he is as brave about his hockey decisions as he is giving his boss a hearty critique, then the Caps could have a real wild card on their hands in the front office.
(h/t ProHockeyTalk)
