Adam Oates on Tomas Hertl, continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons with the Capitals

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all in the NHL, you get a gem from the likes of Adam Oates on Tomas Hertl. The player-turned-coach of the Washington Capitals apparently wasn’t very keen on how Hertl of the San Jose Sharks scored his fourth goal of the game against the New York Rangers on October 8.

The goal in question, in case you are one of the 12 people alive who haven’t seen it.

Note that the goal was against the Rangers and not the Caps, so why Oates felt the need to blow off steam is beyond comprehension. Yet he did feel the need, and had this to say, according to Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington:

"Great move, don’t get me wrong — it’s a shootout move or something, and it’s great. I’m glad the way San Jose treated it. As long as he doesn’t disrespect the league. The league’s hard."

In case Oates has forgotten exactly who is keeping his Capitals afloat these days, perhaps he should do a quick YouTube search of his best player, Alex Ovechkin. Because, you know, that guy isn’t known for celebrating in outlandish ways or anything.

Here’s a two and a half minute compilation of Ovechkin doing nothing but celebrating in flashy ways.

If the Capitals were a roster full of Pavel Datsyuks that seem about as excitable as your average grandma playing Scrabble, that’d be one thing. This is ridiculous case of a scrooge trying to make the NHL a no-fun league, and the pot is clearly calling the kettle black here.

As if those asinine statements weren’t bad enough, he went on to insinuate that it’s a good thing that the Sharks benched Hertl. Why, you ask? Well because it’s likely that the Rangers would have sought some sort of bloody redemption after being embarrassed by the “shootout move” so badly. As per Mike Halford of Pro Hockey Talk:

"Oates, who said he was “upset” by the goal, said Sharks head coach Todd McLellan was smart to bench Hertl for the final 7:55 of the game, suggesting the 20-year-old rookie might’ve been in line for retribution."

Right. Because the Rangers were embarrassed by Hertl’s cheeky move and not the fact that they were just blown out of the water by a 9-2 final score. Sometimes “old school” hockey logic is tough to understand, and this is a care of that not being a bad thing. These kind of statements shouldn’t make sense. Not coming from Ovechkin’s coach or anyone else.

To imply that he would have sought revenge on Hertl following a four-goal performance is ridiculous, insane and preposterous in every sense of the word. Get real Adam.