Prior Out, Arturs Irbe In as Caps' Goaltending Coach

In a very much welcomed breakup of the August routine, I'm out at Kettler Capitals Iceplex this morning, where Arturs Irbe has just been introduced as the Capitals' new goaltending coach. Dave Prior has left the club after 12 seasons. Irbe is a native of Latvia, and his fluency with Russian will be an obvious aid in working with Semyon (new spelling, yes) Varlamov. But when I asked him if working with at least three outstanding young prospects in the Capitals' organization was a real selling point for taking the job, he acknowledged the talent of Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth and Brayden Holtby, but he also said that he's looking forward to working with Jose Theodore, whom he recalled "stealing" more than a game or two from his Carolina Hurricanes when Theodore was in Montreal. Irbe you mar recall backstopped the Hurricanes to the Stanley cup finals in 2002. His was a 13-year NHL career, and while in San Jose with the Sharks he did work with Dave Prior. Capital...