Washington Capitals' Offseason Notes: Irbe Hired As Goalie Coach

Battle for playing time between Theodore, Varlamov, and Neuvirth Longtime NHL veteran goalie Artus Irbe, one of the first European goalies to earn a starting job in the NHL, was named as goalie coach by the Washington Capitals. According to Capitals' Insider, Although Irbe will oversee all of the organization's goalies, including veteran Jose Theodore, his biggest responsibility will be polishing touted youngsters Semyon Varlamov, a Russian, and Michal Neuvirth, a Czech, into top NHLers. At times last season, Varlamov's limited English made communication with the coaching staff difficult. That, however, will no longer be a problem since Irbe speaks English, Russian, and some German. "I should be able to communicate with him in any language, whichever he prefers," said Irbe, a native of Latvia. "I hope it will be an asset to make it easier, the transition [to the NHL]." GM George McPhee added, "The fact that he speaks different languages made us ...