"Wish nothing but the worst for the Capitals": NHL fans irate as CapFriendly officially shuts down after buyout by Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals have officially acquired the ownership of CapFriendly, which will see the popular salary information website shut down for good. This did not sit well with NHL fans and they made it clear following the complete buyout by the Washington-based club.

This deal will give the Capitals full and exclusive access to the site’s data collection, monitoring and analytics since its inception. While the website will reportedly shut down for the public, the original system and database will become ‘internally’ part of the Capital's in-house analytics resources.

Since the news hit the headlines, NHL fans have been quick to be irate over the buyout. Many bashed the Capitals for taking away public access to the website from fans.

Following are some fan reactions from X/Twitter:

“Well… capfriendly is gone. rest in peace & F**K the washington capitals ownership/management/whoever did this.”

“Honestly next season hockey fans should all boo the Washington Capitals on a level similar to the Houston Astros post trash-can scandal. Rip Capfriendly,” wrote one user.

“Looks like Cap friendly gone. It don't work anymore. Sad but true . Can't believe it is gone,” commented another fan.

More fans expressed their disappointment on social media. They criticized the capitals and some even labeled them ‘awful’ and ‘greedy’.

“Just a reminder, now that CapFriendly is offline, I wish nothing but the worst for the @capitals organization. I hope y'all go the way of Arizona, Atlanta (twice), and Quebec. Am I overreacting? Probably. But y'all just robbed fans of a great educational resource, so get bent.”

“I knew this was happening and I still kinda don't believe it. How awful and greedy man,” quipped another fan.

“Fuck the @Capitals I hope you never make the playoffs again for stealing @CapFriendly from the fans,” commented another user.

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Washington Capitals aim to augment 'salary ‘caps and contractual applications’ with CapFriendly

Capitals GM Brian MacLellan explained the rationale behind the Capitals' acquisition of CapFriendly on Wednesday. It was a strategic decision to enhance the Capitals' ability to present and analyze data, both internally and from the league.

“This strategic move will provide the Capitals organization with the ability to digest, present and analyze both our internal and league-supplied data,” MacLellan said.

“We anticipate that this acquisition will significantly enhance and integrate the various branches of our hockey operations department, allowing us to strengthen our management, scouting, analytics and player development, in addition to augmenting our salary cap and contractual applications," he added. [via ESPN].

Last season, the Washington Capitals crashed out of the playoffs after being swept in the first round against the New York Rangers. They will look to improve their performances going into the next season and support Alex Ovechkin as he aims to break Wyne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record.