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Capitals handed Adam Oates a three-year deal

Jun 26, 2012, 7:53 PM EDT

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Ilya Kovalchuk, Adam Oates AP

Judging by Dale Hunter’s decision to bolt for the London Knights, it doesn’t seem like the Washington Capitals were the ones hoping to make his stay as head coach a short one.* Either way, John Shannon makes an interesting point that Adam Oates received a greater commitment to be the team’s head coach in the form of a three-year contract.

Now, if you’re familiar with the laughable job security that professional sports coaches “enjoy,” you know that a three-year deal won’t necessarily guarantee that Oates will keep his job that whole time. Still, it’s a bigger commitment in that they’d have to pay him for those years – under certain circumstances, anyway.

It’s been a great day for Oates, no doubt, but the stability of getting a three-year contract might be the most underrated part of it. He’ll probably bask in that whole “Hall of Fame” thing a little bit more, though.

* – Or at least Hunter was the most adamant about it being a one-year thing …

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