Alexander Ovechkin

[txpd]

The man who lifted D.C. up on his shoulders and turned it into a hockey town? A guy who has averaged over a point per game in his career and the guy who is at the ripe old age of 27? I'm all about tanking this year but come on...really? It's a terrible season, not the end of the franchise. lol take a chill pill.

you need to recognize that as quickly as the building became full with ovechkin the hero, just as quickly he can become the owner of the whoop whoop crowd.

the past two seasons ov has not been 50 goal ov anymore. now he is not 30 goal ov anymore. 20 goal ov will get boo'd out of town.

 

[MW6]

you need to recognize that as quickly as the building became full with ovechkin the hero, just as quickly he can become the owner of the whoop whoop crowd.

the past two seasons ov has not been 50 goal ov anymore. now he is not 30 goal ov anymore. 20 goal ov will get boo'd out of town.

I agree, he will be the one to blame (and GM's scapegoat - We would've been fine if Ovie was Ovie) if he dosen't get his numbers back on track.

So what's your stance in all of this? You have a lot of opinions, but I can't pinpoint what you think is the solution?
Solve it through trades? Any proposals? Tank and start over with a real pre-season? keep or trade Ovechkin? Johansson? Ribeiro at the deadline?

 

[Wendy Clear]

the only downside is that he wont return anything more than scraps. but at this point that might be worth it. the team needs to go in a new direction. as in, completely new.

 

[BobRouse]

Ovechkin was our best player last night and has looked very good over the last 6 or 7 games but just has been snakebit...like pretty much all our forwards.

The team is having a bad year. They are empty on confidence.

Its not the time to panic or blow things up as there are just too many young components on the team. If we were a heavily veteran team then blowing things up would be the correct call but we are not. Ovechkin is 27

 

[SlappaDaBass]

Ovechkin was our best player last night and has looked very good over the last 6 or 7 games but just has been snakebit...like pretty much all our forwards.

The team is having a bad year. They are empty on confidence.

Its not the time to panic or blow things up as there are just too many young components on the team. If we were a heavily veteran team then blowing things up would be the correct call but we are not. Ovechkin is 27

Thank you. I thought I was the only one who thought Ovie played the best out of anyone on the ice last night. He was making incredible passes, wasn't turning the puck over entering the zone, and had some sweet moves and shots that beat Fleury but didn't go in. He could have easily had 3 goals last night but we're obviously puck dead.

If anything Backstrom has looked like complete **** this entire season and hasn't contributed to ANYTHING. I actually asked myself if he was playing last night because he was so nonexistent.

Also, pulling Neuvy that early was a ****ing bonehead decision... I just don't see how a team can look so good one period and so bad the next.

 

[fsnoles98]

Yes and no. Number one he should've never been made captain. This was due toTed and promoting the team, not picking the correct player in the room.
Yes, trade him, if and only if GMGM can fleece a team for him. Most fair weathered fans will disagree, but these are the same that have no idea where the Caps played before Verizon.
No to a trade, just to trade and for GMGM and Ted to force all the troubles on Ovi. that these to idiots built.

 

[BobRouse]

Thank you. I thought I was the only one who thought Ovie played the best out of anyone on the ice last night. He was making incredible passes, wasn't turning the puck over entering the zone, and had some sweet moves and shots that beat Fleury but didn't go in. He could have easily had 3 goals last night but we're obviously puck dead.

If anything Backstrom has looked like complete **** this entire season and hasn't contributed to ANYTHING. I actually asked myself if he was playing last night because he was so nonexistent.

Also, pulling Neuvy that early was a ****ing bonehead decision... I just don't see how a team can look so good one period and so bad the next.

I agree. He scored that second one but the first was he started with a hit, winning a one on one battle, makeing a pass out to the point man and we scored on the rebound. He definitely could have had 3 goals and ofcourse he hit the post late in the game on an open net. Just the kind of year its been.

I thought pulling Neuvirth was the right move however. Oates was trying to prevent exactly what ended up happening.

The Pens pretty much didn't have any good chances until their first goal and even that one I thought was questionable as Neuvirth was practically sitting behind the goal line in his net and took forever to get across. The 2nd goal was beyond atrocious.

After those two goals you could see how deflated the team was.

 

[msrulo]

wrong thrd

 

[absolute garbage]

From a neutral point of view, in my mind Ovechkin is the biggest problem in Washington. I'm glad that he cares, tries hard and does whatever he can to help the team but simply put, he can not do enough on the ice to be worth his salary or meet the expectations. And that's his fault only. Also, the biggest problems dig deeper than what happens on the ice.

It's no secret that the leaders in every NHL team (whether that's points on ice or voices in the locker room, usually it's both combined) decide the culture of that organisation. In order to have a great hockey club, your foundation have to be more than solid. In my mind, that's the biggest problem the Capitals are dealt with. The leadership group and all the big name players, led by Ovechkin, are not accountable/responsible/professional enough to have the kind of winning culture that is common with all the top teams in the league.

That effects everything and is often overlooked what comes to certain teams having success year after year. When that culture is in place, it's easier for everyone to come to the rink and contribute what they can, it's easier for every player to thrive in that environment and become the best player they possibly can, and it's easier for young players to come up and see the commitment that's needed to play at this level. The atmosphere in the team is just different and better suited for having success on yearly basis.

If the Caps really want to become a better team, they need to change that culture. McPhee needs to go to Ovechkin and ask whether he wants to be part of that change or not. If Ovechkin says yes, then he has huge responsibility to actually do it; get in the best possible shape, become one of the best players in the league like used to, be more accountable etc, and I'm 100% sure the rest will follow.

I doubt Ovechkin has that in him, though. And call me crazy but I think that contract will be pretty difficult to trade, if it gets to that.

 

[BobRouse]

So Ovechkin is the problem with the team then?

I thought it was Semin?

Love how outsiders love to shed insight into a situation that they are far removed from.

Let me HIT ALL OF YOU WITH SOME KNOWLEDGE!

In 1988 it was pretty much common belief that the problem with our team stemmed from Larry Murphy and his suckage.

In 2003 we all were sick and tired of Sergei Gonchar (I was one of the biggest culprits btw) and were sure he would be addition by subtraction.

Over time I have come to realize that it is not individual players that are a "problem". It is the collection of the parts and will always be that way.

Both Murphy and Gonchar had great success after leaving the Caps and both won cups (in the case of Murphy several).

Jagr won cups before he was here and even led the league in scoring after he left.

We just have never had the combination of the correct architecht and owner willing to spend at the same time in our history.

Ovechkin isn't the problem and none of Murphy, Gonchar, Jagr etc were either.

 

[puck832]

No depth. We have no depth.

We have a plethora of grinders who, well playing hard, aren't physical enough to get other teams off their games, and don't have enough skill to fill in on top lines when the top lines aren't clicking.

Our veterans are players who are "just happy" to even be in the lineup and we have no young players in Hershey pushing for anyone's spot.

I actually think the Hershey thing is much overlooked. We don't have anyone we can bring in to add a spark. No developing first line AHLer to push the NHL guys to play their best hockey.

Brouwer, Chimera, Hendy, Beagle, Ward, Crabb, have slightly different skills but are basically the same "cog".

Wolski, Fehr, Mojo, again little faster or a little slower but basically the same role on the team.

I don't necessarily dislike any of these players, but what do they bring beyond an average skillset? Toughness, Heart, Scoring? Impeccable effort and systems play? Excellent power play, or penalty kill? Faceoffs??? A couple bring speed, a couple hit, none back off defenders.

Who's the first line RW and who's the fourth?
Who's the 3rd line C and who's the second line LW?

I think Wolski has played hard fairly smart and has had a couple nice plays, does that make him a first line winger?

Alzner-Green looks good, Carlson has a rotating line of guys who just want to keep their jobs. Kundratek looks better each game but which guy just trying to keep his job is showing him the ropes?

No one isn't trying, they are trying, you can see it.

We have two mentally fragile "starters" in goal with no Vet to take some of the pressure off, then we put a scared defense in front of them and expect ... what?

Not skilled enough to be a skill team, Not tough enough or effective enough in the little things (faceoffs, marking star players, penalty kill) to be a grinding defensive team. Not mean enough and willing enough to intimidate. Not strong enough in G to rely on them to steal us games.

Finally we have a first line C who is a perimeter player and looks afraid to get hurt. And is trying to be as effective as possible with no one to pass to that wants to shoot.

But yeah lets trade Ovechkin.

Sorry for wall of text, but our only skill players are being auctioned off for scraps, or ridiculed, on all the main boards.

 

[gogensgo]

Not sure a discussion about trading Ovi is even realistic considering his current value relative to his contract. Maybe the only solution is to do a deal with the KHL which could free up the cap space but other than that, I don't see anything happening.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

If Leonsis wants this team to have even the slightest bit of relevance in D.C., he'll never trade Ovi. Nor should he.

 

[Capitlols]

They're becoming irrelevant with Ovechkin.

That's not to say I want him traded, it just goes beyond one player to stay relevant.

 

[jsykes]

I'm not sure what games all the Ovi lovers are watching, but they must be different than the ones I'm watching.

I'm not laying it solely on Ovi, but he's looked less than interested in most of this season. He's shown a few periods here and there where he looked motivated, but for most of the season, he's glided around looking lost and waiting for someone else to do something.

He has no right to be pissed about the way the other players on the team are playing, it starts with him as the captain, whether he likes it or not. When he doesnt seem to care on most of his shifts, how can he expect others to as well.

There are plenty of people around him that are more than talented enough. This team is not that different from the teams he netted 50+ goals on.

If he wants to keep whining and not playing for this team, then screw him. Why should we reward him for giving up here? Trade him to Calgary or Columbus.

 

[coyote]

ov

I think ov wanted the lockout to last the whole year and he could have stayed in russia. When they settled the cba he was disappointed and has not gotten over it yet.

 

[SlappaDaBass]

I think ov wanted the lockout to last the whole year and he could have stayed in russia. When they settled the cba he was disappointed and has not gotten over it yet.

That's why he was the first person back to DC?

 

[Kovatar]

Habs fan coming in peace....You KEEP Ovechkin! He's a generational talent. This is just a retooling season. You have Forsberg and Kuznetsov coming (who will both be elite players) and you will draft a top player in the upcoming draft which is being dubbed as the best in years. There is no reason to blow this team up whatsoever.

 

[MW6]

I acctually saw a few positive things from Ovie last night that I've never seen before. Things that I think Oates has gotten through to him about. 2 or 3 times it looked like Ovie was intentionally not leading the rush, he was feeding the puck to his linemates and trailed the play while and not going full speed and he got some good looks from doing it. And That seems like something Oates and his vision would trying to get Ovie to realize.
He also had some nice outlet passes. IMO Ovechkins passing game is really underrated.

 

[tntkid]

Moving Ovechkin is a smart move to make Washington a better team.
Get as many good players for him as you can.

Just like when Quebec traded Lindros & built a team that won a cup for Colorado.

 

[sunnydaycrash]

Habs fan coming in peace....You KEEP Ovechkin! He's a generational talent. This is just a retooling season. You have Forsberg and Kuznetsov coming (who will both be elite players) and you will draft a top player in the upcoming draft which is being dubbed as the best in years. There is no reason to blow this team up whatsoever.

Exactly !

You don't trade the player who put the Caps on the map when he's 27 yrs old because his GM can't decide on a bloody identity for his team!

 

[InjuredChoker]

Moving Ovechkin is a smart move to make Washington a better team.
Get as many good players for him as you can.

Just like when Quebec traded Lindros & built a team that won a cup for Colorado.

The value wouldn't be anywhere close the same.

 

[rumschlag182]

You have your opinion and that's fine, i will not argue because i see what i see and i don't see how your most talented guy who actually produces is the one to blame for failings from the top all the way down in an organisation.

I agree 100% Say he was drafted by an organization like the Pens or any other that runs a team correctly he would be 10x the player he is today. Don't get me wrong I still think Ovechkin is great but the Caps organization in my opinion cares more about money and filling the seats than helping there players grow and winning a Stanley Cup. When you have a player of his caliber you build around him and help him grow. He was playing on a line with Beagle and Crabb to start the season. I think that right there just shows they have no clue what they are doing. Everyone blames Ovechkin for the Caps failures because he set the bar so high coming into the NHL. How do you expect a guy to score 65 goals playing with 3rd or forth line grinders. He needs to be with someone who sets him up. Look how he has been doing ever since being on a line with Ribeiro he is starting to look like old Ovi. I do believe he has faults but a good organization wouldn't have let him decline rather than grow.

 

[rocky7]

I wouldn't say hero, sports figures with skills and talent in abundance are people i admire and i will defend the ones that deserve to be defended to the end of the earth.

Just so happens we have one in the team i love. He's getting too much s**t from people and it irritates when there is not much more he can give effort wise without help from others like every great player requires.

That sounds exactly like what this organization did to Semin. It will do the same to O. if he lets it. Get out of there and start his career anew. Semin waited, but it wasn't too late. His best is yet to come now. O's can too.

 

[Calicaps]

So Ovechkin is the problem with the team then?

I thought it was Semin?

Love how outsiders love to shed insight into a situation that they are far removed from.

Let me HIT ALL OF YOU WITH SOME KNOWLEDGE!

In 1988 it was pretty much common belief that the problem with our team stemmed from Larry Murphy and his suckage.

In 2003 we all were sick and tired of Sergei Gonchar (I was one of the biggest culprits btw) and were sure he would be addition by subtraction.

Over time I have come to realize that it is not individual players that are a "problem". It is the collection of the parts and will always be that way.

Both Murphy and Gonchar had great success after leaving the Caps and both won cups (in the case of Murphy several).

Jagr won cups before he was here and even led the league in scoring after he left.

We just have never had the combination of the correct architecht and owner willing to spend at the same time in our history.

Ovechkin isn't the problem and none of Murphy, Gonchar, Jagr etc were either.

I'm late to the party, here, but THIS x 1000000.

This is and always has been a badly run organization, and that is why it's teams and players routinely underperform.

Just look at NJ. They've been relevant for 20 years. Their roster and even their behind-the-bench staff are effectively plug and play. They consistently rejuvenate "bust" players from other teams. That is how a well run organization works. That is what it means to have a team identity.

Same thing in Detroit.

You do NOT trade Ovie. You hire a real GM and get the **** out of his way.

(And I do think Oates is having a visible, albeit slow-developing, positive impact on #8.)