“I think he's a great leader. I think he's a heck of a guy, great player. I think everybody who's been here for a while has seen him change over the years. He wants to win really, really badly and I think he's probably like the rest of us, a little frustrated trying to figure out what the problem is. He's with us all, but yeah he's been a really, really important piece of this puzzle and great guy to learn from.” -Alzner
“There's all different types of leaders,I think when you see O go out there and he's hitting guys and shooting pucks and playing hard, I think that's when he leads by example.” - Oshie
“You get to see a little bit some sides that you don't see compared to when you play against him. It was positive. He always has a positive mindset, comes with a smile to practice, to every game. He wants to win as badly as anybody. There's only good things to say about him."- Eller
"I never worry about Ovi. He’s an all-in guy. He’s young, he makes his mistakes, the same as anyone would. I often try to put myself in his position. And you've got to remember, he’s 25 years old, he’s got a guaranteed $120 million, he’s on top of the world, and he still for the most part makes the right decisions. I don’t worry about him, I don’t worry about most of the guys on that team. That’s why I think in the end they’ll do well. Ovi has some growing up to do as far as taking care of himself and things like that, but as far as his want to win, he really does just want to win the games, and he doesn’t care if he scores or not. That isn’t an act. He’s a great guy, great player. I’d never say anything bad about him." -Matt Bradley in 2011 in which he ripped the coaching staff, the locker room, and Alex Semin by name.
“I absolutely loved it,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said on Monday night. “I loved that [Ovechkin] didn’t take it personal. This time of year, sometimes you have to just check your ego and work harder. In Game 5, he skated his butt off, ran into people, he was a bull in a china shop again and got rewarded with a goal. His attitude hasn’t changed. He wants to win and wants to come here and make a difference. That’s not easy to do for a proud player that’s been a top, top player in this league for a long time. He checked his ego and that was that.” - Matt Niskanen on Ovechkin playing on the third line last playoffs
"Right now, it’s not a good time to talk about, ‘Well, I’m gonna play less,’ or ‘I’m gonna play more,’ ” he said. “We’re here to get result and we’re here to get successful as a team, not individual. That’s a big part of our success.” - Ovechkin on being on the third line