Ted and GMGM hanging on to Ovi for too long

[fsnoles98]

Seeing how Ovi is the face of this DC team, I think it comes time when every team holds on to their superstar for far too long then they should. Ovi's stock has been decreasing for the past 2 years. He is making a bank load of cash and not producing in a superstar/captain mode (Sakic, Yzerman, Crosby, Iginla, Staal, Toews). This team is dismal at this time, but we are 7 games into a 48 game season. Will Ovi win the cup here this year or next, probably not. Do we have some young talent in the ranks looking to move up (hoping Kuz comes over), yes, but this young talent will not put us over the hump. The young guns of DC are no more, the captain is no longer what he was. I say scrap this debacle and build for the future and to do this I'd say move Ovi for a boat load a this time because there are GM's out there that still think like some of the fans on here that he will turn it around. I beg to differ, lets build for the future and young talent that wants to work for what they get.

Just an opinion, like some of your thought.
Beg to disagree, but nothing to get angry about.

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[Wamsutta]

Ovi's best days are behind him but he's still got a lot of game left in him. He'd be a solid addition to a lot of teams. His contract is an albatross, though. WSH would have to retain a lot of salary to trade him, I believe.

 

[Rumblick]

Given his declining impact and his salary, I think even if they took the step of trading him, they'd never get enough value to make it worth while.

I also wonder if the fan base would see an Ovi deal as a white flag? Seems like it'd be a helluva risk for GMGM to undertake.

 

[Adriatic]

Ovechkin would definitely flourish again on another team. Caps are so disfunctional. The first thing that needs to be done is fire McPhee and not trust him to blow this thing up. McPhee is one of the main reasons Caps are where they are now.

 

[Gillam_09]

Ovechkin would definitely flourish again on another team. Caps are so disfunctional. The first thing that needs to be done is fire McPhee and not trust him to blow this thing up. McPhee is one of the main reasons Caps are where they are now.

Leaf fan here coming in Peace. Ive been a Huge Fan of Ovechkin since his world jr days. I always take him in my hockey pools year after year the past 3 hoping hes gonna rebound to his 100 point potential. Im wondering if putting the Captain on him has anything to do with his decreased production. call me crazy but its been known to happen bc players focus on responsibility other then there normal mindset. his production has dropped since being named captain in 2010 each year. I dont think the statement that his best days are behind him hes still a world class talent, i think alot of analysis say hes predictable now, but i dont buy that entirely, just think back to who he embarassed duncan keith last year. any input from caps fans would be great. thanks

 

[fedfed]

Every thread goes the same way. Look at last year. He was awful at the start and he was outstanding, probably best player in the league late in the season.

 

[Halpysback*]

Ah, so last year it was Semin, this year it's gonna be Ovechkin for you.

I wonder how many skill players we'll have to purge before you realize the problem is with the rest of the team being built like crap in every single way.

If you want McPhee to "build for the future" again you're probably the type of person who enjoys getting flayed more than most people.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

After watching Ovechkin stake laps around the leafs im convinced he has not lost anything and just doesnt care about the NHL and making the league and ted money. Durning the lockout the NHL wanted to take away Ovechkins money and lower his salary and Ted wanted out of his contract. So why would Alex want to give his heart and body to the NHL and Ted when they wont stand by him and treat him like a piece of meat durning the lockout. Maybe if Ted and the league werent so greedy and treated the NHL like a ATM not caring about shutting down seasons maybe Hockey players would still put their heart into the games.

 

[Tak7]

I was at the game last night.

It's not a confidence issue. Or a comfort issue.

In the warm ups he was singing along to the pre-game music, interacting with fans, doing some crazy stick skills, and at one point nailed the puck onto the post of the far side from behind his own one.

The issue is he just looks so unmotivated.

Was interesting comparing the contrast between 2 struggling stars last night. Kessel worked SO hard, and when he came off a shift where they didn't create anything, he looked so frustrated. Banging his stick on the ice, tapping his stick on his shin a few times in frustration, and then having a bit of a go at Liles for poor execution on the 5 on 3.

On the other hand, Ovechkin just seemed so nonchalent. Almost like he... doesn't care...?

Big money. Hot fiance. Marketable name. Large fan-base. He's "made it". He's got nothing to prove and he's playing like it

After watching Ovechkin stake laps around the leafs im convinced he has not lost anything and just doesnt care about the NHL and making the league and ted money. Durning the lockout the NHL wanted to take away Ovechkins money and lower his salary and Ted wanted out of his contract. So why would Alex want to give his heart and body to the NHL and Ted when they wont stand by him and treat him like a piece of meat durning the lockout. Maybe if Ted and the league werent so greedy and treated the NHL like a ATM not caring about shutting down seasons maybe Hockey players would still put their heart into the games.

There are 29 other teams in the NHL who were also locked out.

There are 29 other teams who have showed heart this season.

There are a few players who wear the Capitals jersey for a living, that are also showing heart. I thought Johansson worked his socks off last night. I thought Alzer did too.

That whole "heart" plus "blame the lockout" excuse is amongst the most ridiculous, most irrational things I've heard in response to Ovechkin's struggles.

It's also worth noting that Ovie was struggling post lockout too. Not sure how that fits into your theory.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

I think Ovy can still bring the pain but it's not an easy solution. He has a lot of **** working against him.

1) The last few coaches seem hell bent on making an offensive player turn into Bob Gainey or they start benching him or play him with 4th liners. Thus the once excited Ovechkin we used to see going nuts when he scored now looks disinterested at times.

2) Leonsis and McPhee succumbed to media pressure about the questions about the Caps defense and playoff record. The best I've seen the Caps recently was in 2009 where they lost against the Pens. I place that loss on McPhee more than anyone. If he had the balls to acquire Pronger instead, the Caps win the cup that year instead of the Pens IMO (Crosby does not score 8 goals in that series). Leonsis is a meddling owner that for right or wrong should not be making comments about players on his blog. He strikes me as the owner when the times are going right, he's gloating and everything is great but when times go bad, it's someone else's fault (i.e. Ovy's). McPhee needs to quit being so timid about stockpiling young talent and realize when you have guys like Ovy, Backstrom, Semin, Green, etc you have a limited window to win because of free agency, injuries, etc. The Caps players are the kind of guys best used in a run and gun system and not winning games 2-1. It's like fitting a square peg in a round hole.

3) Some of this falls on Ovy himself. The guy can obviously still play judging by his production in the KHL and how he lit it up at the end of the season last year. I've mentioned it before, but when Jagr started losing his speed and acceleration, he developed other areas in his game and evolved. He learned how to use his body, strength, and the boards more in the offensive zone instead of blowing by people. Once he learned how to evolve his game, he became a productive player again.

4) Backstrom needs to pick his game up to where he used to be. Ovy still should be producing more and looking like a different player but it doesn't help when your top center isn't playing like one. When Backstrom is on his game, you can't just commit to double teaming one player or the other since you will get burned. If Backstrom is off or you play Ovy on the 4th line, who else do you think the other team will key on?

There are several other points I could throw in here as well but all I'm saying is, it's not an optimal situation for Ovy right now to have expectations to excel like he used to. McPhee and Leonsis really ****ed this team after the Montreal series.

 

[Langway]

There are many, many built-in excuses for the organization this year. I expect everyone in kind--from ownership to front office to coaches and players--to make full use of them. It's what they do.

If they don't turn it around in a couple months, though, you've got to wonder about the STH base and the fanbase as a whole. Only when that becomes a threat will there be any changes or anything resembling honesty from the top down.

As to the OP, there's hardly any certainty that moving Ovechkin will lead to less of a country club atmosphere. Not that he prepares anywhere close to what's adequate it would seem but it's hard to say that about any facet of this team's game overall. He's an issue but hardly the main or only one.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

They are without a doubt an excuse-based organization. There's ALWAYS some reason why it failed that's rarely their fault, but if they are FORCED to blame someone, it's the head coach with no other accountability.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

There are 29 other teams in the NHL who were also locked out.

There are 29 other teams who have showed heart this season.

There are a few players who wear the Capitals jersey for a living, that are also showing heart. I thought Johansson worked his socks off last night. I thought Alzer did too.

That whole "heart" plus "blame the lockout" excuse is amongst the most ridiculous, most irrational things I've heard in response to Ovechkin's struggles.

It's also worth noting that Ovie was struggling post lockout too. Not sure how that fits into your theory.

Why is it so hard to think after what the Owners and NHL did players dont care as much about winning a cup. He's said many times his career goal was winning a good medal

http://t.co/B0UMOYQ8

Does that look like a player who wants to win at all costs?


and im for keeping Ovechkin and trying to get his drive to win back

 

[sunnydaycrash]

Great game by Ovi....7 shots, played hard.....if he keeps that up, .....they'll go in for him