The degree to which the leadership of this organization fools itself by thinking the team can be LEAD by Ovechkin is staggering. Ovie has been on this team for 12 years and they still haven't figured out that he's a fantastic piece, but he's no leader. He's Brett Hull. Brett Hull scored 86 frickin goals one year - but no one ever thought he was a leader.
A leader steps up when the #1 D goes down, the #1 center is compromised , and another top 6 forward goes down. Has anyone even noticed Ovie in the last few games. It's not a knock on him; it's a knock on this organization for utterly failing to grasp what he is and what he is not, and for structuring the team based on what he is not.