When you take an entire league by storm it can’t be easy to keep raising the bar for yourself. In a team sport even the greatest players need a competent supporting cast to truly cement their legacy. Greatness is measured by most in the number of championship rings when it is time to head into the sunset and hang up the tools of the trade.
<a href='http://edraft.com/nhl/player/alexander-ovechkin/statistics/1216/'>Alexander Ovechkin</a> faces the daunting task of living up to the expectations that he set for himself from his rookie season. Until the later parts of last season the Great Eight was on a statistical free fall that covered the better parts of the past four years. He flipped a switch in mid-March catching fire to win the goal-scoring crown and get a nomination for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.
The Capitals headed into the playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL only to fizzle against the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. Ovechkin seemed to lose his mojo in the playoffs as the Rangers corralled the Russian star, holding him to a single goal in seven games.
This season with a full training camp and a significant number of games with sophomore coach Adam Oates under his belt, Alex Ovechkin finds himself at a career crossroads. It’s a weird place to be for the soon-to-be 28-year old. With every trophy except the Stanley Cup on Ovechkin’s resume, how hungry will the Capital’s captain truly be?
The Capitals were relatively quiet in free agency and got more attention for not re-signing <a href='http://edraft.com/nhl/player/mike-ribeiro/statistics/1158/'>Mike Ribeiro</a> than for the moves they did make. Washington has three more roster spots to fill and about $5.5 million in salary cap space to use. Their forwards are looking thin unless they plan on leaning on some youngsters this season.
What does all of this mean to Ovechkin and the forecast for the coming season? It looks as though the Caps have paid themselves into a corner by paying Ovechkin, <a href='http://edraft.com/nhl/player/nicklas-backstrom/statistics/2522/'>Nicklas Backstrom</a> and <a href='http://edraft.com/nhl/player/mike-green/statistics/595/'>Mike Green</a> a combined 34.6% of the total salary available under the current NHL cap. Not exactly the best way to build a team there, George McPhee.
Fair or not, all eyes will be squarely on the Caps mercurial left wing. He has a great season to build on with another failed postseason to forget. Which guy will show up is anyone’s guess. Has Ovechkin peaked? Were the last two months of the regular season his last hurrah? He’s only 28, but he’s ten years in to a career that has been played at 200 mph.
Let’s all hope that there is still plenty of gas left in the tank of the Russian star. The NHL needs Ovechkin, his quirky personality and his slam-up-against-the-glass goal celebrations. The Capital’s season will go only as far as Ovechkin can take them. There isn’t enough talent, young or old on the roster to go far, even if they make the playoffs. This is not the season to measure <a href='http://edraft.com/nhl/player/alexander-ovechkin/statistics/1216/'>Alexander Ovechkin</a>.
Instead, let’s savor the enthusiasm and greatness, or what’s left of it. Age 28 is hardly over the hill, but we may not see 50 goals or 100 points from Ovechkin again. The “rivalry” with <a href='http://edraft.com/nhl/player/sidney-crosby/statistics/1207/'>Sidney Crosby</a> never turned into anything serious and was only really a transparent fabrication from the press. Crosby has his title though, which is something that will hopefully keep Ovechkin motivated for (many) years to come.