Washington has started the offseason aggressively. The club has already signed seven (!) newcomers, half of them being real top-level hockey players. And it has parted ways with four starting players.
However, as always, it is not only the restructuring of the “capitals” that draws attention. During such changes, the main question always arises: how does the team captain react to this?
And in the midst of Washington’s rebuild this offseason, we learned the answer. Caps general manager Brian McLellan got an endorsement from Alex Ovechkin, and in a fun way.
“Ovechkin sent his general manager a thumbs-up emoji after acquiring new first-line center Pierre-Luc Dubois,” AP News reporter Stephen Whyno wrote.
Ovi’s contract makes it difficult for the team to perform in the market
“One of the worst defenders.” Ovechkin’s contract was seriously criticized in the United States.
McLellan didn’t stop there. Two more trades brought him new goalie Logan Thompson and defenseman Jacob Chickran. He also signed three free agents: defensive big man Matt Roy and forwards Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Reddish. In fact, Washington’s front office has already updated its roster by about a quarter.
“We are trying to help Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record. Six years after winning the Stanley Cup for the first and only time in franchise history, the Capitals did everything they could to keep their playoff window open for next season and beyond,” Waino replied.
Those leaving the Caps roster were 2022 Stanley Cup winner Darcy Kuemper, who failed in his playing time with the capital team, club veteran Nick Jensen, promising 26-year-old forward Bec Malensteen and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, much loved by Ovechkin’s son, Sergei.
“They did a great job of rebuilding on the fly,” said Chickran, who came in from Ottawa. “They were very aggressive, which is good to see.”
Jacob Chickran
Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP/TASS
There is an obvious reason for this restructuring.
Last season, Washington stormed into the playoffs in its final game, taking the second and final wild-card spot in the East. Ovechkin, who scored eight goals in his first 43 games, rebounded with 23 goals in the remaining 36 games as goaltender Charlie Lindgren kept the team in the game several times. Having spent nearly all of their energy trying to make the playoffs, the Capitals lost the series to the Presidents’ Cup-winning Rangers in the first round.
“We realized the situation we were in last year. We knew we needed to get better. We needed to get better. And for Ovi’s sake, too. I mean, there was a lot of pressure on Ovechkin last year because we didn’t have enough depth on offense, so I’m hoping that a team that’s better all around will give him more support this year,” McLellan said.
Ovechkin is just 42 goals behind Gretzky and has two years left on his contract. He will turn 39 in September. No one in league history has ever scored at this rate at this age.
“I will really value my time with him and do everything I can to help him succeed,” Chickran said. “Ovi is the greatest goalscorer of all time, so the opportunity to play with Alex will be a special event.”
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The rookie defenseman is one of the Capitals’ most important acquisitions this offseason. Chykran became the top scorer among players of his position in the troubled Ottawa team. Jacob scored 41 points (14+27) in 82 games. The only negative aspect is the utility indicator. “-30” looks scary, but it is difficult to say that Chikran’s comrades helped him much.
“Performance is obviously a big part of my game. I played forward as a kid, so I always had an attacking instinct and that’s what I enjoy. I’m excited to bring that to Washington and play with guys who, like I said, have arguably the best goal scorer of all time and players who have scored a lot of goals in the past. I think the Capitals lacked a little bit last season. But this is something that, in my opinion, shouldn’t be a problem for the team. I really hope I can contribute something and I can’t wait to see what comes out of it. I hope to make my personal contribution and help the team in this aspect,” Chikran said.
Washington’s other star rookie, Dubois, has yet to recover from a disappointing year in Los Angeles. At the age of 26, the talented hockey player had already experienced his third trade. If Pierre-Luc can overcome his struggles, he will help Ovechkin with the elite center talent the Capitals had in Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeni Kuznetsov.
Pierre-Luc Dubois
Photo: George Walker IV/AP/TASS
In any case, acquiring a player who scored 40 points in a season and at the same time has a salary cap hit of $8.5 million until 2031 is a risk. And that’s not the only risk Washington had to take.
“Trying to keep a team in playoff contention now is a very different gamble than the one McLellan made when he took over more than 10 years ago to try to bring the nation’s capital a Stanley Cup,” Waino writes.
McLellan himself echoes this.
“We tried to take risks – we looked for growth potential in players, we tried to find hockey players who we thought could create an environment where they would be more successful. That was our philosophy, we were not guided by the mentality of ‘let’s just give up and try to win the draft lottery’. This is a painful approach. We took a lot of risks,” said the Capital CEO.
At the same time, Washington’s draft stock still raises some questions. While the 2023 first-rounders are already playing at full strength in the NHL, AHL or KHL, Washington’s top prospect Ryan Leonard, selected with the eighth overall pick, is preparing to spend his second season in the NCAA, the college hockey league. Even Matvey Michkov, who was selected just before the American and had a valid contract in Russia, managed to move to the NHL.
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Leonard will spend another year at Boston College. He has already rejected Washington’s contract offer. Why did the potential client choose this particular path?
“I relied on the opinion of my agent, my family, but my brother (John Leonard, drafted by the San Jose Sharks – Championship Note) had a significant impact. The day it happened, I stayed up until probably three or four in the morning and had to go to class the next day. I didn’t know what to do. We talked on the phone, wrote down the pros and cons. I relied heavily on my brother’s opinion.
I have to say that making this decision was harder than I expected. The plan was to spend two years in the NCAA and then transfer to Washington. But I didn’t expect to be offered a contract. Everything happened quickly. I didn’t know if I was fully prepared for this. I thought we would have a Zoom call with the Capitals to weigh in.
I consulted with many people. College is the best time of your life. Many people who took that step said 10 years later that they regretted it.
After I announced I was staying in the NCAA, I met Kevin Hayes before the 2024 World Cup and he immediately said, “Man, if I were you, I would stay here.” [в NCAA] as much as possible,” Leonard said.
Ryan Leonard
Photo by: Boston College Men’s Hockey
Waino, however, doesn’t see this as a big problem: “Winning the draft lottery two decades ago brought Ovechkin to Washington, the same recipe helped Pittsburgh, Chicago, Colorado and Florida reach the pinnacle of hockey. But the Capitals’ current approach is less conventional, relying on trades, signings and the draft. And the Capitals almost certainly relied on that approach when they selected Ryan Leonard eighth overall last year.
The organization’s top prospect could join Washington as early as next spring,” the journalist writes.
The capital’s most talented hockey player admitted that he is following the team’s off-season. And he appreciates it!
“There’s a winning culture here and you obviously want to be a part of it,” Leonard said. “You saw what happened the day after the free-agent market opened. “Washington is looking for top-level players that can help win the Stanley Cup, and I’m here to try to do that at some point.”
Well, it seems that Washington is moving in the right direction. Ovechkin approves of the club’s transactions and this is already an indicator. The captain of the capital has repeatedly noted that it is important for him that the team remains competitive. And, apparently, now the Caps management is ready to do everything possible to fulfill the promise made to Ovi.
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Washington has already made a lot of noise in the market. But something tells me that this is just the beginning. That’s why it’s worth keeping a close eye on the Capitals during the offseason.
