Washington Capitals: The Agelessness of Alexander Ovechkin

This past year has been anything but ordinary for Washington Capitals’ Russian superstar, Alexander Ovechkin.

What Alexander Ovechkin has become familiar with is leading the National Hockey League in goal-scoring and then taking his summer break just after he and the Washington Capitals were eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This usually came at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I guess not everything was unfamiliar for the Great 8. He led the league in scoring with a 49-goal season and his summer vacation plans changed. Ovechkin had to book his vacation a little later than usual because for the first time in their 44-year history, the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin and the Caps defied expectations in round one and clawed their way back from an 0-2 deficit to the Columbus Blue Jackets. They then exercised the demons of Stanley Cup playoffs’ past by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round and moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals against a heavily favored Tampa Bay Lightning squad. This series seemed like it would end in traditional “Capitals playoff hockey” style and see the Caps give up a 2-0 series lead and lose in dramatic fashion. Once again, the D.C. hockey club changed the narrative. Ovechkin as well as Braden Holtby led the team to back-to-back shutout victories in games 6 and 7 to progress into Ovi’s first Stanley Cup Final, and Washington’s first Final in 20 years.

In the Finals, the Capitals met a team almost as familiar with Stanley Cup Finals hockey as them in the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite going down 0-1 to start the series, the Caps made easy work of their opponents and captured the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. They presented Ovi with the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player in the playoffs. This victory was unlike any other in franchise history, and what followed their on-ice heroics was the “Summer of Ovi.”

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Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals were all over social media for the antics they got up to in their shortened offseason. This involved swimming in public fountains, and lots of Stanley Cup keg stands which have since been banned. It was tough to go on Twitter within two weeks after the Cup win and not see the Caps parading around Washington with the Cup. After all was said and done, most people expected the Capitals to skate into the season with a Stanley-Cup hangover in addition to their legitimate hangovers.

Washington blew the gates off of their season-opener and pumped the Boston Bruins for 7 goals in their first crack at defending the title. To the surprise of few, Alexander Ovechkin contributed to the 7 goals his Capitals team scored. To the surprise of many, however, is that Ovi has not stopped there. Look, we all assumed Ovechkin would put up a high goal total, right? Nobody expected that, after the “Summer of Ovi” and after turning 33 in September, we would see the Great 8 have one of the best offensive seasons of his career.

As of writing this, Ovechkin is sitting at 49 goals and 37 assists for 86 points after notching a goal and an assist in the Capitals bout with the Carolina Hurricanes.

This is not common for most athletes especially not hockey players who play the way Ovechkin does. Ovechkin is not like most athletes. He is a crash-and-bang player who runs through everything in his path at age 33. He is also, somehow, an iron man who has missed few games in his NHL career.

Given the crash-and-bang style I mentioned, this is more than impressive. When he isn’t running around trying to crush every opponent on skates, he is the most dominant goal scorer of his generation. He has seven 50-goal seasons to his name (with what should be an 8th this season) and has 8 Rocket Richard Trophies to his name (with what should be a 9th this season). His ability to continue to play at this elite level is a rare occurrence and adds to the Ovechkin legacy that is already set in stone.

As Ovechkin ages, he has not sacrificed the physical aspect of his game. This was on display in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning when he was bulldozing Lightning players to push his team to a game 7 which they inevitably won. This is a feature of most players’ games they retreat from as they age to avoid injuries. Ovi hits as much, if not more than he ever did.

Besides this, Ovi is playing a two-way style of hockey which he was not known for playing in his first 10 years in the league. This development showed the maturing of Ovechkin as he realized that his time to win was slipping away from him. He has become the leader that everyone said he wasn’t for years.

Sit back, take a breath and take it in, hockey fans, because what we are witnessing is anything but ordinary. Ovechkin is arguably the most prolific goal scorer of all time who is still competing at the top of his game and is on the cusp of another 50-goal season. Although he is a freak of nature, this kind of performance cannot continue forever. He is getting older, and we have to appreciate the time we have left to watch him. Now that he has his ring, we, as fans, can relax and so can he.

We get to enjoy watching the greatest athlete in Washington sports history try to capture a few more records and maybe even more titles in his already legendary career.