Washington Capitals: Top 3 reasons to be excited for Alex Ovechkin in 2021
The Washington Capitals have re-signed Alex Ovechkin for the next five seasons. It was a move that every fan wanted and desired and now we know it’s official. Alex Ovechkin is back for five more seasons and ready to chase Wanye Gretzky’s record for the all time goals. All he needs to do is average 33 goals a season and he will get there.
“In his mind, that’s as long as he wants to play for now,” General Manager Brian MacLellan told the media on Thursday during Ovechkin’s press conference. Ovechkin joked that he wanted three years while GMBM wanted five.
#3 Ovechkin’s drive
It was clear Ovechkin wanted to be the best and graduate from the NHL as the leading scorer of all time when he signed his contract extension. I honestly thought it was going to be four years, as long as the Nicklas Backstrom contract extension, but adding an extra year gives him more time to shatter the greatest record in NHL history. And over the last few seasons he has proved that age is just a number.
"My goal was to finish career in Washington. All my family ... everybody is happy, we love being in D.C. It's our second home."@ovi8 chats with @VogsCaps reflecting on his time to date in the District and what his new contract means to him.#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/Prxil2HCye
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) July 29, 2021
“I’m going to try my best. That’s why I want to play five more years. To have a chance to catch the Great One, why not? If I’m going to be second, pretty good number as well,” said Ovechkin.
But Ovechkin is more than just stats. He wants to win another Cup with the Caps and fans would welcome both easily. “We’re going to try to do it next year,” Ovechkin said. “When you win this once, you just want to repeat and repeat.”
#2 Ovechkin’s contract news is exactly what the city needs right now
Looking across the landscape of D.C. sports, I see a lot of chaos. The Washington Football Team is fine as they’re gearing up for the new season but I’m mostly talking about the Nationals and Wizards. Last night just hours after the press conference, the Wizards traded Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers. Can’t fault Westbrook for wanting to play with LeBron James.
But on the baseball side of things, the Caps good buddies the Nats are about to undergo a lot of changes. That includes trading Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Dodgers while also saying bye to Daniel Hudson and Kyle Schwarber (which was fun while it lasted).
So why am I bringing other sports into the equation here? To show you guys how lucky we are to have someone as loyal as Alex Ovechkin and a loyal owner in Ted Leonsis to get a deal done. There was nowhere else Ovechkin wanted to finish his career and the Caps culture right now is in a good spot to compete for the next five seasons.
When Ovechkin was asked about the importance of finishing his career in D.C., the great eight talked about the people.
“The atmosphere. The people who I met that made me smile almost every day. I have lots of good friends around me… It’s been a pleasure to spend all those years in one spot,” said Ovechkin.
#1 The chase for Gretzky is ON
The number one reason to get excited for Alex Ovechkin this upcoming season is that the chase for Wayne Gretzky’s “unbreakable” record is ON. He needs to average just 33 goals a season for the next five years and then he will catch it.
Ovechkin is 165 goals shy of breaking Gretzky’s record, ranking sixth all time with 730 goals. He needs two to pass Marcel Dionne for fifth place. He’s only scored 33 goals or fewer twice in a full season. Next season if he puts up good numbers he could not only pass Dionne but also leapfrog Brett Hull and Jaromir Jagr. Once that is done, the great eight will only have Gordie Howe and Gretzky in his sights.
Last season, Ovechkin scored 24 goals but had to deal with both time on the COVID list early in the season and missing time late in the season due to injury. He told the media that he is 100 percent healthy as of right now.
Ovechkin said via Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription required):
“Last year was kind of a hard year, not just for me, but for everyone. You don’t know when the season is going to start, how we have to prepare our body for the season. Now we know when we have to be ready. I am going to be in a good shape when I come to the training camp.”
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With Ovechkin back it looks like the Caps are almost set with their roster. There might be a few tweaks here and there but at least the team got the most important part done.