With the Washington Capitals season inching closer than ever, Bleacher Report released their Top 10 list among captains. The two ahead of him are Sidney Crosby at one and Connor McDavid at two. Makes sense in a way from an NHL perspective but from a Washington Capitals fan perspective it's quite low.
Joe Yerdon wrote the piece on Aug 21 and had this to say about your Captain:
""It wasn't until the middle of Alex Ovechkin's fifth season in the NHL that he was named captain of the Washington Capitals (former Capitals captain Chris Clark was traded midseason and opened up the position), but ever since then he's helped the franchise navigate its way through playoff disappointments, head coaching changes and ultimately their first Stanley Cup in 2018.""Joe Yerdon/Bleacher Report
Yerdon also noted that Ovechkin has a "commanding" presnence since he's entered the NHL in 2005-06. Also noting this:
""He's had the rock star aura about him. Seeing him early in his career was an exhilarating experience as the entire arena would hum with excitement waiting to see what the bullish, speedy, rocket-firing winger would do next to land on the highlight reel.""Yerdon
Yerdon also notes the past disappoinments like anybody would. Losing to the Penguins twice and the Henrik Lundqvist experience not quite working out. Ovi bore the brunt of all of it, sometimes unfairly. But now he has a chance to chase greatness.
""Now with the Capitals looking to restart a new era of success and Ovechkin on the brink of breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goal scoring record, his legacy is a fascinating one that has made him the face of hockey in Washington forever.""Yerdon
It's a low ranking in our opinion and here's why:
Ovechkin bore the brunt of unfair criticism. Sidney Crosby got help on some really talented Pittsburgh Penguins team and the Caps tried the Herink Lundqvist signing in the middle of a pandemic. How in the world is that even the Great Eight's fault?