- 2 days ago
Tarik El-Bashir joins the show to discuss the future of Washington Capitals legend Alexander Ovechkin.
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00:00All right, so if you had $1,000 that I made you wager
00:06on whether that was it or not for Ovi in a Caps uniform,
00:11where would you put it, yes or no?
00:14Man, I go back and forth, and I know he is, too.
00:22Come on!
00:23I'll have a better idea in a couple of weeks.
00:25No, wrong answer.
00:27I need $1,000 right now.
00:31Well, A, I don't have $1,000 to wager.
00:33I'm loaning you the $1,000.
00:35Okay, if you loan me the $1,000, I'll say he comes back for one more year.
00:40Okay, that's what I'd say.
00:42So if you've been back and forth, I'm wondering, Tarek,
00:45did yesterday nudge you in one direction or the other?
00:49I'll tell you, there were times yesterday,
00:52just kind of observing from a few feet away,
00:55like all of the memorabilia exchanges after the game,
00:59and the pictures with Sid and Evgeny on the ice before.
01:06There definitely were signs of, well, this looks like it could be it here in D.C.
01:12But then I also know what I know from talking to people in and around him, in his orbit.
01:18And I know when someone is yanking my chain and when someone's telling me the truth.
01:23And I'll tell you, when I ask people and they tell me he hasn't made up his mind,
01:29they're telling me the truth.
01:30He has not made up his mind.
01:32He is still contemplating.
01:34He wants to make sure that when he makes the decision that he's making a choice he can live with
01:40because there's no putting the toothpaste back into the tube.
01:43If you say you're gone, it gets really messy if you change your mind.
01:47And, you know, checking with some people today, I mean, if he wants to come back,
01:55there is a compromise to be had.
01:57I mean, there is a deal to be made.
01:59The Caps have a lot of cap space.
02:01They could re-sign Ovi at a reasonable deal
02:06and still have enough money to go out and make the moves that they need to make to improve the
02:09team.
02:11So it's not a – I know I've heard some fans go,
02:14well, if you brought him back and he cost $10 million in the cap,
02:18then they couldn't go get – no, they actually have enough space to get to keep Ovi
02:21and go get what they need.
02:24The cap is accelerating exponentially and has been for a couple of years.
02:29That's not a concern.
02:30The question is, okay, how does he fit?
02:34How do we incorporate him into our plan as we are clearly transitioning into a younger, faster team?
02:44How does that look?
02:45And I've got to imagine those conversations have at least been had in loose terms.
02:53But at some point over the next – however this season turns out,
02:58at some point over the next five to six weeks,
02:59he's going to have to give the Caps a concrete answer, certainly before the draft.
03:03You know, I was thinking that he was done.
03:07And then I told Zabe, I happened to end up at this event that had Langway and Bondra,
03:12Cicerelli and Murphy, and I'm like, why are all these people in town for this?
03:18Something's going on.
03:19Then I got to the game yesterday.
03:21Well, Bonsai and Langway live here.
03:22Yeah, but still, just like the other guys are there and, you know, everybody coming together.
03:26It makes you think.
03:27When I see a bunch of former players together, I'm like, okay.
03:32Spidey senses are tingling.
03:33Then I get to the game yesterday, and by the end of that game, I was like, he coming back.
03:39You know, it's just the feel I had.
03:42And I don't know if I was right either way.
03:46But I just have a feel like he don't want to roll out like that.
03:51Guys, he leads the Capitals in goals, in points, in shots on goal, at 40 years old.
03:58Father time has clearly stolen a step, a step and a half from him, and he is still finding a
04:02way to be a productive player.
04:03If he wants to come back, like I said, I think there is a place for him on this team.
04:10He's just got, he's going to have to really, and I think what he's doing is very wise.
04:15You know, and Dave, I think you were right when you said he's not the type to want a grand
04:21send-off in every city and a Rolex and a Harley and, you know, all the stuff and all the
04:27media interviews that go along with it.
04:29I don't think he wants that, but I also don't think that he's ready to walk away because he's still
04:40having so much fun.
04:41Look at him scoring those goals.
04:43Look at him congratulating Ryan Leonard for scoring 20 and just his joy on the bench.
04:49He is still enjoying this.
04:51And I think that if his health is good enough and his family is on board, because they're a happy
05:01wife, happy life, I mean, he's got to be on board too.
05:04I could see him do one more year and maybe just do a scale back, you know, maybe not an
05:09Anze Kopitar goodbye in every city.
05:14But I think he's going to have some reflecting to do and taking a step away a couple of weeks,
05:19a few weeks after the season, let the emotions kind of die down.
05:23You know, go find a beach somewhere and just really talk to your trusted advisors and your family and just
05:28kind of reflect and think about what you want to do, because you don't want to, you don't want to
05:36waffle.
05:36You don't want to change, you don't want to change your mind.
05:38And the way Brett Hull did many years ago, where he came back from that last year, I think it
05:42was with Arizona, and he clearly wasn't in shape and, you know, wasn't ready to compete in the NHL.
05:48And after like six or seven games, he hung them up.
05:50You don't want to do that.
05:51You don't want to do that.
05:52If you come back, you want to be fully committed, all in.
05:56You're going to do your best every single night.
05:59You don't want any load management.
06:00You're going to try and play all 82 games and then the playoffs.
06:03Like, like I'm looking at this situation is totally two different situations, but Anthony Davis getting asked about the young
06:10guys on this team.
06:12And I think if he's comfortable with them, he may try and give it a try.
06:15It's overly comfortable.
06:17I've watched him, I celebrate with the young dudes yesterday.
06:19Is there enough youth on this team that is good to say he can go, he'll be willing to take
06:26that step back and let them lead and try to just come in and do it?
06:29Because the dude can come in in however short of time and still score goals.
06:35Yeah.
06:36He's a team first guy.
06:38He's always been that way, too.
06:40I don't see him as a guy going, well, the rings have been handed over.
06:44I don't want to be a 41-year-old in a room run by 22 and 23-year-olds and,
06:50you know, they're stealing my shine and I just feel like the old man who's just kind of hanging around
06:55too long.
06:56He's not that kind of guy.
06:58If he makes the decision to come back, it's because he believes these young guys are going to be the
07:03internal force that they need to improve and take a step forward.
07:07Because if you look at the landscape going into this offseason for free agents, it's a very weak free agent
07:13market.
07:14Many of the top players have already re-signed with their team.
07:17That's kind of a trend we've been seeing around the league for a couple of years now.
07:20Teams are retaining their own talent in part because the salary cap has gone up and they've got the flexibility
07:26to keep their own guys as they go into their second and third contracts.
07:32So if the Capitals and other teams are going to improve, it's most likely going to be through a hockey
07:37trade, a big blockbuster-type trade, and those are so hard to pull off.
07:41They're just unlikely.
07:44Everyone's going to be looking to do it.
07:45If the Caps are going to get better, it is going to be by Cole Hudson and Ilya Protis and
07:52Ryan Leonard and Justin Sordiff and Connor McMichael and Alexei Protis.
07:56It's going to be that 25-and-under crowd taking a big step forward.
08:02And I think Obi could find a fit in a situation like that.
08:08Absolutely he could.
08:10You know, the question is, this is what only he can answer, is does he have it in him to
08:16go through the grind of getting his body ready in the offseason and then go through seven months of, I
08:26mean, 41 years old, that's going to hurt.
08:29That's going to be tough to get ready every night, but if he wants to do it, I can definitely
08:35see a pathway there.
08:36And the Capitals, from what I've been told, I mean, they're prepared for anything.
08:41They kind of have their plan with Obi, and they have their plan without Obi.
08:44And once he lets them know, they will quickly pivot to whatever he says.
08:48They are really giving him his space and his time and are going to.
08:56They're not pressuring him one way or another.
08:58They're going to let him make the call, as he has earned the right to do, and then they will
09:02react accordingly.
09:03Regular season goals notwithstanding, the Stanley Cup playoffs are a much different beast.
09:08Is he essentially a playoff liability by becoming more and more of a one-way player, or is he still
09:15viable once the playoffs start?
09:19Yeah, I think there's still, again, there's still a way for him to be a contributor.
09:25I mean, you look at his ice time and his usage this year, right?
09:29I mean, I think he took just a handful of offensive or defensive zone starts all year.
09:33I mean, a good coach, like Coach Carberry is, can find a way to put a player in a position
09:40to succeed,
09:41and conversely, keep him out of situations where he might let the team down.
09:45Sure.
09:46There are ways to control usage, and Carberry is one of the best in the league at doing that.
09:52So, there is absolutely a way to do it.
09:55And even last night, he's still laying the body.
09:58I mean, he's still making big hits.
10:00Like, physically, you know, he can still change a game with a big hit.
10:05Physically, Ken, speed-wise, though, you're starting to see it more and more.
10:09Hell, I'd make the argument that a roster spot is defensible for him just as a PK guy.
10:16Or an offensive, not a PK guy, but a power play guy.
10:21Like, you could make that argument, even though I know most coaches are like,
10:24I can't afford this spot, I've got to have guys that can do a little bit more than just that.
10:27With him, you absolutely can, because of that, you know, lethality there.
10:31Is the KHL a real thing if he decides to move on?
10:35Like, I thought that league was on the verge of collapse.
10:40I don't think it's on the verge of collapse.
10:42I mean, I know a lot of Russian players, especially guys who are, you know, very patriotic.
10:50And, you know, their country has done a lot for them, and they've done a lot for their country.
10:53I hope he's one of those guys.
10:54I know that's a sensitive topic.
10:58But he is very proud of being a Russian, and he came up through the Moscow Dynamo program.
11:04His mother held high-ranking positions within that organization.
11:09I could absolutely see him, if he does walk away from the NHL, if he does hang up his skates
11:14here,
11:15play a season for Dynamo.
11:17Maybe, you know, not every game.
11:19Maybe as a figurehead.
11:20Maybe even, you know, become a GM or a coach.
11:24We saw it with Sergei Fedorov.
11:25We saw it with Pavel Datsuk.
11:27Victor Kozlov.
11:28Like, the list goes on and on.
11:30Ilya Kovalchuk.
11:31I mean, when guys are done with the NHL, it's kind of understood and expected that they give back
11:37to the teams that developed them from seven years old until they were ready to go across the big pond
11:43and play in the National Hockey League.
11:45And I don't think that would be any different for Ovi.
11:49If he did decide to hang him up, I wouldn't be shocked at all if he saw a first release
11:54in late July or August
11:56saying, welcome Captain Ovi to the Moscow Dynamo.
12:01He'll be our first line left wing next year.
12:05I'm now on the Continental Hockey League's website for the first time ever, I must say.
12:10And I'm learning right now, Tarek, that it's a league with two 11-team divisions, the East and the West.
12:18And I'm looking at the logos and the names, and they're wild because I've never seen them before.
12:24Now I kind of want to see if I can get a TV package.
12:26Can I get an Internet-only, out-of-market, out-of-country, KHL package?
12:31Like, I can watch some of this stuff.
12:34Absolutely you can.
12:35And the hockey level's pretty good.
12:38Oh, hell yeah, I'm sure it's good.
12:39Yeah, I would venture to say the NHL, clear and far away, the best hockey league in the world.
12:45We know that.
12:46But this would be number two.
12:47I would say KHL and AHL are kind of right there.
12:51Right.
12:51And the KHL, you know, has some pretty high-end players.
12:58It's a good league.
13:00You know, it's not Sweden or Finland, and those are also good pro leagues.
13:03But you see a lot of movement at times between the KHL and the NHL.
13:09So it's a good league.
13:12And, you know, when Obi does decide to go home, man, he is a rock star.
13:16He's messy returning to Argentina.
13:19He's, you know, he's, he's, he's, it'll be, it'll be, it'll be massive, it'll be a very, very big deal
13:30over there.
13:31So, um, I can absolutely see him, him, um, um, playing there.
13:37Now, if he were to come back to the Capitals for another year, or, you know, I would say probably
13:42one year would be, um, probably the max.
13:45I don't know.
13:46Um, then does he go back and play at 42 in the KHL?
13:50I don't know.
13:51I, I, I think that'd be a big ask, but I think there are a lot of questions.
13:55If he could play sparingly, probably.
13:58Yeah.
13:59Yeah.
13:59I mean, with, with, with that shot, you know, he'll be able to amble to the, to the left face
14:04off circle the best way he can and just, you know, unleash that howitzer until he's 50 years old.
14:09I mean, that, that shot's not going anywhere.
14:11Um, and that's part of the reason why he's still, uh, finding himself so productive.
14:15All right.
14:16Last add on a scale of one, two awesome.
14:19How was the Malkin video of him and Ovi and the kids playing full on hockey in the hallway in
14:26their house?
14:28Freaking amazing.
14:30Just chaos, madness, full sticks on the hardwood floors.
14:37Uh, mom there with a baby in her arms walking through hilarious.
14:41Like, I love it.
14:43Every time I see Ovi playing mini sticks in his house, I think to myself, what my wife would do
14:50if I busted out mini sticks on our hardwood floor in like a hallway, you know, tearing up floor, uh,
14:57you know, uh, baseboards and walls.
14:59I mean, I, I'd be sleeping on the couch the rest of my life.
15:02I, you know, uh, and you know what, they probably have like an outdoor rink or area on a tennis
15:10court or something.
15:11They could probably play on if they wanted to.
15:12They probably has lights wherever they are, but it's like, no, we play hockey right now.
15:17We play in kitchen.
15:18It's fine.
15:19It's fine.
15:19He made enough money.
15:20Why?
15:20He probably, he might have some extra floors right there in the garage.
15:23It's beautiful.
15:24It's so beautiful.
15:26All right.
15:26Uh, Tarek, we appreciate your time today and we'll see what the future holds for the grade eight.
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