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Greg Wyshynski joins The Sports Junkies to break down Alex Ovechkin’s future.
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00:00This is Greg Wyszynski, Senior NHL Writer at ESPN.
00:06Greg, good morning. Thanks for joining us, man. We appreciate the time.
00:09Well, I appreciate you guys. I am the Senior NHL Writer at ESPN,
00:13but I'll always be an unwashed blogger in my mom's basement when I hop on the junks.
00:18Yep, we all have our origin stories. We know them well.
00:21Thank you, buddy. When did you start blogging?
00:24Oh, I was like an OG. It was like 2007.
00:28Do you guys remember AOL Fan House?
00:31Yeah, we did AOL. We did AOL blogs.
00:34Yeah, man. That was where I kind of cut my teeth as a hockey blogger.
00:40And then Yahoo hired me in 2008.
00:44And then we did Puck Daddy until 2017 when I put on a tie and learned the words,
00:50Sue, it's a small world, and joined ESPN.
00:54So when you started out, did you get paid per blog?
00:58Is that how it worked? Or were you on salary?
01:00I don't remember how this used to work back in the day.
01:03At Fan House, it was definitely per post, which taught me a little word called frequency,
01:11which I used to my volume.
01:13Yeah, volume. I think you got paid a few bucks every post.
01:19And every fifth post, you got a free AOL CD in the mail to get instant messenger on your home
01:27computer.
01:28That's how long ago this was.
01:30That's basically only a few years after Alex Ovechkin started playing for the Washington Capitals.
01:36We've been kicking this around for the last few days.
01:38Do you think this is going to be the final time we see Ove as the Caps,
01:43who we know were eliminated from playoff contention with the Flyers' win last night?
01:47Do you think this is Ove's swan song?
01:49Does he run it back?
01:50And should he run it back with the Capitals for at least one more season?
01:54I'm like 80%.
01:56It's over.
01:58If you had asked me about two months ago, I would have said about 98%.
02:04I don't know, man.
02:05The vibe at the game, I was at the game against the Penguins,
02:12and it didn't really feel like a super big farewell.
02:15I don't know if that's just because he's been so noncommittal
02:17and they didn't really know how to handle the game.
02:21But, I mean, his stats are still pretty respectable.
02:25I think the two things that I know are really important to Alex
02:29are his ability to stay conditioned, to bounce back physically.
02:34But I think he also wants to be relevant,
02:36and I think that was one of the reasons why he even came back to the Capitals a few years
02:40ago
02:40or re-signed with the Capitals a few years ago
02:42is that he wanted to make sure that this was going to be a competitive playoff-caliber team.
02:46It didn't work this year, but, I mean, if you look at the roster,
02:49it's good and it's young in the right places,
02:51and it's got great goaltending,
02:53and there's no reason to believe they can't be relevant again next year.
02:56So then it just comes down to conditioning and health
02:59and whether he feels like another season of this grind
03:02is going to be deleterious to, you know, the rest of his life playing with his kids.
03:07I just have a hard time believing that he's going to go out on a non-playoff year
03:12on a random Tuesday night in Columbus when they're out of playoff content.
03:17You know what I mean?
03:17Like, it just doesn't seem like he wants that to be his final act in the NHL.
03:25I agree and I disagree.
03:27On the one hand, yeah, I mean, I don't think that that's necessarily
03:33the lasting memory that you want of Alex,
03:35but I think that's part and parcel of him really not knowing what he wants to do yet.
03:40I think, you know, I talked to the Capitals before that game against the Penguins,
03:42and the challenge they ran into is, like, how do you celebrate the guy?
03:47How do you acknowledge the guy?
03:48How do you deal with the legacy?
03:49How do you satiate the fans who paid, you know, $3,000 a ticket to go see
03:54what could be his final game when he doesn't even know it was his final game?
03:58But the second thing I'll say, and I think Ovi's been consistent on this
04:01since the preseason when I talked to him about it,
04:04last year was great with the Gretzky chase, but it was also really hard on him.
04:09And, like, having his situation overshadowed out of his team and his teammates,
04:16you know, him being, you know, in the most intense spotlight you could imagine
04:20for an individual player in this game, chasing a Wayne Gretzky record
04:23that people thought was unbreakable, like, he didn't want that again this year at all.
04:27And that might even bleed into the final stages of this season,
04:32where if it is goodbye, he still doesn't want it to just be all about him.
04:35He's constantly just kind of pushing the spotlight aside whenever he gets a chance to.
04:40So you mentioned the roster being young in a lot of the right places.
04:43We saw Ryan Leonard with a 20-goal season.
04:47Justin Sordiff was a really good pickup.
04:49I know a lot of people were scratching their heads for the Caps sending a second.
04:52I think it was a six-round pick to Florida, and he turned into a 35-point score
04:57with it seeming like his ceiling's going to be even higher than that
05:00heading into the next season.
05:02Cole Hudson's been awesome since he's gotten called up.
05:05Like, there are young pieces in place that if he wants to come back,
05:08this team will compete, and hopefully they are able to make a playoff push next season.
05:13It's not like the cupboard is bare here in Washington.
05:16Yeah, and we didn't even mention the pro-die.
05:18The two pro-die brothers either.
05:19I mean, like, you know, it's, yeah, listen, this front office to me,
05:24you know, Brian McFell and then Chris Patrick after that,
05:28is one of the best in the NHL for a lot of reasons.
05:31I think one is clearly player development.
05:34You could draft as well as you possibly want to,
05:36but if you don't have the machinery in place to develop these guys,
05:39then there's no point.
05:40And the thing that's the secret sauce for the Capitals all these years has been Hershey.
05:45Oh, Hershey sauce.
05:46And then, you know, the ability to sort of, like, develop players through that pipeline
05:50and be patient.
05:52And, you know, as long as that's in place, they're going to be competitive.
05:55But they're also just really good, as you mentioned, with sort of,
05:58like, just identifying players in other organizations that they could acquire
06:01and they're going to fit the way they play, but also have a higher ceiling.
06:06And that could be a guy like him, or it could be, you know,
06:09Pierre-Luc Dubois, who they bought pretty low on.
06:11You know, they're just a really smart front office.
06:13So, long story short, I mean, if he does decide to come back,
06:15I do think it's going to be a competitive team,
06:17and one that they'll even make even more competitive if, you know,
06:20he's like, it's my last run, let's go chips all in.
06:24Yeah, I don't know.
06:25I'm kind of with you going in.
06:26I just assumed all season.
06:28I think everybody associated with the team, people associated with the league,
06:31just kind of assumed this was going to be his last year.
06:34But all the signs, I mean, the evidence is just mounting.
06:37And I'm way more than, like, 20%.
06:40I'm, like, going hard.
06:41He's coming back, baby.
06:43I think, listen, we all know he doesn't like attention.
06:45He's not going to do the rocking chair bit in every arena.
06:48That's not going to happen, right?
06:50He'll just say, hey, I'm doing it one year at a time.
06:53And then, but I do think if he knows, at some point he knows,
06:58it's going to be, he'll give the fans at least one opportunity, you know,
07:01to pay tribute to them or whatever and do the handshake line and, you know,
07:05and bow and get the microphone even though he hates that.
07:07We know he hates it.
07:09There's too much evidence here, Greg.
07:11I mean, he's close to another record, right?
07:14What, 15 or 16 goals or whatever?
07:15I don't know that he cares about it, but it's right there.
07:18Might as well knock it out.
07:19He led the team in points.
07:20He played 82 games.
07:21He clearly loves hockey.
07:23When he's not at the arena, he's playing hockey in his freaking house.
07:27Like, and you, we all get it.
07:29I know people just with regular Joe jobs that it's hard, change is hard.
07:33And you might think you're going to retire at 60, and then 60 comes in your work
07:37two more years because it changes hard and it's not that bad.
07:40You kind of like your routine, right?
07:42It's your identity.
07:44Yeah, it's who he is.
07:45He clearly still loves it.
07:47And he can still, listen, he has deficiencies, no doubt about it.
07:51But he's not the reason he didn't make the playoffs.
07:53I mean, he sucks at shootouts.
07:54That's the reason he didn't make the playoffs.
07:57So, I don't know.
07:58I think he's coming back.
08:01I can't say for sure.
08:02I still lean that he's not.
08:04But, I mean, your point's really well taken, which is that people always are, you know,
08:09wondering why do these guys hang on for so long and it's your identity.
08:12But it's also just like, listen, I know the guy loves his kids, but the guy also loves
08:17the life.
08:18He loves the boys.
08:19He loves the boys in the room.
08:20He loves being on the road.
08:21He loves Tom Wilson.
08:22Like, all these things that are inherent to his existence remain in Washington.
08:28I mean, John Carlson doesn't, but everybody else does.
08:30So, like, I think that weighs heavily for him.
08:34But they don't know.
08:35I'm glad you brought up the handshake line because that was the one that was really interesting
08:39on Sunday against the Penguins.
08:42And I had heard during the game that Sidney Crosby was, well, sorry, ambulance, was preparing
08:51some sort of a handshake situation after the game.
08:53So, that was actually Sid's suggestion.
08:57And then to have him wave it off, I couldn't tell if it was just like, I don't know for
09:03sure.
09:04I mean, that's what he said after the game.
09:05Or it could just be like, hey, we might see these guys next week, you know, not anymore.
09:11But at the time, it was very much alive that the Penguins and Capitals could see each other.
09:15And then, you know, why do a handshake line if that's the case?
09:18So, I don't know.
09:18But that was a very interesting moment where he kind of, like, summarily rejected a farewell
09:25gesture from another team.
09:26And as much as I know he hates, we all know, right?
09:28I've never seen a guy who's been a star for 20 years and more uncomfortable at the podium
09:32still.
09:32Like, it's crazy to me.
09:34But I don't think he's just going to fax in or send an email and say, yeah, I'm done.
09:40I just don't think he's going to do that.
09:42I think he's going to give you a little notice.
09:45I mean, it'll be more than that.
09:47I mean, it'll be like an event.
09:49And I mean, I imagine...
09:50Yeah, they'll do that next year.
09:53But I could imagine a situation where they fast track a number of retirement for opening
09:57night if the guy in his family wants to go back to Russia, which I think is a possibility.
10:01Like, that's the other thing, too, is that he was asked about this in Toronto and he
10:04didn't shoot it down.
10:05But the long-held theory was that he was going to play one more year with Dinamo Moscow in
10:12the KHL.
10:13And he never really shut that down.
10:15So we might...
10:16I mean, he might not be done playing.
10:17I mean, he could play it like 20% of the way he played in the KHL.
10:20Oh, he's going to play until he's 80.
10:21He's going to be in a beer league near you forever.
10:25That's for sure.
10:26He's going to be like Jagr playing at Kladno in the Czech Republic until he's 95 years
10:31old.
10:31But no, I hear what you're saying, and it doesn't seem like the traditional route, especially
10:38when we're so used to seeing...
10:40I mean, it felt like Marc-Andre Fleury was on a retirement tour for about five years.
10:44So we're so used to these guys all doing this thing.
10:47But I mean, Ovi's different.
10:48He's built different.
10:49He already experienced the I'm at every arena in the world is lauding me thing last
10:55season.
10:56And it wouldn't surprise me if things are more subtle.
10:58And I say that not only knowing Ovi, but I say that also just in talking to the organization.
11:03Like, I think they expect it could be a situation where they come out of a meeting and if there's
11:09a decision, then they've got to put out a press release.
11:10And that's the extent of it.
11:12Greg, we always appreciate the time.
11:14And look how far you've come.
11:15You started as a blogger.
11:16And now you're in the year 30 with the junks.
11:19We're doing year 30 here.
11:21Okay.
11:22That's incredible.
11:23I mean, really, you guys are the same.
11:25I mean, as far as like, I mean, not successful.
11:27Like you just got, you blew up, right?
11:29For me, it's more like I no longer have to pay for my own greyhound to go to the draft.
11:34Like ESPN does pay for a plane, which is kind of dope.
11:37Very nice.
11:38Very cool.
11:38Well, Greg, thanks for the time.
11:39We appreciate Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer at ESPN.
11:43Glad to have you on again soon.
11:45Appreciate it.
11:46Anytime, boys.
11:47All right.
11:47Thanks, buddy.
11:48Colleagues, apparently.
11:49Fan house.
11:50Who knew?
11:50Didn't have any idea.
11:51I remember I wrote a blog about bachelor parties.
11:53I think Cakes did one about Hashim Thabee.
11:55I mean, I can't remember blogs from 25.
11:58Maybe that was Jason's.
11:59I think it was Jason's, yeah.
12:00I remember doing a few for AOL more.
12:02I remember the Mass and Falls.
12:03I do remember those more.
12:04Oh, no.
12:05You did the double crown.
12:07I did the double crown.
12:08I mean, I still stand by that.
12:09Cakes is all about lowering the bar.
12:10Yeah.
12:11I mean, come on.
12:11It's hard to win three horse races in like a six-week stretch.
12:15It's pretty difficult.
12:16All right.
12:16Coming up next, we will pivot to the Wizards.
12:19Will Dawkins, their GM.
12:20He will join us next here on The Fan.
12:22We will go ahead.
12:22We will go ahead.
12:22We will go ahead.
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