00:00They played 82 games.
00:01They won 42 of them.
00:04Maybe 43, actually.
00:06Final record, Washington Capitals, 43, 30, and 9.
00:13Remarkably, they had more wins or as many wins as some of the teams in front of them.
00:19Kind of doesn't matter, though.
00:20You are what the record is, quote Bill Parsons.
00:22And I am willing to get into the, there's a lot of young talent reason to be excited.
00:32Miss me with the, they had more regular season wins and if they were just better in shootouts.
00:37I'm just not here for that conversation.
00:40These are the rules of how you get in the playoffs and you didn't achieve it.
00:44I don't think we need to try to celebrate a playoff missing season.
00:49As well as the Caps organization's run.
00:51Like, Doug, it's alright.
00:53You missed the playoffs, go get him next year.
00:56That's it.
00:57But by far the biggest question is the future of Alex Ovechkin.
01:01And Ovi is now the NHL's greatest goal scorer ever.
01:05I don't think, even for the haters, of which there were many.
01:10There were a lot early on.
01:11I think they came, after they saw him do the things he did, they realized, you know what?
01:17I'm looking at something special here.
01:19I think getting the Cup validated Ovi in a lot of ways, going back to 2018.
01:26But now the big question is, what happens next for Alex Ovechkin?
01:29He played all 82 games this year, which I think it's kind of lost.
01:33That's remarkable.
01:35Just incredible.
01:36And had 30 goals.
01:38Like, he had a pretty good, productive season.
01:40Yeah.
01:42And a lot of speculation about what happens next for Ovi.
01:46He had the team in scoring, in our goals, I think.
01:48Right.
01:49The season is over.
01:51I'm sorry.
01:51His contract is over, I believe, right?
01:57I think so.
01:58His contract has expired.
01:59So they'd have to work out a new contract.
02:03So we will see what happens, obviously.
02:07Alex talked this morning, correct?
02:09At Caps.
02:11This is their version of Locker Cleanout Day in the NFL.
02:14Everybody talks.
02:15Carberry talked.
02:16Tom Wilson's going to talk.
02:17This is Ovi talking this morning about kind of where his future is.
02:23I think, to be honest with you, I'm pretty sure it's not my last game.
02:34I hope it's not my last game against Columbus.
02:37And, like, how I said, I have to make a decision to see where we are.
02:45You know?
02:46The team, family.
02:48Like, obviously, family is going to support me.
02:50Like, my wife and kids already asked me, like, did you stay in or not?
03:00Who are you telling everybody else?
03:01The kids are like this.
03:02I tell them, we'll see.
03:05Yeah, they're excited.
03:06They want me to come back because they love the city.
03:11They love the team.
03:12They love the boys.
03:13And, yeah.
03:17The kids are worse than the reporters.
03:19So, that is the first time it seems like Alex wants to be back.
03:23Didn't it seem like that to you?
03:24That's what it seems like to me.
03:27But, like you said, like, you know, the season just ended.
03:30And I think this is the one thing where I think athletes need to do what he's doing.
03:36Don't make a decision right at the end.
03:40Let it marinate a little bit.
03:42Go home.
03:43Let your body heal up a little bit.
03:45Or don't heal up.
03:47Talk to your family.
03:49See if you have the mental capacity to go through what you're going through.
03:54Because when you're about to make this decision of retirement, once the season ends, everybody is hurting like hell.
04:00They want to go.
04:02But when you start to get fresh again, you get to a point where you're like, well, damn, I think
04:06I can do this one more time.
04:07Your body.
04:08Yeah.
04:08So, take that time to figure it out.
04:10And I think a guy that has put this much into this team, this area, he deserves the right for
04:17everyone to let him take his time.
04:19But, he and the team need to come up with a moment of truth time.
04:24So, we need to know by this date.
04:26Sure.
04:26Yeah.
04:26Fourth of July.
04:27Totally.
04:28August 1st.
04:28Whatever that day is.
04:29Whatever that day is.
04:30But you got to figure it out.
04:31Because they have to worry about how they can.
04:34But, I think, I forgot who we talked to the other day.
04:37They say they have enough cap space for it to happen.
04:40So, the whole thing is just come to the point where we are going to make a decision by then.
04:45By this time.
04:46And figure it out.
04:47Now, I guess, if you're the caps, the draft is in late June.
04:52And then free agency in hockey opens July 1st.
04:55So, maybe you want to know by.
04:57I mean.
04:58But, see.
04:59If they said, yo, Alex, we'd like to know by June 25th.
05:03That's two months from now.
05:04That's ample time.
05:06Yeah.
05:06I think those two.
05:09Ted.
05:10I'm just going to say Ted because he owns the damn team.
05:12Ted and Alex.
05:14Or whoever Ted represents.
05:15He wants to discuss this with him.
05:17Those two people have to come up with a comfortable date and go get it done.
05:20This is interesting.
05:21This is from Ben Raby.
05:22Who's a guy we both know.
05:23Has done Caps Radio.
05:25Now is a Caps reporter.
05:26I think he's at WTOP now.
05:29I'm reading this.
05:30These are Ben Raby's words.
05:32He said, now this was following the game in Columbus Tuesday night.
05:36I think we've seen Alex Ovechkin play his final game.
05:39That said, I don't think this is as simple as it may appear.
05:42As far as, oh, he has a decision to make.
05:44I do think there's some layers to it.
05:47He'll meet with management, his doctors, his family.
05:49I think from what I understand, the team might be more prepared for this.
05:53Might be more ready to move on than Ovechkin is.
05:56I don't know the truth about that, right?
05:59What I know, what I have seen, what Ted Leonsis has said publicly, that Alex Ovechkin is like a son
06:09to him.
06:09I'll just say this.
06:10There's no player that he has ever paid that has the impact that Alex has.
06:15Has the love of this community as Alex does.
06:19And I don't think he would be watching him how he took care of other people.
06:23There's no way he's trying to push him out the door.
06:25Ted is a dude, for whatever criticisms you want to throw at Ted Leonsis, he has taken care of his
06:30stars.
06:30Hell yeah.
06:31Always.
06:31He has paid.
06:32What star has been bigger than Alex?
06:34Nobody.
06:35None.
06:36In none of the sports.
06:37None.
06:38None of them has been bigger than him.
06:38Took care of Walt.
06:39Took care of Gil.
06:41Paid Antoine.
06:42Paid Gil.
06:43Like, I've said this before.
06:44I wish Ted owned the Nats, because I think Soto stays in town.
06:48Like, I don't think Ted would do the fire sale routine the learners have done.
06:51But see, when that statement is made from Ben, okay?
06:55I would think that that's not a Ted feeling.
06:59It may be somebody else working in an organization feeling.
07:03If you are the analytics guy, and you're like, man, we could get younger and faster, there might be some
07:08folks that are like, this team might be better if we were able to turn the page.
07:12But I think the dude at the top floor, when it cuts the checks.
07:16I think if you get faster and you get better, and he were to play another year, he still can
07:22score as good as any out there.
07:24And like, I've said this for many, many times, where I watch people watch Alex play.
07:30If there's more, like, what they are building right now with the Proz brothers and all, what they have now,
07:36you're starting to see some firepower.
07:37Did you see the chicken goal Tuesday night in Columbus?
07:40Hell yeah.
07:40That's because everybody on that power play was obsessed with Ovechkin.
07:43There you go.
07:44Joe V did a great job of explaining it.
07:46He may not be the guy that makes all the plays anymore, but you know what?
07:49He takes enough attention from people, because they know what he's capable of.
07:53To me, Ove has earned the right to call his shot, and I believe Cap's ownership feels the same way.
08:00I agree with that.
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