- 22 hours ago
Alex Ovechkin will decide if he continues playing in July. Does this hurt the Caps because they are waiting on him.
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00:00oh look i get it this is a little bit sensitive okay it's a little awkward it's a little
00:10uncomfortable for a lot of people and it's easy for me to say very much outside just a fan
00:18just a fan that's all i am
00:22i can imagine it being tougher if i was in the capitals organization
00:26tobes if i was the gm if i was the team prez if i was the owner if i was
00:30any of the people that
00:31whose key card works because of alice ovechkin
00:36i'm just asking the question and i think a lot of times when you ask a question
00:39it sounds like you've got an axe to grind and i understand that it's going to kind of sound like
00:44sure so bear with your pal if you would we're just sort of doing this yep he'll tell us in
00:51july
00:52thing for ovechkin ah i don't like it and it's got nothing to do with what he's done
01:01that's all in the good data that's right i got a great bank account because all the deposits
01:06of ovechkin it's our it's collecting interest and my money is earning money the ov deposits will
01:12never be outweighed by anything he does as far as i'm concerned now next paragraph capitals going
01:18forward need to know need to know how much need to know what role need to know his level of
01:24buy-in
01:24need to know nope we have to do the same thing that we've done which is two minutes of power
01:29play
01:29time no defensive zone face-offs kind of cater everything towards the ov part of the operation
01:35or is he willing to be a third line uh thurandruel that's in a lord of the rings reference is
01:40he willing
01:41to be a guy that is just kind of part of the furniture that means it's not 30 goals anymore
01:46probably 20 we're not setting you up at the expense of the team just to give you all the
01:52cushy stuff and for people to go hello the team in goals last year yes yes he did however the
02:00slightest
02:01bit of study will tell you that this is what you do for a 50 goal scorer you treat him
02:09like this and
02:10he was 50 goal scorer by the way he did that a bunch of times look at that pro hockey
02:13reference page okay
02:13but yes that's the guy you play on the power play for two minutes that's the guy you put in
02:18nothing
02:18but offensive zone face-off that's the guy you set up because that's your best chance to score
02:22when you're doing that when he's on the on the ice with the rare times you've got uh more goals
02:27in
02:27the other team everybody's geared towards getting him the empty netter it's about him nothing wrong
02:33with that when he's trying to set the goals record now we've done that are the capitals best served
02:38stopping what they're doing and kind of putting him in that spot anymore i think the answer is a very
02:42clear no it doesn't mean he can't help you he can again there's value in a 20 goal scorer doesn't
02:48play much defense not as much value by the way as there is for the old ovechkin that's why you
02:53should make less what are we doing and that's kind of my question that i keep going back to it
03:01sounds
03:01very anti-ovechkin it sounds very x to grind e if that's even a thing but tobes i turn over
03:06to you
03:07this is where i'm at here i'm kind of going whatever you're going to do they need to know
03:13and then i need to know yeah so i can figure out what the hell's going on and how we're
03:16supposed to
03:17build yeah whatever you're going to do do it quick and do it now please right like that sort of
03:20idea
03:21and my thing is with ovechkin we had berries for lugo on a couple of weeks ago i was sitting
03:26in for
03:27you and he brought up that it wasn't about money with the new contract and if that's the case and
03:33he's
03:33willing to take a little bit less money would he also be willing to take a little bit less of
03:37a
03:38role then if those things happen then i think you'd welcome him back with open arms totally and it's one
03:43of those things where if that is going to be the case i would like to know now i don't
03:49have to know
03:50until ov knows and i also think danny when it comes to all-time greats like alex ovechkin i understand
03:57that this team is in a window where they could win a stanley cup if they were to make the
04:01couple
04:01right moves and put themselves in a really good spot going in the next year i understand that
04:05i think those sorts of players not just a good player but an all-time great player you get one
04:12year you can make an argument they even deserve more but you get one year where it's like all
04:17right this is one year past your welcome but because of all the good that you've done for us
04:21you get one more year where you get to go around you get to play and you get to get
04:26all the
04:27adoration adoration and everybody gives you your love and your flowers you get one year of that
04:32i think some people look at last year as that for ov i don't think ov looked at that as
04:37his last year
04:38of doing that right i think this year counts as that so for me this year i would love to
04:45know now
04:45ov can take as long as he needs now you go into next off season and we're doing the same
04:51thing then
04:51it's like all right man you've you've done your you've gone your course you've got your victory lap
04:55you've got your celebratory tour i don't think that it falls under that just yet or this year
05:00does i don't think last year fell under that so if that's the case and by the way it does
05:05sound like
05:05he's willing to make some concessions in terms of his contract which would make me think that
05:10he would make some concessions in terms of his play and i know that he's a professional athlete
05:15professional athletes always are going to be very big on what they can do for the team they're going
05:20to think very highly of what they're going to be able to do for the team but i also don't
05:23think
05:23he's naive i think he understands a lot of what you're saying and there are some drawbacks to what
05:28he can do now compared to what he used to be able to do and i don't think ov's coming
05:32back just to
05:33play a year of hockey just for the fun of it because if ov were to come back and play
05:37for a
05:37year just for the fun of it we've all assumed he'd play a couple of years in russia right that's
05:41for
05:42the fun of it that's your rec league hockey i'm wrapping up my career let's play a couple more times
05:47kids can enjoy coming to the games and we're done that's more along those lines if he's coming back to
05:51play for the washington capitals and for and in the nhl i think he wants to win a stanley cup
05:57and i think he understands i can't be the top dog i can't be always on the top line playing
06:04two
06:04minutes in every power play i think he would understand some of those things that's the key
06:07thing that's the key thing so there are i don't know how to quantify this exactly i'm doing my best
06:13on the fly you're too young for choose your own adventure books right where you would go if you
06:18want to open the trap door go to page 46 or if you want to jump out the window go
06:23to page 29 and
06:24you'd always try to read it manipulate figure out which way to get to the fun part of the adventure
06:28but that's kind of what i'm doing here on scenario one we'll call it you just treat ovechkin like
06:37ovechkin you do what you've done however many years you want to do it you've given us so much you're
06:42the star maximum contract maximum catering we're just spinning our tires again we're doing this
06:48which is maybe they're in the playoffs maybe you're not and if you are you're going out in
06:52the first round which they've done five to six years since they won the stanley cup or whatever
06:55it is six to seven years five five to seven years where they don't make the playoffs or get bounced
07:00in the first round one playoff series win since they won the cup and i have no interest in that
07:07which sounds really harsh which sounds really really really ungrateful disrespectful even i don't
07:16want to do that i will i'll enjoy it i'll watch the caps like i always do sure i'll cheer
07:21for ovi
07:22because he's giving me so much but i don't want that scenario two he retires yay he did it what
07:30a
07:30great career thank you for everything love you awesome you know when the caps training camp breaks
07:35let's go watch some hockey scenario three what you're talking about scenario three is very
07:42appealing to me i don't know what the dollars look like there's going to be a hey you've been
07:46doing this a long time here tax it'll be above quote-unquote market for a guy that sure is going
07:50to be a third line player if it just for the sake of put that in quotes a 15 minute
07:55time on ice guy
07:56allow what ryan leonard was this year we'll do that and it's not two minutes on the power play it's
08:03reduced role but there's still a role there's still some value in it for a guy that's that good
08:07of a shooter no problem if we're doing that now am i interested i'm excited and my lack of excitement
08:16previously was based on i just didn't see that i saw an organization i'm not faulting them at all i
08:23understand this that said yeah winning hockey games is nice but this record this is bigger than all of
08:31it no one's going to remember how many points we had in that calendar year when he broke the record
08:38in in new york no one's going to remember it all they're going to remember that goal they're going
08:42to remember him diving on the ice they're going to remember the all-timer where he's you know over
08:45900 now um in terms of goals scored and remembers he did it in the capitals jersey etc that's forever
08:53how many points we had in 2025 is not how many points we'd missed the playoff series you're more
08:58than van and then vegas oh you had more than vegas you had more than vegas no one's going to
09:01care no
09:01one's going to remember that they'll remember ov forever that's bigger than anything so i get why
09:06they did it but we're still i felt like we were in that catering to ov mode and i don't
09:13speak for
09:13grant but i think he kind of has a similar feeling when i'm kind of looking at my watch going
09:17yes but how
09:20much longer how much longer do we do this and there's no way to have an easy it's much easier
09:27for shouty old randy do yay on the radio than it is for ryan mcclellan than it is for chris
09:35patrick
09:35to have these kinds of conversations because it's awkward thanks for all the great years and all the
09:41memories and making everything awesome could you leave no right i understand how hard it is
09:46but if you have that sense and i don't necessarily i think i probably read what you read or heard
09:51what
09:51you've heard i don't know where we're at on that and again i don't know that they know either
09:55because it's not july yet yeah it's tough because i'm hoping that i'm correct and it's you know we're
10:01working off the same sort of premise i don't know anything that you don't know so you know we're
10:05kind of working off the same things here but you know it was enlightening that the the article that
10:10barry put out a couple of weeks ago and we talked to him about it that you know ov might
10:13be willing to
10:14take a little bit less shows you that maybe he realizes some of the stuff that i was talking
10:18about and if that's the case then that's a guy that is coming back to win a cup and he's
10:23quizzing
10:23the capitals front office as much as they're talking to him about it just saying like hey
10:26what's the plan here how can we get there and i think that is something too that you hope that
10:30that dialogue is open which it sounds like it is and if it's something like you guys were talking
10:34about dylan larkin yesterday being a potential option if it's something where you know chris patrick
10:39and the guys in the front office mcclellan are talking about hey we want to go try to get
10:43dylan larkin we're trying to figure out the salary cap ov what's your plan here and that's holding
10:47them back that is frustrating but i would think that there's some sort of dialogue too of all right
10:52we're going to try to do this is that more enticing or there's an open dialogue there where it's not
10:57hindering them because that's the thing that i think a lot of people are thinking here is is
11:02ovechkin holding them back because of his indecision or the fact that he hasn't made a decision yet
11:07and i don't know that they feel that way in the front office maybe if you put truths here maybe
11:11they
11:11would say that they are but i don't feel like they think that they're as hamstrung as maybe we
11:16may think that they are that's you're right they're smart they know what they know what they're about
11:19and they've got a plan a plan b a plan c and everything down they'll be fine but it's still
11:25the not knowing yeah and because again what this could what could happen think of this think of how
11:31much of a distraction terry mcclorn that whole saga was last year for for the football team right
11:36these ostensibly are good people involved terry mcclorn pretty damn good dude adam peters by all accounts
11:40pretty damn good dude and and and uh you know everyone from from lance newmark and on down
11:45rave reviews for these guys josh harrison company good dudes this is a good organization good player
11:49and yet it became a thing imagine potential discontent with if he feels disrespected
11:58now it's a saga i mean and you'll have a section of the fan base that goes you just disrespected
12:03alex ovechkin oh my god they're walking this delicate tightrope here and i'm trying to be appreciative
12:08of that while at the same time saying what's best for the team is to no longer just you know
12:13throw
12:13roses on the ground like he's the prince of zamunda i didn't ask for calls on this but people want
12:17to
12:17chime in let's go to kevin arlington on it kevin what's up buddy what's up kevin hey danny toby yeah
12:22i this was really been a bit troubling to me and and if you allow me let's go back to
12:29the playoff
12:29if you go back to the playoffs a year ago after we had that great year and by the way
12:34we were running
12:34out of gas as we were heading 100 a lot of it too in my opinion was you mentioned it
12:41we were
12:41catering to obi we were almost more concerned with feeding him and getting the record than we were
12:46winning at the end of that season and man we got boat raced by carolina and you know who played
12:53really poorly in that series three men obi carlson and strong okay and you know if we're going to get
13:02in the playoffs i don't want another first round exit i want to build a team capable of hanging
13:07with the canes who we cannot beat right now so personally i'm fine with obi if he wants to come
13:15back for one year i would prefer that there be dialogue and we don't need a chance to know but
13:20i
13:20sure as heck hope that there is dialogue so that hey obi we're looking at larkin possibility or
13:27whatever it is they have planned they've said they've been keeping quiet leaving him alone
13:32giving him space letting him figure things out but his decision impacts what it can and cannot do so
13:38i'm a little uncomfortable with it one other thing i just want to throw out there it's interesting to
13:43me is you think obi is looking to see what it is that patrick and mcclellan do who we actually
13:49do
13:49add before he says okay i'm going to put myself through hell and come back one more year because
13:53with those additions i think we could really compete pretty yeah it's a good call rough against
13:58it buddy it's it's a i really appreciate it as always that's kind of turn it around on its head
14:04thinking the other way the other direction is interesting i i don't know maybe they could say
14:09here's our plan here's what we're going to try to go get but we don't know exactly who we can
14:13get
14:13because we don't know how much we're paying well and maybe it's something too if you're ovechkin saying
14:17hey i'll take less go get this guy could be get this thing done and fine i'll take the lesser
14:22role but
14:23if we're just going to run it back because the same as last year then give me my same sort
14:26of thing
14:26so i think there is a running dialogue between both sides that you know you hope we can get
14:31solved here pretty soon 800-636-106-7
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