It’s been a tough year for Alex Ovechkin. Last November, he missed two games to fly home to be with his ailing grandfather. Reports out of Russia indicated that his grandfather died in his arms. If it had bothered him, he certainly didn’t let it show, as he returned and picked up where he left off.
Amid the season and his torrid scoring pace came the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where the Ovechkin-led Team Russia were embarrassed by Canada with a 7-3 pasting in the quarter-finals in which Ovechkin was largely ineffective. Canada would go on to win the gold, with Ovechkin’s nemesis Sidney Crosby scoring the game winning goal in overtime to secure the victory on home ice.
Fast forward to the playoffs, where Ovechkin’s President’s trophy winning Capitals suffered a heartbreaking first round upset at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, who played tight defensive hockey and received stellar goaltending from Jaroslav Halak in the effort. Ovechkin did his part, with 5 goals and 5 assists in the 7 game series, but it wasn’t enough as they could not keep the puck out of their own net. The Habs would go on to upset the Penguins as well before succumbing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference final.
Ovechkin was further embarrassed by the league once again at the NHL awards. The missed games in Russia as well as a few suspensions saw Ovechkin hit 50 goals and 109 points in 72 games. He missed out on the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies, both of which he would have won handily had he played in a few more games. He then failed to secure a third straight Hart trophy as the league’s MVP, denying him a chance to be ranked along side Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky as the only players ever to do so.
The Capitals returned to the ice this fall without many changes. They cut ties with veteran goalie Jose Theodore, leaving the tending duties to two relative youngsters in Semyon Varlamov and Michal Nuevirth. They failed to find any decent blue line help and decided to promote from within as John Carlson and Karl Alzner made the roster. However, there did seem to be a noticeable change to the team this year.
Ovechkin’s performance this year has been the subject of much controversy. He’s trying to round out his game and become more of a leader in the wake of the team’s struggles. His 12 goals in 32 games is a far cry from his typical 50 goal pace, a pace that both Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos are currently on. Ovechkin is still sitting at 36 points, good for 5th, as he’s using his team mates more and garnering more assists.
In a recent game against the Maple Leafs, team mate DJ King stepped up and took on Colton Orr in defense of Ovechkin. Later on, while King was serving in the box, Ovechkin snapped a laser beam shot home to make the score 4-1, and tapped on the glass of the box as he went by in appreciation of King’s efforts. Ultimately, the team managed to let the Leafs mount a huge come back and win the game in overtime. This was the third game in the Caps’ current six game losing skid, a skid in which they’ve only scored 8 goals.
In the most recent setback, last night’s 7-0 loss to the New York Rangers, Ovechkin let his frustration show as he scrapped with Brandon Dubinsky in what was his second career fight. Earlier in the play the Caps hit two goal posts, and Ovechkin laid a crushing hip check on Dan Girardi. Ovechkin is clearly frustrated with his team’s performance, though it didn’t seem that way a few weeks ago.
After an embarassing 5-0 shutout loss at the hands of the lowly New Jersey Devils, Ovechkin was somber and reserved during his press conference. However, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau was giving a press conference of his own a few minutes later, during which Ovechkin, team mate Alexander Semin and fellow Russian Ilya Kovalchuk were heard laughing within earshot of the conference. Boudreau looked over at them multiple times during his conference.
Perhaps Ovechkin’s recent tragedy is affecting him more than we know. Maybe he will have to take a step backwards in his development in order to take the next step forward. Maybe he’s beginning to realize that this is a team game and in spite of just how good he can be on the ice, it won’t matter until the team around him improves. Maybe it’s the constant (unfavourable) comparisons to Sidney Crosby.
The NHL is doing him no favours here either, as they are constantly building up and selling the rivalry, showcasing the two in the Winter Classic. They’ve got HBO following the two clubs around 24/7 leading up to the game. Crosby seems to be in another league right now, as no one can even touch his performance.
If Ovechkin is to be the ‘bad guy’ to Crosby’s ‘good guy’, how many times does the bad guy take it on the chin before he realizes it’s not worth the effort anymore? Good bad guys need to get their licks in sometimes as well. They need their time in the spotlight, a brief period of success and performance. Ovechkin hasn’t had a ‘victory’ since the 2009 NHL awards.
He’s watched as Crosby’s Penguins eliminated them from the 2009 playoffs only to go on and win the Stanley Cup. He’s watched as Crosby and Team Canada dominated them and came out the winners on home soil, taking home a Gold Medal. He’s watched as Crosby added his Rocket Richard trophy to the case last summer and is now on pace to take home some more hardware this year. Ovechkin has had to sit through a lot of Crosby success lately, and yet the NHL still decides that these two are big rivals who absolutely hate each other.
“Why can’t you be like Crosby?” has been a popular refrain from the Ovechkin detractors for a long time now, and I’m sure he’s tired of it. He’s tired of being called heartless, selfish and a dirty player while Crosby is showered with accolades. Ovechkin is a game changing talent, undoubtedly, but can anyone really expect him to be like Sid?
Ovechkin is a colourful character. He’s got a reputation as a prankster, and a guy who likes to have his fun. Why are the Capitals trying to mold this guy into that of a leader? Yes, every team would like their own Crosby or Toews, but if that’s not a player’s style you can’t force him to be that way. It has to come from within. Ovechkin is an all-world talent, and while parts of his game could use some improvement, the Caps would be better suited to find another voice in the dressing room and just let Ovie be Ovie.
The Caps’ situation could also be remedied with some outside talent as well. Crosby is not the only reason for the Penguins win streak. Marc-Andre Fleury has been stellar, and the Penguins boast the league’s second best penalty kill. They have been without the service of Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin, but are getting contributions from everyone, and when you combine that with Crosby’s presence, it’s just too much for most teams to handle.
Ovechkin doesn’t have that kind of support in his locker room. Alex Semin has outshone him in the goal scoring department but he is another one dimensional player looking for his big payday in the off-season. The Caps were absolutely fleeced earlier as they tried to bring a veteran defensive presence, ending up with Scott Hannan from Colorado, a player with one foot in the retirement home.
Even if Ovechkin is in the proper frame of mind, he cannot be counted upon to resolve this team’s issues on his own, and nor should he be. Ovechkin’s doing what he can to help the team and last night’s fight against Dubinsky is clearly a cry out to his team mates to show more intensity than they have as of late. Now more than ever, hockey is a team sport, and there are no saviours, Crosby included.
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Born and raised in Northern Ontario but currently living in Toronto, Tyler wouldn't have it any other way. Home to his two favourite sports teams, Tyler revels in the day to day sports experience that is Toronto. 