Is This the Last Hurrah for Washington Capitals Star Alexander Ovechkin?

After making a lot of noise last off season, it was a lot quieter for the Washington Capitals. This year, Dan Holy of Locked on Capitals will discuss that, the Ovetkin factor, and what lies ahead for the Caps. All that and more on today’s Locked On NHL podcast. You’re Locked on NHL, your daily podcast on the National Hockey League, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. your team every day. Gil Martin here. Welcome everybody to the Monday edition of the Lockdown NHL podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Lockdown NHL your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. It is my pleasure to welcome back to the show the host of Locked On Capitals, Dan Holy. And uh Dan, you know, last off season I think the Capitals hit a home run. They were very busy, very active, and almost everything they tried worked out. It was a lot more low-key this off season. Why was that? and talk to me about how you judge these moves that they did make. Well, now they have new GM Chris Patrick uh taking over after Brian Mlen was running the ship. In a lot of ways, I think to myself, he knew a change was coming. So, that’s why he brought in a lot of players last summer. Um, I think that the Capitals were active. I think they were all in on Nicolers. They just weren’t able to come to terms with the money. Uh, that kind of thing. and they also kicked the tires on Jack Rosavik. Now, I think they’re pivoting to the youth movement as the Capitals prospects. Uh there’s a lot of upside there and you know, it’s something that’s been spoke of for years that there’s a lot of young talent. Why not lean into it a little bit more? I think this is the season we’re going to see what Ryan Leonard, Andrew Crystal, Ivon Mirnko, these kind of guys, uh how are they going to look? The the problem that I have with it, however, is that if it’s not good enough, is Chris Patrick gonna have to pick up the phone and be scrambling trying to trade this play or that player if it’s not going to work. So, uh it’ll be interesting to see how the Capitals fare, do they take a step forward? Do they take a step back? But as we record this in early August, it does appear uh that the Capitals will lean into more of the youth and hope that the veterans on the team uh can kind of pick up the slack elsewhere. You talk about the veterans, obviously the biggest one, Alexander Ovetkin. Uh lot of speculation that this could be his last season in the NHL. He’s what, 40 now? Uh yeah, he’s going to be 40 in September. Yes. Yeah. So, what are you hearing and what impact does that have on how the Capitals approach this season? Well, I mean, listen there, if you’re a longtime Capitals fan and you know, covering the Capitals for Lockdown, I hear a lot of viewpoints from different people, it is my belief that this will be his final season. There was an email that went out to the season ticket holders that said this was going to be the final season. And then the PR guys heard it and they reeled that in. Nothing to see here. Uh, his wife, Natia, was on Russian media. She said this was going to be the final season and then she backpedalled on that. uh all we have to hang our hat on uh that there is any kind of extension is the kind of ambiguous comments by Alex Ovetchkin himself uh saying that my mind is not made up yet. Now listen, I don’t think that uh you know you have to read into it too much that um I think that his mind is made up um and I think this is going to be his final season. Uh he caught he passed Wayne Gretzky, he won the Stanley Cup in 2018. It’s my belief what else is there for him left to prove. And at 40 years old, you’re only going to see a depreciation uh over time. That is he going to sign a one, two, threeear deal. That is what’s being rumored out there. At 43 years old, um what what can you expect out of Obie? And um you know, I don’t think that he wants to go down in the category of Yamir Yoger. Um and I know that 40 is not 50. I get that. But, uh, I expect him to, uh, you know, put up big numbers in what could ostensibly be, uh, his final season. But, uh, if you’re asking me right now, I would put all my chips in on this being Alex Ovetchkin’s last season in the NHL. How does that change the way the Capitals approach this season? Well, you know, it is interesting uh that you bring that up is that they, you know, have drafted well, you know, the last few years here. Uh Lyndon Lakovic, I’m talking Ryan Leonard, Andrew Crystal that I talk about this on the show, if you’re an everyday locked on Capitals that as good as the Capitals are now, they’re going to be even that much better in years to come just based on prospects. So, what I think is going to have happen, of course, is that Tom Wilson is going to be the next captain. Uh there’s no real mystery there. And I think this team is built in a way that they can win minus Alex Ovuchetkin if you can believe that. Uh because you saw the injury that he faced when uh he got injured against the Utah hockey club at that time. Uh missed some games and the Capitals found a way uh to win without him. Now listen, he re revolutionized hockey in Washington. There is no doubt he is going to be a Hall of Famer. There is no doubt. Um, but at some point you have to be willing to turn the page. Uh, I’ve come to terms with it as a person that’s been a fan of this team for so many years, but um, I think that the Capitals do have the needed depth um, in house. And, um, you know, one of the things that Patrick talked about is we’ll see how this goes. We can always make some big moves um, at the trade deadline uh, in the spring if the belief is is this Capitals team is on the cusp of making it to the playoffs. Talk to me about Andrew Crystalall. It seems like management is very high on him as a prospect. What are his skills and how far away is he from possibly making the big club? One of the last players cut last season. Um there was not the option for him at that time to go to the AHL Hershey Bears. Uh so he was reassigned to the Clone Rockets. Uh then he was traded out to the Spokane Chiefs and killed it. record numbers. Um worked on the things that needed to be worked on. Uh his skating he worked on and some things that he can’t work on. His height, you know, we can only work on what we can work on. Um but he bulked up and um the belief is is that he was or the thought when observed what is was that he was getting u pushed off the puck too easy. So he’s bulked up a little bit. Um I think he could be a real contender uh for that second line left wing. Uh, another intriguing storyline. If Conor Mcichael moves to that third line center position, that position that gave the Capitals quite a bit of grief uh, last season, what are your biggest concerns right now as the season, well, training camp is roughly six weeks away. The biggest things that I’m concerned about are, you know, leaning into that youth. You know, that on paper these players could be good, but you don’t know. It’s, you know, when we looked at Ryan Leonard last year, you know, put up back-to-back 30 goal seasons for Boston College and the feeling out there was that at the end of the season he’s going to join the Capitals. He and he only put up one empty netter. So, I think it’s important to limit expectations. It’s not always a shot straight to the moon. um that I am concerned about the inexperience uh and the fact that Chris Patrick did not go out and make any bigger moves, you know, an elite goal scorer because make no mistake about it, the Capitals would be in a much better position now had they signed Nikolai Eelers or a player someone like that. So, I’m cautiously optimistic that, you know, like we spoke about Crystal who put up big numbers uh for um Colona and the Spokane Chiefs. You take a look at Crystal Mir Schnoshenko that it’s going to be their time to shine. And don’t blow it kids. This is your opportunity. Um, one of the knocks against the Capitals for years is the reluctance that they wanted to squeeze as much juice out of that veteran core. Uh, kind of like what the Pittsburgh Penguins have done and are now in a real mess. Uh, that I think the Capitals were proactive and, you know, great players around him like you spoke about the moves that were made last summer. Peter Luke Dubois, you know, had a breakout season and uh just everyone last year that put up career numbers that I’m feeling optimistic big picture but cautiously optimistic on the youth players that will be added to the team uh in the fall. If there’s a move, what do you think they would be looking to add between now and opening night? A top six scoring forward, right? A proven commodity. Uh the the Nikolai Eersesque uh type of move. And you know the problem is and I’m not going to call it a pro. It is kind of a problem is that they don’t want to to move any prospects. They don’t want to move anything like that because the Capitals have had issues with that in the past being in the win now mode that we want this big shiny toy. So we’re just going to deplete the farm to get that. So but what happens you know you play that out a couple years your prospects are depleted. So I think that you know the Capitals did want to make a big moves. I think they were all in on a Nicolite Eelers. It’s just they didn’t want to have to give up a Leonard, a Crystal, uh something like that. So, they’re all in. Fingers crossed, toes crossed that 2526 uh will be a good season for the Capitals. All right, Dan, why don’t you tell our viewers and our listeners where they could find the podcast and where they could find you on social media? Yeah, so you can find me on Twitter. It’s DanCaps28. You can find the show on Twitter. It’s at locked on caps, of course. Available on Amazon Fire TV channels and YouTube and wherever you find your podcasts. All right, Dan. Thanks so much. Thank you. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier? Well, with Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You could track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, in addition to managing your money, you’re also building wealth. And I know that if you’re trying to keep an account with uh your wife, your husband, your significant other, it makes it so much easier to have all this information in one place with Monarch Money. So take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchoney.com. Code locked on NHL for half off your first year.

Will this be the last NHL season for Washington Capitals great Alexander Ovechkin? Have the Capitals done enough to build on their surprising success of a year ago?

Dan Holmi of Locked On Capitals joins us to discuss this and some possible prospects who could help the Caps this season and beyond.

All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin.

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