Alex Ovechkin may have already played his last game for the Washington Capitals.
Insider Darren Dreger said on OverDrive Wednesday that all indications point to Ovechkin's career being finished. He called it his belief, not a confirmed report.
That is a heavy line to drop on a 40 year old who just posted a real season, not a farewell tour stat line.
Ovechkin put up 32 goals and 32 assists for 64 points across 82 games this year, with 5 game winning goals.
He also chipped in 5 power play goals and 14 power play assists, working on the man advantage the whole way.
The finish is where this gets interesting. Ovechkin scored 6 goals and added 5 assists for 11 points over his final 10 games.
He closed with 3 points in his last 5 games, a stretch that does not read like a decline at all.
Chris Patrick's cap puzzle if Ovechkin really is done
Fading? Hardly. That kind of production down the stretch is not what a washed up player usually looks like.
Washington finished 43-30-9 for 95 points, ranking 12th overall and fourth in the Metropolitan Division.
The Capitals closed the year on a four game winning streak, going 8-2-0 over their final 10 games played.
Their last game on record was a 2-1 win at Columbus. Head coach Spencer Carbery leaned on Ovechkin all season at a cap hit of 9,500,000 dollars.
General manager Chris Patrick now faces a decision nobody in Washington wanted this soon. Replacing a 32-goal scorer is never simple.
Replacing the face of the franchise is a different problem entirely.
Retiring off a 32-goal season is not walking away quietly. It is closer to a heavyweight hanging up the gloves the same week he wins by knockout.
Nothing here is official. Dreger framed this as belief and indication, not an announcement from the team or the player.
-
But when a name like Dreger uses the word concluded, that tends to travel fast around a locker room and a league that just watched this guy score 32 times.
Should Alex Ovechkin retire now instead of chasing one more season with the Capitals?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Terrible news for Maple Leafs fans involving McKenna: it's going to cost them dearly
