Inside Capitals’ Fantastic Retool around Alex Ovechkin

If Alex Ovechkin had to go Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career target record As a member of Washington capitalshe had some conditions that had to be met.

Before he signed again, Ovechkin Capitals owner Ted Leonsis told him he didn’t want to be “a third line playing 8 to 10 minutes about a game.” He didn’t want to be one, the team “trot out on Power Play” just to fill his goal, according to Leonsis.

Most of all, he would not play for a reconstruction team. Before you sign a Five -year contract extension in 2021he asked Leonsis to promise him that the owner would keep the team competitive, that Capitals would be the annual playoff challenger they had been in most of Ovechkin’s career.