Welcome back to NHL rumours. Each day, we look at the latest happenings around the league. From new contracts to injuries, to trades, we have it all. Today, we look at a rumour about the Washington Capitals rebuild, and Alex Ovechkin on his quest to catch Wayne Gretzky.
Washington Capitals Won’t Rebuild While Ovechkin Chases Gretzky
Imagine: the year is 1999. As the season winds down, the greatest to ever play steps off the ice one final time. As he leaves, a bevy of records leaves with him. Gretzky retired after 20 outstanding seasons, establishing new highs in all major categories. At the time, most agreed those records never could or would be broken. With 894 goals, 1963 assists, and 2,857 points, no active or retired player even held a candle to his numbers. They looked absolutely set in stone.
Now, the year is 2022 (and nearing 2023). Those records still stand. In fact, no one even ranks within 900 points of Gretzky’s career figure. The closest active player, Sidney Crosby, barely reached the halfway point at 1,447. It took that superstar the majority of his career just to get there. At 35 years old, the gap remains far too wide to even think about hunting the record down.
But in one category, the gap shrinks each day. Ovechkin (who also is the next closest active player in points, with 1,440) has 797 career goals. Before the end of this season, he will pass Gordie Howe (at 801 goals) for second all-time. And though Ovi stands at 37 years old today, his scoring pace remains elite. If he can keep that up for a couple more seasons, he just might catch The Great One. And as long as hope remains, the Capitals won’t rebuild their team around him.
Washington Capitals Rebuild on Hold for Ovechkin
Spoke with @Capitals owner Ted Leonsis about a potential rebuild with Alex Ovechkin on the roster, chasing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record. https://t.co/Zq7zxqxC8G
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 13, 2022
Greg Wyshynski at ESPN spoke with the Caps’ owner, Ted Leonsis, who spoke candidly on the situation in the nation’s capital. Leonsis matter-of-factly stated that so long as Ovechkin chases Gretzky, the franchise will remain competitive. He wants to give Ovi the best opportunity to become the league’s all-time goal scorer, and if the Capitals are bad, that likely becomes significantly more difficult.
Ovechkin and Leonsis discussed it themselves, too. And Ovi doesn’t want to reduce his role or let the team aspect slide while he finishes his career and quest. He wants to win another Cup and signed a five-year extension carrying him through 2025-26 to do so. Yes, he wants the scoring record to come in that time, too. But he doesn’t want that to be their ultimate goal, so the team must be talented enough to succeed simultaneously.
Aging Capitals Roster Concerns
As it stands today, however, the team isn’t experiencing much success. Yes, they sit above .500, but just barely (14-12-4). That sits them on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. The gap remains tight, and a few wins in a row could vault them up in short order. But the competition isn’t getting any easier, while the Caps themselves grow older by the day.
Washington’s roster features 16 players at 30 years of age, or older. At 37, Ovechkin is their oldest, but Nicklas Backstrom (35), T.J. Oshie (35), Matt Irwin (35), Carl Hagelin (34), Lars Eller (33), John Carlson (32), Nick Jensen (32), Darcy Kuemper (32) and Nic Dowd (32) aren’t far behind. Some of those names have contracts keeping them with Washington for the next three or four years, too.
Capitals Roster Shake-up Without Rebuild
Perhaps the bigger concern actually lies with the number of expiring deals. This summer, Washington must decide what to do with all of these pending free agents. That includes a whopping nine forwards (eight UFAs), seven defencemen (five UFAs), and one goalie (UFA). Those numbers don’t even consider the players on expiring deals in the minors, either.
Yes, this obviously points to major changes upcoming for the franchise. However, losing a bunch of players does not necessarily equal losing a bunch of talent and skill. The saving grace here comes with the salary space that frees up from all those names falling off the books. Certainly, some will receive extensions, and some players deserve raises based on performance. But given the team’s overall lack of success, the majority likely can walk as free agents and be replaced elsewhere.
Concerns on Defence and Offence
What the Capitals have to identify is where best to spend the money once they have it in their pocket to spend. The glaring concern sits on the blueline, where only Carlson, Lucas Johansen, Alexander Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary remain signed for 2023-24. Without much in the prospect pipeline at that position too, they’ll undoubtedly look to free agency to fill holes. Maybe they will bring back some of the current group. That said, Dmitry Orlov, Jensen, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Erik Gustafsson, and Irwin are all already on the other side of 30 years old, too.
On forward, the situation looks a tad bit better. That said, the core group of forwards is aging there as well. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson, Backstrom, Oshie, Ovechkin, and Dowd will be back. All of them except Wilson and Mantha are over 30 years old, and even those two at 28 aren’t much younger.
Ovechkin absolutely must perform at his elite rate to keep this team afloat. That burden looks more and more worrisome as he approaches 40. Somehow, some way, the franchise has to muster up younger talent this summer. Their prospect pool won’t be enough. If they expect another Cup, as Ovi and Leonsis stated, the team must be a lot stronger than today too. This summer will be a big one for Washington, so expect them to chase every analytics darling and breakout candidate player available out there.
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