Alexander Ovechkin is the best player on any team in Washington DC

Posted by Blake the Megalomaniac (Follow Me)- Blake the Megalomaniac is a graduate of Virginia Tech and now lives the Adams Morgan section of Washington DC. - To see more posts by this author click here

February 19, 2009 – Alexander Ovechkin is not only the best player in the NHL (this evidenced by his 2008 MVP award and his presumed 2009 MVP), he is the most talented player on any team in Washington D.C..

We need not even discuss any Redskin or Nationals player because none has Ovechkin’s “it” factor or mass appeal that can be translated outside of Washington (although comparing football/baseball to hockey is like apples to oranges anyway).  Coupled with the fact that none is considered the best at his respective position, whether it be Chris Cooley, Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, or Ryan Zimmerman, and Ovechkin and the Capitals are even more intriguing.

Gilbert Arenas is the only person in Washington close to Ovechkin’s stature (besides Obama, and maybe me), but Agent Zero cannot  stay healthy.  Even if he could, Ovechkin is still miles ahead of Gilbert Arenas because he is a complete player.  Offensively though, Ovechkin is just as skilled as Arenas (he leads the NHL in goals and is second in points).  Defensively, he is another enforcer on the ice when the Caps need him to be tough and between the blue lines (I’m not sure if I really know what that means).  He is, pardon the cliche, like a thief in the night as evidenced by last night’s steal and subsequent goal from the prone position.  We all know Gilbert lacks the ability and the will to play defense.  While we embrace Arenas for his knack for timing in late game situations,  Ovechkin in just three seasons is proving he doesn’t shy away from pressure when his team and fans need him.

This goes without saying but now is the time to embrace fully the Washington Capitals and Alexander Ovechkin.  Many outside of the DC,  Maryland, and Virginia area (and inside it as well) challenge our dedication and pride for our professional sports teams.  While we do have some ‘splaining to do (see empty Nationals stadiums although they suck and Steelers fans turning FedEx into Heinz Field South), no one will rag on you if you get on the bandwagon now.

So, buy your Ovechkin jerseys or if you’re not totally into being a front-runner, buy your Mike Green jerseys and sit back and watch the dynasty take shape.  Alexander Ovechkin is a demi-god, a star, an idol and as he goes, D.C. goes.   If you love this area, whether you love hockey or not, you’d be best served to take heed.

Evidence from Dan Daly of the Washington Times that the Capitals are here to stay and won’t go the way of the Penguins, who by the way are in 10th place and out of the playoffs just one year after making it to the Finals:

“Now let’s look at the Capitals’ finances. For starters, there’s no Second Ovechkin on the payroll, so that simplifies matters some. Green and Semin, combined, earn about what Alex does (13 years, $124 million) – and No. 52, as previously stated, is under contract for three more seasons.

As for Semin and Backstrom, the team’s other stars-in-the-making, their deals won’t be up until the summer of 2010 – and by then several well-compensated veterans (Michael Nylander, Sergei Fedorov, Jose Theodore, Chris Clark) figure to be off the books or close to it. That should give Leonsis and McPhee enough cap room to make competitive offers to anybody they want to keep.

It’s a juggling act, sure, but the Capitals feel they have a handle on it, feel they know how to make the new system work for them. During the lockout year, Leonsis and McPhee spent much time studying how franchises in other sports dealt with the salary cap. They also learned from their own unhappy experience with Jaromir Jagr that taking on other clubs’ high-priced players definitely wasn’t the way to go. As Boss Ted has said on any number of occasions, “If you pay the wrong guy for the long term, you’re in jail.”

That’s why the Caps are built the way they’re built – with young, mostly affordable, homegrown players… and with plenty of potential replacements in the pipeline (Karl Alzner, Simeon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth). If they get to the finals, as Pittsburgh did, it should be the beginning of something, something lasting. The ice shouldn’t melt beneath their skates the very next season. [Article]“

udothedishes…

Related posts:

1. Alexander Ovechkin Is Boss
2. The Washington Redskins: America’s Team
3. (Via Twitter) Washington Capitals Trade Team Captain Chris Clark
4. The Dallas Team vs. The Washington Redskins: Prayer (11/16/08)
5. What is a Hall of Fame Player?

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