2013-14 NHL Season

Maybe, but it's still true that he floats so much he should be in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

Agreed, but he also does what very few in the game can do these days, score goals. There will be one 50 goal scorer and one 100 point man this year.

 

is there any chance that Washington listens to trade offers for Ovechkin?

Or is he considered on that franchise level of untradeable at this age and you have to just hope that you can rebuild around him because he has to be the centerpiece?

 

I'm sure they'd listen, as he's got a $9.5M cap hit for the next six seasons and he's won just one (I think) playoff round. He's got a limited no-trade though.

 

So if you happen to be on the side of "the guy won't hustle, doesn't play defense and is uncoachable", would you try to move him and basically undertake a full-scale rebuilding job? I get the arguments based on the past five years why some would want to give up on the guy, regardless of his scoring. OTOH, he still scores and that's something that not every player does.

 

I'd take him in a millisecond.

 

I suspect most teams would. There are loads of defensive forwards to be had, guys who can score like Ovechkin are a much rarer species.

 

At that cap hit? I'd probably pass unless I were one of those teams with tons of cap space to burn.

 

Yeah, sure, he scores goals. But the Caps as a whole give up more than they score and lose more games than they win. They're going to miss the playoffs. What a leader he is.

 

They give up more than they score because their goaltending and defence is awful.

I wonder what the difference is in Ovechkin from the year he was a plus 45 to this year. A few saves, a little luck and a much better team. I'm not sure how he is supposed to lead goalies into stopping pucks.

This is not to say he is not poor defensively, he is, so are a ton of high scoring wingers over the years but he is the least of their problems. Maybe it's time they replaced their dogshit GM.

 

This. I realize Leonsis has a reputation for loyalty, and while admirable to a certain extent, but how long does he ignore the issue?

John Gibson got his first NHL win last night. IIRC, he only had 18 saves but a few were quality ones. Wouldn't be surprised if he gets the nod in the playoffs. Not saying we're going to see a Ken Dryden-like postseason run, but could be interesting.

St. Louis has pinched loaves in its last two games. The Blues always seem to wilt when faced with postseason adversity. Maybe the additions of Ott and Morrow will change that. I don't think St. Louis will be upset in the first round, but I wouldn't be surprised if they get steamrolled by either second-round opponent.

 

Gibson did pretty well. But the Ducks actually protected him, put a premium on defense and shot-blocking to help the kid.
The Canucks hit the goal post 3 times in the first 8 minutes, but had only a few other good scoring chances the rest of the game.
One of the Sedins whacked him in the facemask with his stick (no call) and he took two more shots off he mask, but he hung in there.
Bruce "Curmudgeon" Boudreau actually was smiling after the game and said he was very happy with the way his team played.