I’m planning to make an Ovi edit. Where can I find the clip of a particular Ovi celebration where it’s like he’s doing breaststroke on the ice? I know from an early season because he’s in the old black home uni. Thanks in advance.

He made some comments recently about how Washington has become a desirable home for many free agents, this offseason being undeniable proof of this, and I truly believe that he has such a big part of reshaping the teams culture. I don't agree with every lineup or decision he makes, but I truly believe that for everything he does around that, he's worth giving time to grow. He's got something that so few coaches have, and he's so bloody young for a coach. Theres a reason we locked him in for a long time, and I think there's going to be some bloody great and competive caps hockey coming up for at least the next 5 years.

I'm just seeing a lot of criticism, and a lot of it is quite fair. But he's worth it. And he could make me run through a brick wall to defend that position.

Before Ovi's announcement, I had Leonard on the top line with Strome and Kyrou but with Ovi back, it's more muddied. Kyrou and Tuch may not have the same skillset as Leonard but TOI will be split up probably more.

I'm expecting PP1 to be Strome-Ovi-Kyrou-Wilson-Hutson (ignoring handedness).

https://preview.redd.it/xvav200hkbbh1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85659e56a91234f03527795831d846a9ae2466cb

Alex Ovechkin’s four-goal, broken-nose game in 2008 vs Montréal (January 31, 2008)

https://odysee.com/@Great_Sports_Games:2/Ovechkin-Scores-4-Goals-Montreal-Canadiens-at-Washington-Capitals-January-31-2008-60-fps:9

There's not much to explain, but here's my theory:

Ovi was always going to re-sign, but the exact terms of the contract were going to wait until the Caps went out and spent on free agents. That way the team could use as much cap space as possible to fill needs. The actual salary was always going to be the remainder of what was left of the team's salary cap.

Ovi has always been a team guy. I think this fits right in with his personality.

I really can’t remember a better off-season, although we’ve had a few good ones. I know people are upset about John Carlson, but I don’t think we should be paying him what Tampa is paying him, and there are a lot of good ways to look at it as a good business move.

But we sign Kyrou, we sign Tuch, we sign Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais. We somehow get Ovi back (I was starting to think he would leave).

You just compare that to some of the other front offices around the league, and I really think it shows the quality of ours. We don’t have one of these young stars holding the entire franchise hostage. We don’t have NMC drama with anyone right now.

I’m not expecting a cup run really, but I have to say I haven’t been as excited in an off-season for a long time.

With everyone speculating and lots of fans giving their opinions on what they’d want to see with line combos, these lines are something that would be realistic of Spencer Carbery throwing at us based off prior judgment.

Ovechkin-Strome-Tuch
Leonard-Dubois-Kyrou
Protas-Protas-Wilson
Sourdif-Jenner-Frank/Beau/Miro

Chychrun-Desharnais
Hutson-Roy
Fehervary-Liligren

A few things seem certain: the Protas brothers will likely stick together on the same line, and I still believe Ovi’s gonna eat the top-line minutes despite the arrival of new talent.
My personal favorite line last year was Mikey alongside PLD and Wilson. While I would absolutely love to see Tuch get a look with PLD and Wilson, it feels unlikely. The forward core might not be the absolute best in the league but I can say with confidence that it is the deepest. Having that kind of depth is fantastic because it gives Carbery the ultimate flexibility to mix and match combinations based on the matchup.

I still have some question marks regarding the fourth line. Jenner carries an almost $6 million cap hit, so I feel he might be utilized in a higher role than centering the fourth line. What I noticed last season was that the lines would often be shaken up during games or a specific player on the bottom 6 would play significantly more then their line mates which I would probably expect Jenner to play more then Sourdif and whoever gets the final spot on the fourth line. There is also a battle brewing for the final wing spot between Frank, Beau and Miro in which I believe Beau would be traded if he doesn’t get the final spot. I do expect Miro to be a full time nhl’er since Frank was benched the final few games and I also believe Miro is ready to play a full season. It could be possible Beau could be traded but everything’s up in the air.

The power play last year was atrocious and a massive disgrace and something that needs to be improved to say the least. Ovi probably will get 2 minutes on the pp which is unfortunate given the need for a new spark but the team is just going to have to fight through it. Something that won’t happen but I would like to see is a pp consisting of Hutson, Leonard, Tuch, Kyrou, and Lil Pro. I do believe Lil Pro is going to be on the pp this season since he finished last season off getting those minutes. On the bright side I don’t believe we need to worry about our penalty kill and it looks to be completely fine.

Not that he's the kind of guy to turn away free money, but with Ovi coming back and everyone wanting to tune in to watch, there's no chance in hell he'll reverse course and put Monumental back on YouTubeTV, or reduce the price of the subscription, etc. It's such a goddamn shame that he's made it so annoying to watch this team that we love.

I work for Monumental, the regional sports network for the caps, wizards, mystics, and gogo.

I live pretty far from the arena, I do live close to a metro station though.

During the playoffs, I decided to go alone to Carpool in Herndon and watch all the different sports and games on the TV.

This was during the Canes Flyers series (don’t remember the game) and the bartender said holy shit do you know who that is behind you?

I turn around and who do you know its fucking Ovi with his buddies opening hockey card packs.

I turned to the bartender and said I want to buy ovi a drink to say thanks for everything hes done for the city and hockey.

A little while later the bartender told me Ovi declined my drink and instead wanted to buy me a drink!

I kept smiling and peeping glances and one of his buddies came up to me and said do you want to have a conversation with him?

A little background info, I have media training on not talking to any athlete unless they initiate a conversation first because I’m afraid of losing my credentials. I know to not ask for pictures or autographs off the bat because I know thats the last thing they want.

I approached Ovi and his friends all nervously because I have seen him closeup before and hes been within feet of me previously but this is the first time I have actually spoken to him directly.

I said, “Hi Ovi its nice seeing you again.” He looked confused and I was like “oh I work for the tv broadcast for monumental I’m around the locker room area a lot I talk to Jeffrey all the time when you walk by” (Jeffrey is my favorite usher at cap one I always go out of my way to say hi to him)

Ovi’s eyes got wide because he knew exactly who I was talking about. I told him I just wanted to say thanks for everything he’s done for the city and I’m grateful to get to witness his historical moments in person.

He gave me a hug and said “don’t be shy say hi to me at cap one next year”

UPDATE that I forgot to mention when I typed this yesterday thats cute!!

I remember the Flyers Canes game was broadcasted on ESPN and Oshie and Spencer Carbery were on the panel. Ovi and his buddies were taking pictures of the TV and laughing in Russian (I didn’t know what they were saying). I was smiling because I thought that was adorable. Oshie is one of my favorite Caps players because he’s genuinely nice to everyone. When he was still on the team but injured, he smiled at me and said hi and I said hi back and that was the coolest thing to me at the time!