|
Ovechkin Should Follow Kovalchuk & Jagr's KHL Examples |
|
|
|
|
|
Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulStewart22
I do not believe that Alex Ovechkin is done as an elite hockey player. Not at age 31 and not just a year removed from his seventh 50-goal season (and third in a row) in the National Hockey League. However, I also think he could use some time away from the NHL or else he is at risk of prematurely declining into basically a power play specialist.
The style that Ovechkin played in his early years in the NHL -- hyper aggressive and very physical, shift after shift -- took a toll on him. He's also not the best conditioned guy around in the game or a great defensive player (because he never had to be). His MO was skate like hell in puck pursuit with bursts of energy, throw his body around with abandon and blast the puck every chance he had to shoot.
He can still do those things, but the recoveries take longer between shifts. The motor sometimes takes longer to get cranked and sometimes it just stalls out. Increasingly, the risk of becoming one of those great individual players who never reached the summit in trying to lead his team to the Stanley Cup seems to be weighing on him.
Capitals coach Barry Trotz, one of the best in the business, recognized it. At his best, Ovechkin has never been a linemate-dependent player to score goals and he hasn't needed a lot of opportunities before he can score. That was the case less often. We're not talking about an isolated play here and there where the veteran looked like the Ovechkin of old, we're talking about a player who was clearly laboring both physically and mentally through much of the Washington Capitals' second-round loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
My view is that Ovechkin's smartest move at this point may be to take some time away from the NHL and play in the KHL, as Jaromir Jagr did for three seasons and Ilya Kovalchuk (in the midst of "retirement" from a long-term contract with the New Jersey Devils) did for the last four seasons until his recent indication of planning to return to the NHL.
That way, Ovechkin can play in the Olympics next year (as he has stated he plans to do regardless of whether the NHL participates). He can recharge his batteries in a less physical league while remaining highly paid by a team such as SKA. In a few years, he'd still be young enough to return to the NHL for a few additional seasons and possibly even prolong his overall career for it. At 558 career NHL goals, he could take a few ways away from the NHL and still finish with over 700 goals, much like Jagr.
Jagr has said on many occasions that going to the KHL was exactly what he needed at the time. He would not still be going strong in the NHL at age 45 -- now a beloved elder statesman throughout the hockey world and still a pretty effective NHL player -- if not for the three-season break he took in his mid-30s. Now, Ovechkin isn't nearly the fitness fanatic that Jagr is and no one should expect him to be an active player for as long. However, he's also younger than Jagr was when he took his break from the NHL.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth.
*********
Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
Join the Discussion:
»