{"id":3543,"date":"2026-07-06T06:06:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T06:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3543"},"modified":"2026-07-06T06:06:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T06:06:39","slug":"loverro-ovechkin-belongs-to-washington-again-and-washington-belongs-to-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3543","title":{"rendered":"LOVERRO: Ovechkin belongs to Washington again and Washington belongs to him"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The gift of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will continue for one more season.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3541\">Nationals\u2019 bullpen collapses again as Pirates steal key win<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The greatest goal scorer in the history of the National Hockey League will return to the Capitals for his 22nd season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m back!\u201d Ovechkin said in a statement. \u201cThank you to everyone for giving me and my family the time to make this decision. I\u2019m healthy. I love playing hockey and competing to win. I\u2019m excited to come back and join my teammates so we can fight for a playoff spot and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The team has a Zoom press conference scheduled for Monday with Ovechkin, owner Ted Leonsis, team president Brian MacLellan and general manager Chris Patrick.<\/p>\n<p>I think most believed Ovechkin, who will turn 41 before the start of the season, was going to return.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last year was such a disappointment, with Washington missing the playoffs and the uncomfortable dance that Ovechkin performed throughout the season about questions surrounding his future that included leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins hanging on the ice when they stood on the ice and waited to shake his hand to pay tribute and say goodbye.<\/p>\n<p>One of the greatest careers in the history of the game couldn\u2019t end like that. One of the greatest athletes in the history of Washington couldn\u2019t leave like that.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t actually know if this will be his goodbye season, either. He didn\u2019t indicate this would be his NHL finale in his statement, and neither did the Capitals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur entire organization is thrilled that Alex has decided to continue playing,\u201d Patrick said in a statement. \u201cAlex has proven year after year that he can produce offensively and that he is still the driving force of our team. We are excited about the additions we made this offseason to bolster our lineup and make our group more competitive.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3539\">National Guard members on patrol in Memphis fatally shoot man during pursuit, police say<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that our roster is well balanced and will help create more opportunities for Alex to create offense and score goals. In addition, his presence in our locker room \u2014 especially with our young players \u2014 will continue to be an enormous boost for our organization and will help shape our team culture for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His contract, though, is for one season, with a $3.25 million signing bonus and $4.75 million in salary. He will be 41, but is coming off a season where he still led the team in goals scored with 32. He is not stumbling over his skates on the ice.<\/p>\n<p>But he is past the days when he could carry the load for a championship contender. So the Capitals front office got him some help last week. They acquired two scorers, St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou and Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch. They signed center Boone Jenner, forward Jonny Brodzinski and defensemen Vincent Deshamais and Justin Holl in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>Now he is returning to a team that, if indeed this is his final season, should be more rewarding.<\/p>\n<p>Capitals coach Spencer Carberry believes the additions could make Ovechkin more productive. \u201cEven if [his ice time] comes down a little bit, there\u2019s little things that him and I talk about, like just making sure it doesn\u2019t go for too long a stretch of \u2014 stuff that, it\u2019s same for everybody,\u201d he said. \u201cI think, too, what O has done a great job of is, like last year, of (managing) the quality and the quantity. Being able to use more energy bursts throughout his shifts as the minutes come down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ovechkin minutes. Games. Seasons. Decades. It\u2019s all been a gift because Washington sports fans have been able to call every moment their own. It is maybe Leonsis\u2019 greatest accomplishment to have built such a strong relationship with his superstar that has led to Ovechkin playing his entire career in front of the fans who have loved him.<\/p>\n<p>It is a rare gift these days to have iconic players stay in one place their entire career. We\u2019ve seen too many players leave Washington of late that had won the hearts of their fans, only to break them. The Nationals\u2019 Ryan Zimmerman played his entire 16-year career in Washington \u2014 beloved, but not with status in the world of sports that Ovechkin has achieved. Darrell Green played cornerback with Washington for 20 years. There were others, lately too few and far in between.<\/p>\n<p>But you have to go back 100 years to Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson, who played 21 seasons for the Washington Senators, to find such a celebrated athlete in this city who created such a lengthy legacy of greatness in front of hometown fans. Cherish it.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3537\">Unbearable heat suspected in 19 New Jersey deaths as high temperatures give way to thunderstorms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\u2022 You can hear Thom Loverro on \u201cThe Kevin Sheehan Show\u201d podcast.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The gift of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will continue for one more season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,275],"tags":[1839,2165,2166,2164,2001],"class_list":["post-3543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-sports-columns","tag-alex-ovechkin","tag-brian-maclellan","tag-chris-patrick","tag-ted-leonsis","tag-washington-capitals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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