Ovechkin To Leave Washington?

Only joking. He's still got eight years left on his monster contract. But today I was asked the following question by our own Alex:

"Would Ovechkin be better served leaving the Caps? Three Hart Trophies but no Stanley Cup"

Short answer: Yes.

Slightly longer answer: Yes. Ovechkin has now won his third well deserved Hart Trophy. There's no arguing that. However he's also won a hell of a lot more. Click here for the full list.

Alex raises a good point, how often do you see a player with so many decorations who doesn't have his name on the Stanley Cup? Well the Caps have never won the cup and have only made the final once in the franchise’s history. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 1998.

The real kicker though is that Ovechkin isn't going anywhere. He's five years into a 13 year contract. I wonder if he regrets that?

Alex 's Edit:

I know I've probably made a lot of enemies in Washington for suggesting their favourite (adopted) son Alexander the Great seek newer pastures away from the Verizon Center but please- hear me out first! It does frustrate me slightly that a man of Ovechkin’s abilities has very little show in terms of silverware as Capitals player and even though his hat trick of Hart Trophy’s show just what he is capable of, surely he can do better than being a big fish in a small pond?

Sure the Caps offense has promise and I even made them out to be a team to watch in the playoffs, but after yet another early playoff exit, surely the magical Russian has to consider if his long term deal is really going to gain him a Stanley Cup ring anytime soon? I mean you no harm Washington, but as Morgan Freeman once said “Some Birds are not meant to be caged, their feathers are just too bright!”