Washington Capitals owner reveals a promise he made to Alex Ovechkin when he signed his 5-year contract

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Josh tupper
December 14, 2022 (3:55 PM)

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Yesterday surprising news leaked that Washington Capitals' Captain, Alexander Ovechkin, was open to being traded before he'd be part of a rebuild in Washington. The news was released by Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. While Ovechkin doesn't want to be part of a rebuild, according to Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, that isn't something Ovechkin has to ever worry about.

Leonsis provided the following clarification to Wyshynski, confirming that when he signed Ovechkin to a 5-year extension that he promised Ovechkin to not rebuild the team.

I'm sure there'll be an influx of some young players, but we're not gonna rebuild the team. To me, a rebuild is when you look the players, the coaches, the fans in the eye and say we're gonna be really, really bad. And if we were really, really bad, I don't think Alex would break the record.

He's very cognizant of doing this the right way. Alex said, �I'm not gonna be a third-line guy playing 8-10 minutes a game (where you) trot me out on the power play and let me score my goals. That's not what I want to do. Promise me you'll keep the team competitive (and) a playoff team.' And he promised to come in shape all the time and not be fixated on the record but be fixated on winning another Stanley Cup.

It's clear that not only does Ovechkin value winning, he does it at a premium and doesn't want to break the record while not competing. The fire that burns within Ovechkin is a truly remarkable characteristic that he possess, which sets him apart from so many people. It used to be a question of IF Ovechkin would break Gretzky's record. Now it's just a matter of when he will do it.