I’ve been dreading for years what the Washington Capitals would be like after Alex Ovechkin retires, but after he missed 16 games – the longest stretch of his career – we got a glimpse of what a post-Ovi team might look like. Fortunately, it’s not bad.
With little left to prove other than topping Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record, there’s no reason to believe that Ovi will stay in the NHL when his contract runs out at the end of next season. And even if he does sign for another year, he’s unlikely to be another Gordie Howe or Jaromir Jagr, both of whom played much longer than anyone expected.
While 16 games is hardly a large enough sample size to predict how the team will be a season or two, or three, after Ovi hangs up the skates, it was a notable preview considering much of the roster is relatively young. Two seasons ago, the Caps went 1-8 with Ovi out of the lineup, a far cry from the 10-5-1 in their last 16.
There is one perk of Ovi leaving, and that’s $9.5 million in salary cap space. While several players, like Connor McMichael, Jakob Chychrun, and at least one of the current goalies (we’re thinking Logan Thompson will get the nod over Charlie Lindgren due to him being four years younger) are due for hefty raises, there still should be plenty left over to sign a high-impact free agent, assuming the team wants to take that route.
Fortunately for the Caps, the way they’re structured right now, they’ll be playing well for several years to come, and won’t be tanking in the standings and be forced to rebuild. Of course, the last time that happened, their prize was getting the first overall draft pick, which led to this wonderful era, but not every team, even with the first pick, ends up being so lucky as to draft a player like Ovechkin.
Needless to say, Ovi being retired from the team might not necessarily mean dark days are ahead, as the current roster just showed.
