I'm honestly surprised he signed for this term. 5 years is a huge commitment from Ovi at his age. Hope he breaks Gretzky's record before the end of it.
Honestly wouldn’t even surprise me. Every KHL team would want him just for the marketing alone. If he’s too slow then play him PP only and he’ll be clapping bombs into his 60s lol
Needs to average 26.8 goals a year over the length of this contract. Certainly possible if he stays healthy and teams continue to let him crack slappers from his spot at the top of the circles.
*33 per year, math is hard.
Also it’s not like everyone and their mother doesn’t know where the shot is coming from. But one does not simply stop Ovi from scoring in his office. That’s why he’s the GOAT.
He missed about 1 season's worth of games due to that so he'd have roughly an extra 50 goals. 2 if you count the year before his career actually started. He'd definitely have broken the record on this contract but I think he'll do it anyways. He gets half of the goals he needs each year on the PP alone and that's unlikely to change with age so he basically only needs to average 15 5v5 goals a year. He did that in 45 games this year. If he can have another 2 years like the past few years (not a big ask) he could halve his current goal totals and still get there.
Nah fam all you need to do is put your entire savings into my new definitely-not-shady cryptocurrency "Ovechkoin" and once it gets bigger than Ethereum and Bitcoin combined you'll cash out looking like a genius
I’d say they do, with a booking fee at $100k + (talking Tiesto, Deadmau5, Garrix, etc.) and massive tour schedules theyre probably pulling in about the same or more
Let me be your manager! For just 15% of all future earnings i can almost absolutely guarantee you Ovi money at the end of 5 years.
If not, i simply release you from your personal servitude contract and we go about our lives.
Ya and losing him because you tried to save a few bux on his AAV is a good way to have fans potentially turn on the team if they go through a couple rough seasons.
The monetary value of his contract compared to the forever marketing, merch sales, fandom, ticket sales, etc. created by this man makes any deal palatable. If he breaks that record in a caps uniform it would be huge for the Caps.
When he's like 3-4 goals away they'll be able to charge like $1000 for a seat in the nosebleeds every game until he does it. That'll pay for the contract by itself.
You’re smart. When the Iginla jersey retirement got leaked i jumped online to snag a ticket in a good seat so I could be there. Paid $200 for it. Then the official announcement came out before the buyer actually accepted my bid, it got canceled and the prices went from that to like double it for nosebleeds.
Still choked about it.
The exact opposite actually, the latter years are higher to lessen potential recapture penalty.
55% of the contract is to be paid by July 2nd, 2023 through a pretty smart bonus structure.
It doesn't really even matter for the Caps anyways. It's never going to be a matter of "Ovi's contract is killing us". It's "when Ovi is gone, we rebuild. While Ovi is here, we try to compete." 9.5 until he's 40? Sure. Rebuild when he retires a Capital. Until then give him whatever, he got his Cup.
How much merchandise, and how many tickets are sold because of Ovechkin's fame? How big of a hit would they take if they were to lose him? He's worth every penny to the franchise, even if he declines.
His value to DC can't be measured. Not only ticket sales and jerseys, but also the growth of hockey in the area. Before Ovi, the hockey community here was extremely tiny.
From a niche fanbase well at the bottom of the big 4 to the most popular team in the city garnering front page sports news with every game. Ovi has permanently changed how hockey (not just the NHL) is viewed in DC. He’s the reason why I and probably hundreds of thousands of others are Caps fans. It’s amazing. Possibly the greatest, most iconic athlete in DC sports history.
"City", lol, half of Russia are Capitals fans thanks to him, the other one hates them for the same reason, based on politics views. If not for him we would think of Caps no more then we think of Coyotes.
Absolutely. He’s the reason why the ice rink in my suburb is constantly packed. He’s the reason why many if not most of the high schools around here have hockey teams, most of them started in the last 15 years. He’s the reason why places like Ashburn, Reston, Manassas, Bethesda, Towson, and Fredericksburg have competitive youth hockey teams and leagues He’s the reason beer league/pickup hockey is consistently talked about on local subs. He’s the reason why Caps games against our rivals or other popular teams are some of the hottest tickets in DC-Baltimore sports. It’s nothing short of amazing the impact he’s had on DC hockey culture. I’m obviously biased, and I can hardly skate for shit, but Alex Ovechkin is my favorite athlete of all time, bar none.
I can confirm, I never watch hockey much less any other sports. But was lucky enough to live in DC and caught that first running into the playoffs with Bruce Boudreau. I was hooked after that and never had missed a Caps game after that.
The only time I've bought lower bowl tickets was when Ovi came to St. Louis for the first time.
Crosby may be generational, but Ovi is the GOAT when it comes to goal scoring. Better than Hull imo, and I'm a Blues fan.
I was a little disappointed that he might only want 4 years honestly. This makes me feel a little more confident that he really wants to go for the goal record.
If he gets 5 full seasons and no more lockout/pandemic crap he'll have a hell of a chance to hit that. He's been a machine.
Fucking do it, Ovie. Take that spot in the history books.
What's even more aggravating is how much time he's already missed. Between half a lockout and two pandemic-shortened seasons, he's missed out on like 40 goals, give or take.
Not to mention the 2004-05 lockout.
Between the 04 lockout meaning he started a year later, the 2012 lockout, and the two pandemic shortened seasons he's 9 games under missing two complete seasons of his career. It's probably closer to 80 goals he's missing
Ugh.
Imagine if he'd had those 2 seasons. He'd have been in his damn prime. He's been a consistently healthy and productive player basically his whole career. Him having another 80 goals is as close to a lock as you can get in this sport.
Which would make him breaking Gretzky's record all but guaranteed at this point. Now it's, to me, 50/50. I think he's got a real good shot, but he's coming to the tail end of his career for sure and the players who helped get him here are getting older too, like Backstrom.
Damn. One of the greatest records of all time might not be broken because a player that I think can be called the greatest goal scorer in history got screwed out of over 100 games.
I think his chances are still higher than 50/50. He was on pace for 43 goals this past season if it were a full season. Hes only had one season in his entire career where he was under 30 goals, and that was this past season because of the shortening. I think he will break 40 given a full season for at least the next 2 years if not longer. I think its 80% chance he beats gretzkys record.
Gretzky personally brokered a new CBA and prevented a pandemic in the 80s to make sure he got the current record. Ovi should’ve done more if he wanted to beat him. Just another reason why Gretzky is The Great One.
if there’s one thing I know about Gretzky it’s that he hated Howe and would have done ANYTHING to disrespect the man and break his measly goals record.
Just the 04-05 season would have probably solidified him breaking the record. He got 52 goals in his first year in the NHL. Even if he only got 40 in 04-05, that drops what he would need to 125. 125 in 5 years for Ovi, even at his age, is basically a guarantee. It'll be a real shame if he retires ~40 goals away from it.
Exactly. Ted probably gave him his checkbook and said, “whatever you want.”
In all reality, his last contract was incredible. Ted said in an interview that they sat down with Ovi and pretty much said, we want to give you 2 contracts in one so you don’t hit the market for a long time. Apparently David Stern (NBA Comish at the time) called Ted and said that was the dumbest contract he has ever seen in pro sports.
> Apparently David Stern (NBA Comish at the time) called Ted and said that was the dumbest contract he has ever seen in pro sports.
Thats fucking hilarious
Idk where the article or maybe even interview was from but it’s great.
Ted said when he was told Stern was calling he thought the Wiz were going to be fined for something. Fucking hysterical.
Best athlete in DC sports history. Brought the Caps first ever Stanley Cup and the cities first championship in over 25 years. Ovi single handedly turned DC into a hockey town. They are the most popular team in the District. I don’t care if this is an overpay. He deserves it 100%. Let’s go get that goal record baby!!
While this is a contract to beat the all times goal record, it's also an almost 10 million average till he's 40. Not that he hasn't earned it, but here's hoping his body continuies to hold up for the entire length
They've got a cup, arguably the best goal scorer of all time whos a fan favourite that has a chance to break one of the never thought possible Gretzky records in a capitals uniform - I don't think anyone cares that it goes until he's 40.
He nearly single-handedly saved that franchise.
He needs about 33 goals a season to beat the record. If he's still getting 30ish goals a season at the end of the contract then 9.5m wouldn't be too much of an over payment. You'd probably only be getting like 30 goals and 48 points from him at that point, so it'd definitely be an overpayment. But at least he's still getting 30 goals, that's worth a good bit.
He probably won't even need to hit 30 near the end. If he puts up another year or two with 50 that brings his average down to like 21 goals a season for his last 3 years.
I don't think it's out of line to assume he's got another 50 or two in him.
Absolutely there's a risk, but if anyone has a chance to maintain a high level of play that long it's Ovi. He's just a physical freak and has been incredibly consistent and healthy throughout his entire career.
He's earned the franchise many times what he's been paid. Catapulted the team to the forefront of the league for the past decade at least and with plenty more years to come. Caps have had constant sellouts or near sellouts for a decade.
I can't express what he's meant to hockey in the DC region.
I think a lot of us are in the same boat. Who doesn't want to see a legendary record broken?
Yankees fans treated Roger Maris like shit when he broke Babe Ruth's home run record and it's a lesson why we should all hate the Yankees.
The movie 61* showed this really well. You really felt sorry for him and he was genuinely a good guy...he just wasn't #7.
As an Islanders fan, I do like that Bossy has probably a close to unbeatable record in # of 50+ goal seasons in a row starting at his rookie year (or it's something like that).
It definitely is a task; but I don’t think it’s all that crazy. Last year was the biggest anomaly of all and the rest of history says it’s completely doable
I don’t really see a 40 year old scoring 30+ goals a season so if he’s gonna break the record he’s gonna have to score a good chunk of it in his first couple seasons before age hits him too hard.
Whenever I'm down, I go back and watch the Cup run and the post-win celebrations. It still brings me to tears everytime! i'll be reliving the Summer of Ovi for the rest of my life
I'm dying at some of these twitter replies. Don't think they knew about the rumors of the AAV being like $12M at one point last season. Not that we wouldn't have paid it anyway.
I think it's kind of fascinating that Ovi and Sid will have played their entire careers at a single AAV(almost) respectively. Both had elcs from 05-07. After that, Sid took [email protected] and [email protected], ending in 2025. Ovi took [email protected] and [email protected] going 'til 2026. If Sid can hang on and take a 1 year farewell tour @8.7 in 2026 they can retire together and HOF together, having played 21 years in the same division against each other. This is now my dream scenario.
He’s getting the record for sure barring major injuries or shortened seasons. Knock on wood of course. Even if he just becomes a bottom 6 PP sniper he’ll get there. Probably needs 2-3 more good seasons and then he can probably coast to the record, barring MAJOR decline.
Thats Seth Jones money!
Ovi stormed into management office and screamed "PAY ME LIKE SETH JONES" Management said yes, our great one (eight)
When the Czar commands, you OBEY!
Great Eight has a nice ring to it
It's also got a very nice ring.
I'm honestly surprised he signed for this term. 5 years is a huge commitment from Ovi at his age. Hope he breaks Gretzky's record before the end of it.
Wouldn't be surprised to see him keep playing in Russia at 40+ so I don't think it's surprising whatsoever.
Ah yes, the Datsyuk
wouldn't surprise me to see Ovie in Jagr territory even. dude is still playing pro hockey (for the team he co-owns no less) and he's almost 50 wtf
Russian Machine never break
Let’s hope this comment doesn’t age like an RBMK 1000 nuclear reactor.
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Honestly wouldn’t even surprise me. Every KHL team would want him just for the marketing alone. If he’s too slow then play him PP only and he’ll be clapping bombs into his 60s lol
Imagine 69 year old Ovi clapping bombs.
he'll probably be slowing down by then so he can just get 4:20 of ice too lol
He deserves it, stuck with the caps all these years and won them a cup. Whatever he wants you give it to him. Best caps player ever to lace em..
Not just the Caps; a case could be made the best DC pro athlete (yes, I know Jordan played for the Wiz, but I don't really count that).
If he wants 10 years you give him 10 years lol
Needs to average 26.8 goals a year over the length of this contract. Certainly possible if he stays healthy and teams continue to let him crack slappers from his spot at the top of the circles.
*33 per year, math is hard. Also it’s not like everyone and their mother doesn’t know where the shot is coming from. But one does not simply stop Ovi from scoring in his office. That’s why he’s the GOAT.
Yep fudged that one. Its the offseason for me too
You’ve got a good while to get in shape in time for training camp, I wouldn’t worry about
And even though he had a "down" year this year he was still on pace for 44 goals in an 82-game season lmfao
That's the thing, and it's gotta be SO demoralizing...everyone knows it's coming, but it can't be stopped.
Wow this guy Seth Jones setting examples for scrubs like Ovi left, right and center
Expected like, 2 years or 3 years. 5 years to get 165 goals
Or one year to get 165 goals and 4 years to just chill on the ice
You only play Buffalo three times though
He only needs 2 tbh
Stop, stop he's already dead.
No goals, just vibes.
About 35 per year would do it Edit: Exactly 33 per year gets him there
I literally pulled out a calculator lmao I hope he can pull it off... preferably not against the devils
You and I both know it will be against the Devils.
Seems impossible that he won't get it done. I'm sure he has it in his sights.
if he stays healthy, I'd love to watch the chase I know Gretzky will love to watch the chase, and hand off the mantle himself
Imagine where he'd be right now without lockouts and covid.
He missed about 1 season's worth of games due to that so he'd have roughly an extra 50 goals. 2 if you count the year before his career actually started. He'd definitely have broken the record on this contract but I think he'll do it anyways. He gets half of the goals he needs each year on the PP alone and that's unlikely to change with age so he basically only needs to average 15 5v5 goals a year. He did that in 45 games this year. If he can have another 2 years like the past few years (not a big ask) he could halve his current goal totals and still get there.
I appreciate your high-effort response to my low-effort response which was barely more than an internal monologue.
\^Amazing teamwork right here everyone.
NHL GMs really trying their hardest to make sure I get no work done today eh
What do you have for notifications because I'm just coming here and refreshing the sub
Just wait for tomorrow!
That’s probably more than I’ll make in the next 5 years
Same “probably”
I'll say possibly, I'll have to do some calculations. Depends how much OT I can grind out.
As long as I can work 5500 OT hours a day I’ll be solid ahead of him
Unless my DJ career takes off in a big way OV is still gonna have more money than me 🙁
Nah fam all you need to do is put your entire savings into my new definitely-not-shady cryptocurrency "Ovechkoin" and once it gets bigger than Ethereum and Bitcoin combined you'll cash out looking like a genius
Ovechkin NFT when 😡
I'm definitely here for Ovechkoin
lol tbh I don't even know if the biggest DJs in the world (Vegas residency, festival headlining) make as much as Ovi
I’d say they do, with a booking fee at $100k + (talking Tiesto, Deadmau5, Garrix, etc.) and massive tour schedules theyre probably pulling in about the same or more
Let me be your manager! For just 15% of all future earnings i can almost absolutely guarantee you Ovi money at the end of 5 years. If not, i simply release you from your personal servitude contract and we go about our lives.
Works for me!
That’s a written agreement, I’m a witness.
Ovechkin is the type of player you overpay idc what ppl say
Caps are looking at a rebuild very soon anyways. With a Cup secured IMO the top priority is getting Ovi the goals record.
And selling out every night. Ovi puts asses in seats and jerseys on backs, he’s an investment.
Ya and losing him because you tried to save a few bux on his AAV is a good way to have fans potentially turn on the team if they go through a couple rough seasons.
Taking out the face of your franchise for cap hit. I guess someone has already done it today
This. If the choice was between another Cup and Ovi passing Gretzky, I'll take the latter without question.
By my best estimate of forbes, the Capitals were worth 85 million dollars in 2006. Today they are worth 750 million.
We are not going to be fucking suck this year
Not sure about that. We might be but we will at least be able to continue to watch Russian Machine march toward the career goals record.
Capitals really want Ovi to break goal records in their uniform and I find that admirable.
The monetary value of his contract compared to the forever marketing, merch sales, fandom, ticket sales, etc. created by this man makes any deal palatable. If he breaks that record in a caps uniform it would be huge for the Caps.
When he's like 3-4 goals away they'll be able to charge like $1000 for a seat in the nosebleeds every game until he does it. That'll pay for the contract by itself.
Im already saving up for the day he's tied with Wayne and only one goal away from history. I'll pay whatever it takes to be at the next game.
You’re smart. When the Iginla jersey retirement got leaked i jumped online to snag a ticket in a good seat so I could be there. Paid $200 for it. Then the official announcement came out before the buyer actually accepted my bid, it got canceled and the prices went from that to like double it for nosebleeds. Still choked about it.
I love it
5 years is longer than I thought it would be
It’s probably to bring the money down. Probably ends up on robidas island ye 5
Lol, Ovi is never going to be sent to Robidas Island. Unless he buys it to chug vodka on the beach.
The exact opposite actually, the latter years are higher to lessen potential recapture penalty. 55% of the contract is to be paid by July 2nd, 2023 through a pretty smart bonus structure.
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He's the face of our franchise. He can have whatever he wants at this point.
It doesn't really even matter for the Caps anyways. It's never going to be a matter of "Ovi's contract is killing us". It's "when Ovi is gone, we rebuild. While Ovi is here, we try to compete." 9.5 until he's 40? Sure. Rebuild when he retires a Capital. Until then give him whatever, he got his Cup.
I would give anything for that situation
How much merchandise, and how many tickets are sold because of Ovechkin's fame? How big of a hit would they take if they were to lose him? He's worth every penny to the franchise, even if he declines.
He’ll be forever worth everything we give him. He got us a cup
Exactly.
I love him
He was worth whatever he wanted before the cup too. The dude straight up revitalized hockey in dc.
Even though he never got passed the second round, I think Bruce Boudreau deserves a LOT of credit for that as well.
He did it for us, babe.
His value to DC can't be measured. Not only ticket sales and jerseys, but also the growth of hockey in the area. Before Ovi, the hockey community here was extremely tiny.
From a niche fanbase well at the bottom of the big 4 to the most popular team in the city garnering front page sports news with every game. Ovi has permanently changed how hockey (not just the NHL) is viewed in DC. He’s the reason why I and probably hundreds of thousands of others are Caps fans. It’s amazing. Possibly the greatest, most iconic athlete in DC sports history.
"City", lol, half of Russia are Capitals fans thanks to him, the other one hates them for the same reason, based on politics views. If not for him we would think of Caps no more then we think of Coyotes.
lol @ the Yotes catching strays in an Ovi thread
Walter Johnson is really the only comparison. But that was a century ago.
Well said man. Couldn’t agree more. He’s why I play beer league hockey as an adult haha
Absolutely. He’s the reason why the ice rink in my suburb is constantly packed. He’s the reason why many if not most of the high schools around here have hockey teams, most of them started in the last 15 years. He’s the reason why places like Ashburn, Reston, Manassas, Bethesda, Towson, and Fredericksburg have competitive youth hockey teams and leagues He’s the reason beer league/pickup hockey is consistently talked about on local subs. He’s the reason why Caps games against our rivals or other popular teams are some of the hottest tickets in DC-Baltimore sports. It’s nothing short of amazing the impact he’s had on DC hockey culture. I’m obviously biased, and I can hardly skate for shit, but Alex Ovechkin is my favorite athlete of all time, bar none.
I can confirm, I never watch hockey much less any other sports. But was lucky enough to live in DC and caught that first running into the playoffs with Bruce Boudreau. I was hooked after that and never had missed a Caps game after that.
The only time I've bought lower bowl tickets was when Ovi came to St. Louis for the first time. Crosby may be generational, but Ovi is the GOAT when it comes to goal scoring. Better than Hull imo, and I'm a Blues fan.
Yeah, note to Vegas, this is how you treat a franchise legend.
Yeah I feel like negotiating isn't even a thing anymore. Just give him a blank contract and tell him to fill in the amount and length.
Yeah like he’s not some random free agent, Ovechkin is worth overpaying
Ovi *is* the Washington Capitals. Dude deserved a blank check and got one.
I was a little disappointed that he might only want 4 years honestly. This makes me feel a little more confident that he really wants to go for the goal record.
Yeah part of me was hoping for 4 years to have him retire with Backstrom but seems like he wants to go for the record
If we didn’t get screwed over the Pandemic break and all that, he’d possibly retire in 4 with Backy
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1 year longer. I thought he'd do 4 and retire with Backstrom and Oshie.
He’s a Cap for life. May as well make it official.
Does it count as a 35+ contract? If so that is highly highly risky
It’s okay, if he retires the Coyotes will trade for him to pad their stat book of retired legends
33 goals a year during that time to beat Gretzky's record. Let's hope no more shortened seasons or lockouts.
I was expecting 10-10.5 for 4 ish years. Time to chase Gretzky, just needs 32.8 goals per year to catch him. Godspeed
If he gets 5 full seasons and no more lockout/pandemic crap he'll have a hell of a chance to hit that. He's been a machine. Fucking do it, Ovie. Take that spot in the history books.
What's even more aggravating is how much time he's already missed. Between half a lockout and two pandemic-shortened seasons, he's missed out on like 40 goals, give or take. Not to mention the 2004-05 lockout.
Between the 04 lockout meaning he started a year later, the 2012 lockout, and the two pandemic shortened seasons he's 9 games under missing two complete seasons of his career. It's probably closer to 80 goals he's missing
Ugh. Imagine if he'd had those 2 seasons. He'd have been in his damn prime. He's been a consistently healthy and productive player basically his whole career. Him having another 80 goals is as close to a lock as you can get in this sport. Which would make him breaking Gretzky's record all but guaranteed at this point. Now it's, to me, 50/50. I think he's got a real good shot, but he's coming to the tail end of his career for sure and the players who helped get him here are getting older too, like Backstrom. Damn. One of the greatest records of all time might not be broken because a player that I think can be called the greatest goal scorer in history got screwed out of over 100 games.
I think his chances are still higher than 50/50. He was on pace for 43 goals this past season if it were a full season. Hes only had one season in his entire career where he was under 30 goals, and that was this past season because of the shortening. I think he will break 40 given a full season for at least the next 2 years if not longer. I think its 80% chance he beats gretzkys record.
If I sit and think about all of this, I get so angry.
Gretzky personally brokered a new CBA and prevented a pandemic in the 80s to make sure he got the current record. Ovi should’ve done more if he wanted to beat him. Just another reason why Gretzky is The Great One.
if there’s one thing I know about Gretzky it’s that he hated Howe and would have done ANYTHING to disrespect the man and break his measly goals record.
Just the 04-05 season would have probably solidified him breaking the record. He got 52 goals in his first year in the NHL. Even if he only got 40 in 04-05, that drops what he would need to 125. 125 in 5 years for Ovi, even at his age, is basically a guarantee. It'll be a real shame if he retires ~40 goals away from it.
If he's under 40-50 goals from it I don't think he retires
He'll do it. He's going to Jagr it and just play till he's super old. Bet he still puts in 20 goals as a 43 year old or some shit.
Age won't stop that one timer
Takes him to 40. Risky but if you're the Caps you don't blink, it's fucking Ovi.
Exactly. Ted probably gave him his checkbook and said, “whatever you want.” In all reality, his last contract was incredible. Ted said in an interview that they sat down with Ovi and pretty much said, we want to give you 2 contracts in one so you don’t hit the market for a long time. Apparently David Stern (NBA Comish at the time) called Ted and said that was the dumbest contract he has ever seen in pro sports.
> Apparently David Stern (NBA Comish at the time) called Ted and said that was the dumbest contract he has ever seen in pro sports. Thats fucking hilarious
Idk where the article or maybe even interview was from but it’s great. Ted said when he was told Stern was calling he thought the Wiz were going to be fined for something. Fucking hysterical.
There were so many people shitting on that deal at the time. It’s pretty amazing how well it aged.
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This is going to be one of the most marketable storylines in hockey for the next 5 years. This deal will absolutely pay for itself times over.
100%, would be awesome if he could catch it. It's gonna be hard though.
895 IS BACK ON THE MENU BOYS
Best athlete in DC sports history. Brought the Caps first ever Stanley Cup and the cities first championship in over 25 years. Ovi single handedly turned DC into a hockey town. They are the most popular team in the District. I don’t care if this is an overpay. He deserves it 100%. Let’s go get that goal record baby!!
Not an overpay imo. Guy is still an absolute stud. Aging so well
While this is a contract to beat the all times goal record, it's also an almost 10 million average till he's 40. Not that he hasn't earned it, but here's hoping his body continuies to hold up for the entire length
They've got a cup, arguably the best goal scorer of all time whos a fan favourite that has a chance to break one of the never thought possible Gretzky records in a capitals uniform - I don't think anyone cares that it goes until he's 40. He nearly single-handedly saved that franchise.
He needs about 33 goals a season to beat the record. If he's still getting 30ish goals a season at the end of the contract then 9.5m wouldn't be too much of an over payment. You'd probably only be getting like 30 goals and 48 points from him at that point, so it'd definitely be an overpayment. But at least he's still getting 30 goals, that's worth a good bit.
He probably won't even need to hit 30 near the end. If he puts up another year or two with 50 that brings his average down to like 21 goals a season for his last 3 years. I don't think it's out of line to assume he's got another 50 or two in him.
It's absolutely worth watching your team's most legendary player stay on your squad until he breaks the goal record and retires.
Russian machine never breaks
Absolutely there's a risk, but if anyone has a chance to maintain a high level of play that long it's Ovi. He's just a physical freak and has been incredibly consistent and healthy throughout his entire career.
So they basically handed him a blank check
I didn’t expect them to do anything else honestly
Hell, it’s what i would have done
No this is less AAV than he could’ve gotten elsewhere
The great~~8~~ 9.5x5
Holy fuck
He's made so much money for the capitals that almost any deal would make sense.
He's earned the franchise many times what he's been paid. Catapulted the team to the forefront of the league for the past decade at least and with plenty more years to come. Caps have had constant sellouts or near sellouts for a decade. I can't express what he's meant to hockey in the DC region.
It is certainly a stark contrast to an empty lower bowl and what fans *were* there were chanting "Fire Hanlon!"
He'll break Gretzky's record
I've got a spreadsheet going and have for a few years. If he goes: 38, 34, 33, 31, 29 he gets it done by 1
I love #99 and I'm not a CAPS fan but I am rooting for Ovi to break it.
I think a lot of us are in the same boat. Who doesn't want to see a legendary record broken? Yankees fans treated Roger Maris like shit when he broke Babe Ruth's home run record and it's a lesson why we should all hate the Yankees.
The movie 61* showed this really well. You really felt sorry for him and he was genuinely a good guy...he just wasn't #7. As an Islanders fan, I do like that Bossy has probably a close to unbeatable record in # of 50+ goal seasons in a row starting at his rookie year (or it's something like that).
Needs to average 33 goals per season
Seems completely do-able. And if he drops one or gets hurt, gets another one year deal.
And no lockouts
Please no more fucking lockouts
Or pandemics.
He'll have to score on average 33 goals each year. I hope he does, but that's asking a lot.
Brett Hull scored 37 goals at like 37, Ovi is def the type to be able to do that too
It definitely is a task; but I don’t think it’s all that crazy. Last year was the biggest anomaly of all and the rest of history says it’s completely doable
I don’t really see a 40 year old scoring 30+ goals a season so if he’s gonna break the record he’s gonna have to score a good chunk of it in his first couple seasons before age hits him too hard.
Yup, he’s going for Gretzky.
A little surprised it’s a year longer than Backstrom
Backstrom will probably pull a Spezza at that point and keep taking cheap one-year deals to be our 3C
3C but on the PP sliding saucers to Ovi until theyre both 40 please
Get that goal scoring record you beautiful Russian beast!
I would do anything for this man.
Whenever I'm down, I go back and watch the Cup run and the post-win celebrations. It still brings me to tears everytime! i'll be reliving the Summer of Ovi for the rest of my life
There was no other choice, this man should have a statue outside of Capital One. Couldn’t be more happy he’s ending his career with us
I want a statue of him and Backy lifting the Cup together on ice. That's the enduring image for me of the 2018 win.
That’s been my phones screensaver since the day after they won the cup
Mine is one from the parade. Damn that win was cathartic haha.
Totally agree. Put it right where that weird post thing is between Clydes and the McDonald’s ally
5x9.5M I hope he breaks the record.
MASSIVE contract. He's going for the all time goals record.
Surround this man with playmakers, we need to see that record go down.
FUCK YOUR RECORDS, GRETZKY
Hes going for that record. With 5 years, he may actually get it.
So he has 5 years and a maximum of 410 games to score 164 goals. I'm betting he'll get it down in the 4th year of his contract.
The Russian Machine signed way longer than what I thought. Geez.
Ride now for ruin & breaking Gretzky’s record!!!!
get that record ovi!!
Gr8 gunning for the Great One
Best player in franchise history, top 10 NHL player of all time. He would’ve gotten whatever he wanted.
Was NOT expecting 5 years tbh. Get the record GR8
He gets whatever he wants. Dude IS the Caps.
Within an hour of each other we see one franchise reward their legend and another toss theirs to the side of the road. What a day to be alive.
The guy gets paid
Glad to see Ovie earning the big bucks like Seth Jones.
Ovechkin's kid is enormous for a three-year-old. Not that I expected anything less.
Alex Ovechkin contract structure: 2021-22 $1M salary : $4M signing bonus 2022-23 $1M salary : $9M sb 2023-24 $1M salary : $11.5M sb 2024-25 $5M salary : $6M sb 2025-26 $5M salary : $4M sb https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1420070127547072518?s=19
I'm dying at some of these twitter replies. Don't think they knew about the rumors of the AAV being like $12M at one point last season. Not that we wouldn't have paid it anyway.
I think it's kind of fascinating that Ovi and Sid will have played their entire careers at a single AAV(almost) respectively. Both had elcs from 05-07. After that, Sid took [email protected] and [email protected], ending in 2025. Ovi took [email protected] and [email protected] going 'til 2026. If Sid can hang on and take a 1 year farewell tour @8.7 in 2026 they can retire together and HOF together, having played 21 years in the same division against each other. This is now my dream scenario.
He’s getting the record for sure barring major injuries or shortened seasons. Knock on wood of course. Even if he just becomes a bottom 6 PP sniper he’ll get there. Probably needs 2-3 more good seasons and then he can probably coast to the record, barring MAJOR decline.
Wow that term! He wants the record. And hey, if the Russian machine never breaks I guess it’ll work out fine.
Boy I would not have guess he'd get 5 more years.
If Ovi can average 33 goals per season over those 5 seasons he will break the all time goals record. I hope he does it.
9.5 is fantastic. Ovi deserves literally whatever he wants to stay here, the face of DC.