from Neil Greenberg of the Washington Post,

I get it. The outlook is grim. The Capitals are in last place in the NHL with a 2-7-1 record and will likely miss the playoffs. They have a minus-13 goal differential (worst in league) and have yet to score more than three goals in a game. Their penalty kill is ranked 23rd in the league, which is compounded by the fact they have been shorthanded 47 times (tied for third worst). Faceoffs, once a hallmark of head coach Adam Oates’s career, is also floundering at 47.8 percent. But that doesn’t mean Alex Ovechkin should no longer be a member of the team.

Sure, his production is nowhere close to what it was when he signed the first $100 million deal in NHL history back in January 2008 — a $124 million, 13-year contract extension that runs through the 2020-21 season — but it still doesn’t make getting rid of Ovechkin the right move.

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