from George Johnson of the Calgary Herald,

Upon hearing of the enormous contract extension his friendly rival signed on Thursday, you can just see Crosby between periods of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ game at Tampa, screwing up his face, tightening his fists, and letting out with another stammer:

“Ovechkin!’‘

One-upped again….

Is Ovechkin worth $124 million over 13 years? Is anyone? He beat Crosby to the Calder, scores buckets of goals, beautiful goals, and comes across as a genuinely engaging, effervescent presence in a sport populated more and more by the bland and the suspicious. Still, even with his deeds of derring-do, the sad sack Capitals are tied for 27th in a 30-team league, and quite probably doomed to miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season.

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