Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Bigger Question Should Be Will Ovechkin Adjust?

04/03/2014 at 2:59pm EDT

from Chuck Gormley of CSNWashington,

Meeting with reporters on Thursday, Oates did not backtrack on Wednesday’s description of Alex Ovechkin quitting on a play that led to a goal by Dustin Jeffrey in Tuesday night’s 5-0 loss to the Stars.

The bigger issue, Oates said, is that his 28-year-old captain recognizes his shortcomings and addresses them.

“I didn’t talk to him yet about that particular play,” Oates said. “We will. The message is the same message I tell him all the time.

“It’s a shame because he actually pushed hard up the ice [into the offensive zone] and I’m sure when he turned around he saw we had three guys back and figured they’d get the job done and they didn’t.”

read on

FYI, Ovechkin did not meet with the media today.

added 3:42pm, Aaron Ward of TSN breaks down the latest Ovechkin mistake, watch it below too...

added 3:33pm, from Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated,

But new faces or even a new direction won’t be enough to cure what ails this organization.

Its culture needs a reboot.

And that starts with ripping the C off the sweater of captain Alex Ovechkin.

There are 70 million reasons why that’s the tough call: One for every dollar remaining on a contract that pays him $10 million per year through the 2020-21 season. And embarrassing your franchise player is a seriously risky move.

But there’s one very compelling reason why the Capitals have to do it anyway. For all his charisma and once-in-a-generation scoring touch, Ovechkin has shown time and again that he’s just not cut out for the role of team leader.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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