The Caps Winning The Stanley Cup Has Killed DC Fandom

What are DC Sports Fans supposed to do now?  The Capitals historic win on Thursday Night eradicated all of what being a fan of DC Sports is all about.  Pain.  Misery.  Self Loathing.  Getting high off of crazy preseason optimism knowing that it will all come crashing down in some horrible self fulfilling prophecy in the playoffs.  Doing simple arithmetic to show others how you have never seen, or were too young to remember, a professional championship in DC.  All of that is gone now.  What is left is something that will define the type of fan base this city truly has and whether it is ready to support sports teams through genuine fandom, or if their support only goes as far as frenzied feelings of FOMO.

DC Fans seemed to take the frivolous statement from Michael Wilbon, that Washington DC was a "minor league sports town", a little too much to heart, and they were a little too quick to point to the outpouring of fans at the Caps viewing party Thursday night as evidence to the contrary.  While it was amazing to see how many people came out to support the Caps, many of those people were there to be a part of the scene rather than show their enduring support for a team they have cheered for for years.  Stories were abound about how these Stanley Cup Playoff Games were the first hockey games that a lot of these people watched, and they went down to Capital One Arena on Thursday simply because they did not want to miss out on the festivities.  But winning a championship does not instantaneously turn these people into regular fans.  Just ask the Carolina Hurricanes how many interlopers from their 2006 Stanley Cup Championship are still there.  Or look at the Miami Marlins, who would kill for a quarter of the people who jumped on their bandwagon in 1997 and 2003 to still be there today.  DC Sports fans now find themselves in a similar situation.  The Capitals have drawn in multitudes of fans to their cause, but mostly due to fear of missing out on a social scene.  It will take more than that to prove Michael Wilbon wrong, and now it is time to see if DC Fandom truly has what it takes to foster a genuine "sports town" atmosphere.

The Capitals have removed the security blanket from DC Fans by winning the Stanley Cup.  For so long the narrative has been that it is hard to develop a genuine sports culture in DC because of so much ineptitude, impotence, and playoff tragedies galore from all the DC professional sports teams.  Most of that has been washed away by the Capitals victory on Thursday night.  Fans were witness to a team that was intelligently put together and mentored throughout the season.  They saw the likes of Max Scherzer, Ryan Zimmerman, and Derrius Guice show their support for the Caps on their run to the Cup.  The teams are doing all they can to create a unified sense among all the different teams and superstars, and now they have at least one championship to show for this shared unity.  It is now on the fans of Washington DC to show that they will show long term support for a team like the Capitals because they love the sport, and not because they love the number of Instagram likes they get when they post stuff with #ALLCAPS.  DC Fans now must show that they can evolve from a fan base of self loathing to one that can legitimately support their teams by watching games and becoming informed fans, and not just jump on every time a championship rolls around.  The Capitals have put the onus on DC Fans to prove that this city can be more than an event driven town that fluctuates based on the level of attention each sport will bring to the individual.  DC fans need to show that this city can be one with an informed fan base that will continue to grow in mass no matter what time of year it is.  If this does not happen, then maybe DC is just a minor league sports town, but we know now that it is not because of the nature of the teams.  It is the nature of the fans.  

With Every Caps Win, The Redskins Lose

The Capitals Game 1 win over the Lightning is undeniable proof to all DC Sports fans that this team has what it takes to possibly bring the greatest trophy in all of professional sports to the Nation's Capital.  It is also proof that Caps are winning over a new generation of DC Sports fans at the expense of the Washington Redskins.  The Redskins are king when it comes to drawing the attention of DC Sports fandom, but for the first time their hegemony over the DC Sports landscape is under serious threat from a single entity.  The Washington Capitals have stolen the show this spring as they ended Washington's Conference Finals drought, and with every successive victory the Caps win over another portion of the fan base that has become disillusioned with the product coming out of Ashburn, Virginia.  The Capitals are winning over fans in all facets of the fan experience while the Redskins continue to rest on their laurels, and it begins with the team the Capitals have put together this season.

Everyone loves a winner, and the Capitals have certainly proven they can win, but people love a winner even more when they do it with resilience.  The Capitals have been one of the best teams in the NHL over the last decade when it comes to winning in the regular season, but those teams were more high flying flashy type teams that wilted under pressure.  The Caps this season have been more gritty.  No one expected them to do much, and yet they find themselves three wins away from playing for the Stanley Cup because they have proactively persevered through adversity.  They won the toughest division in the NHL this season.  They came back from down 2-0 in the First Round to beat the Blue Jackets.  They finally vanquished their nemesis without three of their top players playing for a majority of the series, and winning Game 6 on the road.  They won Game 1 against Tampa in a convincing fashion which no one thought possible.  The Capitals are winning with heart, but when was the last time that was said about any Redskins team?  RG3's rookie year?  Cousins' first year as a starter?  It is hard to remember a Redskins team that was called gritty or resilient, and no Redskins team has done that and reached the level the Caps have this season.  The Capitals are winning over fans by the level at which they play and the level they have reached in the playoffs, but signs of the Capitals take over of the Redskins' territory can also be seen in the fan experience over the past decade.

Forbes Magazine does an annual valuation of all professional sports teams, and a look at the Redskins and Capitals current value show signs that the Capitals are making headway into taking over a larger part of the DC Fan Base.  The Redskins are obviously worth more than the Caps in absolute value, but the Capitals have outstripped the Redskins in growth rate within the DC market.  Half of the Redskins value (54.5%) comes from the NFL revenue share, while only 19.9% can be attributed to market size and 7.3% can be attributed to their brand.  The last two percentages may be good indicators of how well a team markets themselves within their own city, and if that is the case the Capitals once again outstrip the Redskins.  The Capitals market size value is 41.3%, which makes sense considering they do not have a rival in Baltimore to contend with, but the Caps' brand value is also higher at 12.8%.  Wouldn't it make sense for the Redskins to have a higher brand value when they need to compete with a team that is a 90 minute drive away?  These values show that the Capitals are doing more to endear themselves to the fan base through promotion and savvy marketing techniques, and that they are making more of an effort to reach out to fans to try and draw them in.  DC fans have responded by spending more money at Capital One Arena than Fed Ex Field. 

Forbes Magazine also gives the numbers for net stadium revenue for each team, and the lack of growth in the net stadium revenue of the Redskins since 2010 is staggering.  The Redskins have only seen a 36% increase in revenue since 2010, which is the worst in the NFL since that time and it is not even close.  The Colts are the next closest to that number with a 45.1% increase, and the only other teams to have below 50% revenue increases are the Buccaneers and Raiders.  So the Redskins have shown poor growth relative to other teams in their sport, and it has nothing to do with the large amount of money they already made.  The only NFL teams in 2010 to have $300 Million or more in revenue were the Redskins, the Patriots, and the Cowboys.  The Patriots have seen an 80.8% increase in revenue for obvious reasons, and the Cowboys have seen a 100% increase in revenue.  The Cowboys increase has less to do with winning, and more to do with a new stadium being opened, but that goes to the notion that the Redskins stadium experience sucks.  Redskins fans are unwilling to spend money on the team and it shows in the Redskins' lack of revenue growth.  Compare those numbers to the Capitals who have seen a 78% increase in revenue since 2010 and it is not hard to see that the Capitals are providing a better fan experience at their stadium that fans have responded to in a more positive light through spending more money at Capital One Arena.  In fact, the Capitals 78% growth is fourth best in the NHL behind the Penguins, the Kings, and the Predators.  The Penguins and Kings have both won Stanley Cups in that time frame, but the Predators growth should be an omen to the Redskins of what could happen if the Capitals can just make the Stanley Cup Final.

Last year the Predators made the Stanley Cup Finals and put Nashville into a state of euphoria with their catfish and stadium experience.  They did not win the Cup, but that run created an organic frenzied scene around the Predators that carried over into this season.  Nashville was hungry for a winner and the Predators delivered, and the Capitals find themselves in a similar situation.  A generation of DC Sports fans have come and gone without seeing a winner, and they are finally getting one with the 2017 Capitals.  While the Capitals have slowly changed the gravitational fields within the DC Sports landscape through relentless marketing and a positive stadium experience, a Stanley Cup appearance would permanently draw the interest of everyone living in the DC Area.  The Redskins would no longer be the automatic choice for kids who grow up in this area because the Capitals win, and win with a style and stadium experience the Redskins cannot duplicate.  The Redskins have already been losing fans to the Capitals over this decade, and with every successive Capitals victory this year they draw more fans to a product that has a more likable team, a better fan and stadium experience, and a winning tradition.  Seven more victories, and the Redskins will need to share the spotlight with the new kings of DC Sports.

The Capitals Are Winning With Grit

It is hard to believe that it has been ten years since this all started.  Ten years since the Rock the Red era truly began and engulfed the DC market.  Ten years since the Caps were left for dead in the middle of November, only to be resurrected by Bruce Boudreau's high flying style of hockey that led them to a Southeast Division Championship.  Since that time the Caps have regularly enjoyed the pinnacles of success throughout the regular season, only to be disappointed time and again once the playoffs rolled around.  Even the 2007-2008 Capitals, for all the moxie they displayed throughout that season, could not get out of the first round of the playoffs.  The determination of that '07-'08 team, though, is what separates them from the rest of the Caps teams that have won over the past decade.  That team had to scrap for a majority of the season to put themselves in a position to win a division title.  All the other subsequent iterations of the Capitals rested on the laurels of their talent, and high expectations, to carry them to success without developing a true sense of grit.  Until this season.

For the first time in ten years, the Capitals came into this season with very low expectations.  Another playoff exit at the hands of the Penguins, coupled with the exodus of numerous high profile free agents, led everyone to the conclusion that the Capitals' window of success had closed.  Even die hard Caps fans had to take a serious look at the game program on opening day to know who the hell was starting, and most fans expected this new combination of players to be inferior to what they had seen in the recent past.  The fans' reservations about the team were confirmed early on, but the Caps have fought through that adversity in a way nobody expected to find themselves at the top of the Metropolitan Division in an equally inexplicable manner.  Just look at the stats.  The Capitals are 24th in the league in Corsi% (47.82%), which means they are giving up significantly more shots on goal than they put on their opponents net.  They are the only division leader that has under 100 points, and their +15 goal differential is the lowest of any team that has 90 points or more.  They have the 5th worst penalty differential at -32, meaning they are taking way more penalties than they are drawing.  Finally, their PDO stat (Save% + Shooting%, which traditionally has been an indirect indicator of luck) of 101.62 is 5th best in the league.  So the Caps are leading the most competitive division in the NHL with a low goal differential relative to their point total while taking numerous penalties and benefiting from a wee bit of puck luck. What gives?  The answer lies in the grit that the Capitals have developed over the course of this season.

Despite the high roster turnover and low expectations stemming from the end of last season, the Capitals have been able to organically develop a sense of resiliency through all players needing to prove themselves.  New forwards like Chandler Stephenson, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Alex Chiasson had to prove that they belong on a high caliber team such as the Capitals.  Jakub Vrana had to prove that his skill set warranted him being a regular second line starter.  Brett Connolly needed to prove that he was not a one-hit-free-agent wonder.  Christian Djoos needed to prove that he could replace both the offensive and defensive skills that left the Capitals defense after last seasons.  Grubauer needed to prove that Vegas made a mistake in passing on him in the supplemental draft, and subsequently Holtby continues to need to prove he is still the number one goalie in DC.  Finally, the superstars of the team needed to prove that the real skill of the team did not leave Washington, and that they could keep the window of success open so long as they wear a red sweater.  All of these sentiments have coalesced into a team that is not phased by close games, and one that has come out on top in those games more often than naught through resiliency rather than skill level.  Maybe the advanced stats are right, and that the Capitals have just been the benefit of luck throughout this season.  And maybe the Caps will continue to be susceptible to teams like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Tampa Bay who have the speed and skill through the middle that have haunted this team in the playoffs in years past.  But unlike other seasons, the Capitals have not tried to manufacture success.  For the first time in ten years, they have developed a mentality from within that has galvanized the team in a way that has made them ready for whatever challenges arise at the end of this season.  It is still not even a given that the Capitals will make the playoffs this season, but the Capitals have the one thing necessary to handle all situations.  Grit.

The Day of Reckoning for DC Sports GM's

The Kirk Cousins contract debacle over the last three years has once again highlighted the complete ineptitude of the Redskins front office to keep high level talent in DC, or get anything close to adequate compensation for his departure.  The flagship team for the Washington DC area is letting their best player at the most important position that they have had in over 40 years walk for almost nothing.  Cousins was a player that developed through this organization, and whatever the truth is about Kirk wanting to sign a long term contract with the Redskins, it is not a good look for the organization when a top player at his position over the last three years is let go.  The Redskins, though, are only the tip of the ice berg in DC when it comes to GM's making decisions about keeping their superstars in town.  The Wizards, Capitals, and Nationals will all have to face decisions in the very near future about whether or not to keep their franchise players here in Washington, and their decisions may have consequences that could undo the Pax Columbiana atmosphere those three teams have enjoyed in the regular season over the last decade.  Let's look at all three teams that will have major decisions to make in regards to their franchise players in the coming seasons, beginning with the Wizards.

The Wiz have most recently signed their Big Three of Otto Porter, Bradley Beal, and John Wall to long term contracts, but in the NBA no one is safe from a trade especially when there is drama in the locker room.  Marcin Gortat did not need a lot of arm twisting to state that the Wizards have been able to move the ball better on offense (in his opinion) without John Wall in the lineup.  In fact, the Wizards are 5-2 since Wall's injury that included a heart breaking loss against the Celtics on Thursday night.  This does not mean that Wall is going anywhere anytime soon, but if this type of fervor continues it could put a lot of pressure on Ernie Grunfeld to alleviate the situation in his own bumbling way.  Even if that does not happen, though, Beal and Porter will become UFA's in 2021.  While that date seems far off, the closer that date gets without any kind of playoff success from this team (i.e. Eastern Conference Finals appearances/championships) the more you may hear of Bradley Beal being moved since he doesn't have a no trade clause or trade kicker in his contract.  This is merely speculation, and the Wizards are the least likely team to break up the band in the near future, but the longer a team goes without success the more the trade rumors of superstars begin to surface.  Just ask the Capitals.

The Capitals futility in the post season came to a head this past spring, and with it came the most fervent push of the "Trade Alex Ovechkin" camp.  The notion of trading the greatest player the Capitals have ever had, and one of the greatest players in the game, seemed unfathomable when Ovechkin signed his mega deal in 2008.  But a decade has passed with Ovechkin winning no championships despite great regular season success, and Ovi realizing he only has three years remaining on his contract.  Couple that with Nick Backstrom and Braden Holtby becoming UFA's in only 2 years, and Brian MacLellan is going to have to face some tough decisions in the not-so-distant future.  Does he pull a Bruce Allen and keep the band together until it disintegrates and his superstars walk away for nothing, or does he try to make moves that will benefit the next iteration of this team post Ovechkin/Backstrom?  Prudence dictates that he at least entertains the latter, but more than likely he will choose to ride with Ovechkin as long as he can.  Keeping Ovechkin, though, will be tough if the Caps are unceremoniously eliminated from the playoffs again this season and the end of Ovechkin's contract looms on the visible part of the horizon.  It is hard to keep a superstar if they want a lot of money and do not produce championships.  Just ask the Nationals.

The Nationals are the team that has the most pressing issue facing it's GM.  Bryce Harper will become a UFA at the end of this season, and Mike Rizzo needs to weigh a lot of choices as it pertains to what to do with the most electrifying player in the DC market.  Does he pay him the GDP of some Third World Countries, or does he trade him away a la Giancarlo Stanton? There is always the patented Bruce Allen method of jerking him around and letting him walk for nothing, but Rizzo seems more saavy than that.  He realizes that Bryce Harper had the fifth highest selling jersey in all of Major League Baseball last season, and he moves merchandise with young kids here in the DC area.  Rizzo realizes that Harper sells tickets for the novice fans who want to see a superstar.  He realizes the Bryce has the ability to make a mega deal worth it through his production.  But the main question is, will it be worth it if the trophy case remains barren.  Recent history has proven that even with the firepower the Nats have been able to muster they still have fallen short of even playing for an NL Pennant. Trading Harper would be prudent if the Nationals know they are unwilling to go as high as Harper wants once negotiations begin, and they can get something in return for his departure.  Or Rizzo could bury his head in the sand and keep Harper knowing they are not going to pay him and make him resentful of this town and the way the Nationals do business.  But what GM would conduct himself in that manner?

Bruce Allen's handling of the Kirk Cousins contract situation has been given a little more perspective since Jimmy Garoppolo signed his contract.  Hindsight has made Allen look a little more prudent in being wary of giving Kirk $140 million, but the problem of letting Kirk walk for nothing still persists.  Luckily for Allen the other Washington GM's will have their chance to botch the handling of their respective superstars' expiring contracts here in Washington.  Ernie Grunfeld will need to decide if having three max players is worth all the childish bickering that may turn into real problems if no championships come.  Brian MacLellan will need to decide if it is worth keeping a legend in the face of persistent playoff futility.  And Mike Rizzo must decide whether or not it is worth breaking the bank for the face of his franchise.  Hanging in the balance is the relevance and relative winning stability these players have brought to the DC area.  These three GM's need to realize that if any one of the Wizards Big Three, Alex Ovechkin, or Bryce Harper are to leave that puts a damper on their ability to be perennial playoff teams, and in turn, sell tickets and merchandise.  The GM's need to keep up the winning atmosphere by getting value in return for these players' possible departure.  These decisions will be playing out over the next three years, and the three teams located outside of Ashburn, Virginia need to realize that their consistency, fortunes, and popularity within the DC Market for the next decade hinge on the handling of their superstars' expiring contracts.  Grunfeld, MacLellan, and Rizzo need to see these decisions for what they are, and make the moves that will secure assets that will help their team for the long term.  Or they could cover themselves in the warm blanket of denial and let these players walk for no compensation.  But what kind of GM would conduct himself in that manner?

The Nats Need to End the DC Curse

It all started when John Wall hit the game winning shot against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past spring.  Wall's miraculous shot vaulted him into the upper echelon of DC playoff lore, but it unintentionally set off strife within the different fan bases within the DC Area.  There was an underlying resentment of the Wizards when John Wall prolonged their season and forced a Game 7 that could possibly end the DC Curse.  This resentment stemmed from the notion that John Wall's Wizards had not endured the playoff misery that some of the other DC teams had to earn the right to be the first DC professional sports team to make their conference final since 1998.  The Caps had met that threshold through their almost laughable playoff ineptitude in the first two rounds since 2008, especially with their propensity for blowing 3-1 series leads.  The Redskins fulfilled their duties by just plain sucking for the better part of the past two decades.  The Nationals have been the favorite to win the World Series at least twice over the past four years but fell short, including blowing that Game 5 lead against the Cardinals in 2012.  The Wizards had not experienced that kind of failed hype in the playoffs until this past spring, and all of DC sports fans were looking to one of the other three teams to break the DC Curse due to their collective impotence in the post season.  By sheer timing the Nationals are that team at the current moment.  A look into the deeper psyche of the DC Sports fan base shows that the Nats need to be the team that finally gets to a conference final to break the DC Curse for all teams in this area.

The argument for having the Nationals be the first DC team to reach their conference final since the 1998 Capitals is due the nature of baseball in the DC area.  There is the pride.  The original Washington Senators were one of the charter members of the fledgling American League in 1901.  The Senators also had Walter Johnson,who some argue is the greatest pitcher to ever play the game, and who holds one of the MLB records that some say will never be broken with his 110 career shutouts.  Johnson also has the moniker of being the first professional athlete in the US to have a high school named after him, and that high school still stands to this day in Bethesda, Maryland.  The Senators also brought the first professional championship to this area by winning the World Series in 1924.  It would be the only World Series the Senators would win, and just like every other DC Sports team after them, the Senators sucked outside of a few random successful seasons.  This was where the pride met the fall.

The Senators left Washington for the first time in 1960 to become the Minnesota Twins, but they would be replaced months later in 1961 by a new Senators Team that would move to Texas in 1971 to create the Texas Rangers. The MLB was twice fooled by the Washington Baseball Fans, but for the die hard Senators fans the sting of not having baseball in the DC area left them empty.  The Nationals success has revived a section of this cities populace that no other team could muster based on the history of baseball in Washington DC.  The fact that baseball can trace its' roots in this areas to the turn of the last century gives it a unique nostalgia that can rally older fans that had no other team to root for other than the Senators, and who are looking to remove the chip off of their shoulder about losing baseball twice before in their history.  But old time baseball fans cannot fill all the seats, and that Nationals have endeared themselves to the young fans through players and fan experience.

Bryce Harper is the biggest sports figure in the DC area as far as young fans under the age of 10 are concerned.  John Wall jersey sales pale in comparison to those of Bryce Harper, and along with Strasberg, Sherzer, Werth, and Trea Turner, the Nationals have built an All-Star lineup that fans of the younger variety can get jacked up for and support through merchandising sales.  Nationals Park has also been rife with ravenous fans ready to spend their day at the stadium watching these young players perform, but it would be nothing without the stadium experience.  Nat Park is easily accessible through public transportation, and that convenience has allowed some of the watering holes around the stadium to become desired destinations for 20-30 year olds with no families and disposable incomes.  A generation of DC Sports fans have witnessed the Nats draft and retain young talent and create a fun experience that is on par, or even better than, the competing sports franchises within this area.  The youth have been drawn to Nationals Park from a young age, and it is this mix of the old and new that makes the Nationals the team of destiny for right now.

I wrote a long time ago that the Nationals were like House Targaryen because they once exclusively ruled this area in terms of popularity, but were exiled and now they are looking to reclaim their throne.  Despite their 3-0 loss on Friday night to the Cubs, the Nationals need to be the team to break the DC Curse and make it to the NLCS.  They can bring old an new together through the history of baseball within the DC area, and through the player personnel/stadium moves they have made as an organization over the past decade.  Seeing the Nationals play for a Pennant would bring the old and young in this area together just as the Cubs did for Chicago one year ago.  The Nats have earned the right to represent this area on national scale in their respective sport, and it is time for them to be the ones to end this horrible curse and send this city into a collective frenzy.  The Nats are the one team that could bridge generations of fans if they were to break this horrible DC Curse, and in an event driven town like Washington DC, it would make them the biggest event in town.

Ovi's 50 Needs to Make History for All

Alex Ovechkin put himself in exclusive company against the Blues on Saturday night.  His hat trick all but assured his fourth consecutive, and sixth overall, Rocket Richard Trophy.  Granted, this trophy only came into existence in 1998, but since that time no other player has won it more than twice.  Ovechkin is now the third player in NHL history to score 50 goals seven or more times (Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky did it 9 times).  He is the first player in NHL history to score 50 or more goals in three consecutive seasons twice (2007-2010 and 2013-2016), but this seems less of an achievement when you realize that Gretzky had eight consecutive 50 plus seasons and Bossy's nine 50 goal seasons were consecutive as well.  What people need to be focusing on is the age at which Ovechkin is accomplishing these feats, for both good and bad reasons, and what history we want Ovechkin to be making as Capitals fans.

Although Gretzky and Bossy never had a lull in their 50 goal scoring seasons, Ovechkin has now outpaced them in terms of longevity.  Both Bossy and Gretzky saw their last 50 goal season come before age 30 (Gretzky at 28 and Bossy at 29).  Ovechkin has become only the 9th player in NHL history to score 50 goals at age 30 or older and the first to do so since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-2006.  If you believe the notion that goal scoring is harder to come by these days, Ovechkin's 50 goals this season looks even more impressive since two of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history could not get 50 after 30 in an inferior defensive era.  But the "different era" argument is for those who wish to argue ad nauseam about the greatest of all time without really wanting to come to a consensus.  Ovechkin's goal scoring longevity will never surpass what made Bossy and Gretzky great, and Ovechkin is running out of time to achieve this in order to make him live eternally in the annals of NHL lore.

It may not have occurred to Capitals fans, but Ovechkin has yet to even play for a Stanley Cup.  That puts him on the short list with Jonathan Cheechoo, that is his real name, as being the only Rocket Richard winners to never have played in a Stanley Cup Final.  That takes a little bit of luster off of his 50 goal seasons when you realize that all other great goal scorers of this era were at least able to get their teams in position to win a championship, and most of them were able to scale the mountain top.  It is also sobering to know that only three players 30 or older have been able to score 50 goals and win a Stanley Cup in the same season.  They are Joe Sakic with the Avalanche in 2001, Joe Mullen with the Flames in 1989, and Phil Esposito with the Bruins in 1972.  All of this means that Ovechkin's time is running out, and remember that Father Time is undefeated.  While Ovechkin's 50 goals are an individual milestone it is the team's success that will put him into the stratosphere of NHL greats, and Ovechkin is playing with the best overall team of his career.  If Ovehckin cannot win it this year the future looks hazy, at best, as to what type of supporting cast he will have in his continued push for collective greatness. It is more than likely that we may see the departure of Jason Chimera and Dmitri Orlov this offseason, and what will Brian MacLellan do when  T.J. Oshie, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, and Nate Schmidt are all looking for more money after the 2017 season?  If Ovechkin is to attain true greatness he will need to do what he did on Saturday night and lead the only NHL team he has ever known to their first Stanley Cup Championship.  If he does not, maybe he will donate all of his Rocket Richard Trophies to the Verizon Center so we can put them on display.

Please check out Jewels from the Crown where all of the goal scoring info was found.

The Greatest? Eight

The season that Alex Ovechkin has completed this year has vaulted him into the annals of NHL lore that have been set aside for only the greatest players of all time.  This season saw him eclipse the 50 goal mark for the sixth time in his career (a feat only 6 other players have accomplished) and he won his third consecutive/fifth overall Rocket Richard trophy.  Add those accomplishments to three Hart Trophies, most goals scored by a left winger in a season (65), this goal, most points by a left wing/Russian born rookie (106), the only player to win the Art Ross Trophy (most points in a season), Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals in a season), Ted Lindsay Award (MVP as designated by the NHLPA), and the Hart Trophy (League MVP) in a career, plus he is the only player to win all four in one season (2007-2008 season), and all of this done in a Washington Capitals uniform.  Ovechkin has been the most accomplished and electrifying athlete in the Washington area over the last decade and this season has sparked the debate about whether or not he is the greatest athlete in DC Sports history.  Some were eager to give him this title after he broke the Capitals franchise record in goals, but once we all came down from that vicarious sense of euphoria given to us by Ovechkin on that night, we should have realized that there are two figures who still out pace Ovechkin as the greatest athlete in DC Sports history.  They are Darrell Green and Walter Johnson.  An analysis of their accomplishments compared to those of Ovechkin's will show that they are still ahead of Ovechkin for this title, but there is one title that has eluded Ovechkin thus far that could put him over the top come June.

Darrell Green's greatness lies in his longevity and dedication to this area.  He spent his entire 20 year career with the Redskins where he set NFL records for most consecutive years with at least one interception (19) and most games played/started at corner back (295/258) and most games played by a defensive player (295).  Those are also franchise records that, in this era of free agency, may never be broken by another Redskin player.  He also has the franchise record for most interceptions (54), and he is oldest player to record an interception in NFL history.  So why are we putting Green ahead of arguably the greatest NHL player of his era?  Because Ovechkin was supposed to be great. Ovechkin was drafted number one overall and expected to be the greatest in the world.  Darrell Green was drafted by the defending Super Bowl Champion Redskins with the last pick in the first round out of Texas A&I (currently Texas A&M Kingsville).  During his time in college he was known more for his ability as a Track and Field sprinter than a football player.  Green came out of relatively nowhere to become one of the best cornerbacks of his time and a four-time Fastest Man in the NFL champion (just ask Tony Dorsett).  That clip was from Green's rookie year, and he continued to play with that type of dedication throughout a career that would see Green anchor a defense that brought two Super Bowls to DC.  Ovechkin has yet to hoist the Stanley Cup.  Darrell Green continues to live in the DC area, and he continues to run his Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation within the DC area.  Ovechkin may have more personal accomplishments, but Green had an equal amount of athletic ability as Ovechkin and he put it on display for twice as long.  Ovechkin may be a victim of smaller sample size, but championships mean a lot to a city that has now had a generation of fans grow up without ever having witnessed one in a professional sport and Green has a 2-0 advantage over Ovechkin in that department.  Couple that with some of Green's records being in that "they may never be broken but only because it is a different era now but how can we condemn someone for their accomplishments in hindsight because we are trying to make a point" realm gives him a leg up on Ovechkin.  Different era or not, as long as Green has those records it will be forever tied with the DC area.  Water Johnson has been carrying that moniker for almost a century now, and it is hard to see how Ovechkin could ever overtake him.

Walter Johnson's greatness lies in nostalgia.  His entire 20 year career was spent with the Washington Senators where he was able to bring the only World Series Championship to the DC area in 1924.  He also holds the record for most career shutouts (110), a record that some say will never be broken.  The different era argument applies, but different era or not, every time someone references that record they will see "Walter Johnson: Washington Senators".  He was AL MVP twice in his career, and he had 7 seasons where is ERA was under 2.00.  Where Darrell Green could not say that he was the best at his position during his era, Johnson was arguably the best at his position during his time and some would say the best pitcher ever.  But Walter Johnson also has ties to this area that go beyond sports.  He retired to this area after his playing days were over, and even held elected office.  One of the first high schools in America to be named after a professional athlete is Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland.  For one of the greatest ball players of all time, Johnson forever resides in a quaint cemetery in Rockville, Maryland with no special marker other than his name.  I realize this is outside of the athletic realm, but these parts of Johnson's life will forever tie him to this area.  Even though two generations have come and gone since anyone saw Johnson play, his name continues to live in this area and he will forever be brought up as one of the greatest to ever play baseball.  What will happen when Ovechkin's contract expires?  What happens if he goes to some other team?  Will we have the same reverence for him in 90 years as we do for Johnson?  It is possible, but there is one thing Ovechkin can do to ensure his legacy in Washington lives on past the near future.  Win the Stanley Cup.

As previously stated, a generation of Washington sports fans has grown up never seeing a professional sports championship (the Terps in 2002 were awesome, but that was college).  Ovechkin has had the best shot at breaking that drought over the last decade, but he and the Capitals have been able to disappoint in so many different ways during the Stanley Cup playoffs in the past.  When the Capitals open up against the Islanders on Wednesday, however, Ovechkin will be captain of a team that some say is the best he has ever led into a Stanley Cup playoff.  If Ovechkin wants to be considered the Greatest Athlete in DC History he needs to eventually put the Stanley Cup in the trophy case at Verizon Center.  If he is unable to do so he will always be third fiddle in this area behind Darrell Green and Walter Johnson; and a century from now when Ovechkin is subject to the "different era" debate his stats will have nothing to back them up.

The Ovechkin Renaissance Won't Last Forever

           Alex Ovechkin came crashing down to Earth on Sunday night.  His three goals in the two previous games were parlayed into zero points and a -3 performance against the Flyers.  Ovechkin’s only highlight came when the Capitals fearless leader turned the puck over in horrendous fashion behind his net that led to a Flyer shorthanded goal.  Granted it was the Capitals’ third game in four nights, but they had the Flyers dead to rights and they let them slip away.  A big part of that had to do with Dmitry Orlov’s hit on Brayden Schenn, but in a game where the announcers were comparing it to a playoff atmosphere it is no surprise to Caps fans that Ovechkin was nowhere to be found.  Call it fatigue, call it an Olympic hangover finally setting in, or call it teams defending Ovechkin and his line mates harder than the rest of the team.   Whatever the reason for Ovechkin’s lack of success in highly adverse situations, the continued prevalence of these performances now raises the question; would another first or second round playoff exit this season mark the beginning of the end for Ovechkin’s ability to win a Stanley Cup as an elite goal scorer?  Ovechkin’s scoring renaissance over the last two years has carried the Capitals through the regular season, but it maybe masking an inevitable meeting with an inescapable foe that could forever hinder Ovechkin’s ability to carry a team through the playoffs in the future. That foe is time.    

            If the Capitals fail to make the playoffs, or have an early exit yet again, that means they will begin next season with a 29-year-old Alex Ovechkin who hopefully will be coming off his first 50 plus goal season in four years.  Jewels from the Crown has a great spreadsheet of all the players who have ever scored 50 goals in a season and the age at which they achieved that feat.  The success of the players who have done it at age 29 and older may give Caps fans a reason to press the panic button.  Only 20 players in NHL history have put up 50 goals in a season at age 29 or older and shockingly none of them are named Gretzky (his last 50 goal season was at 28).  Alright, maybe more than you were thinking, but only eight of those players had a fifty goal season past 30: Marcel Dionne at 31, Phil Esposito at 31 and 32, Mario Lemieux at 31, Bobby Hull at 33, Jaromir Jagr at 33, Joe Sakic at 31, John Bucyk at 35, and Joe Mullen at 31.  All others had their 50 goal seasons at age 29 or 30.  Of the twenty, only five had multiple 50-goal seasons at 29 or older: Marcel Dionne (3), Phil Esposito (4), Mario Lemieux (2), Dave Andreychuck (2), and Bobby Hull (2).  All of this means that when Ovechkin starts next season at age 29, he may not have very many years left to lead the Capitals with his scoring touch, and the Stanley Cup numbers out of this group of twenty is cause for even more concern.  Seven of these players were able to win Stanley Cups after age 29: Phil Esposito, Brett Hull, Dave Adreychuck, Joe Sakic, John Bucyk, Joe Mullen, and Lanny McDonald.  Five of them did it with the team they had their fifty goal seasons with: Esposito, Sakic, Bucyk, Mullen, and McDonald, but only three did it in a season where they scored 50 goals.  Those were Sakic with the Avalanche in 2001, Mullen with the Flames in 1989, and Esposito with the Bruins in 1972.  So not only are Ovechkin’s chances at having these 50 goals season limited, his chances of having these seasons translate into post season relevance are dwindling as well.  This means that the Capitals’ success this season is of dire importance to the continued scoring revival of Alex Ovechkin, and it will be a key factor in his evolution as team captain and whether or not he can lead the Capitals to the Promised Land.             

            Ovechkin’s season thus far makes one think that he should be playing with a chip on his shoulder, especially after the Russians’ debacle in Sochi.  If he doesn’t win this year, or at least make it to the conference finals, it may spell disaster for the Caps’ chance at winning a Cup with Ovechkin at the helm.  It would mean that even with a reborn 50 goal scoring Alex Ovechkin the Capitals still cannot achieve post season success.  With history telling us that those 50 goal season maybe coming to an end it is hard to imagine a Capitals team hoisting the Stanley Cup any time soon unless things begin to change.  Ovechkin needs to realize that he must evolve as a leader to help his team win in ways other than scoring, and the Capitals must realize that they need to start putting the right pieces around Ovechkin to supplement his scoring as it inevitably decreases.  If not then the Capitals can take pride in having a top goal scorer for maybe another two to three years before his scoring declines, and we can continue to talk about how the trophy case in the Verizon Center continues to lack the most important piece of them all

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