No one knows which team will be hoisting the Stanley Cup trophy at the end of the 2017-18 NHL season, but I can definitely tell you who won’t win — the Washington Capitals. It may come as a shock due to some recent events regarding star forward Alex Ovechkin, but trust me, it’s not in the cards for Washington this time.
The season began last week, and the first two nights were some of the most exciting in history. Four different players scored hat tricks on the opening nights: Connor McDavid, Wayne Simmonds, Brandon Saad and Ovechkin.
Fans were both excited and confused of how this was even possible. Even more surprising, Ovechkin continued his offensive dominance and scored another hat trick in the Capitals’ second game of the season.
Even stranger, these hat tricks came in back-to-back periods — Ovechkin’s first hat trick was scored in the third period, and his second hat trick was scored in the first.
Yes, it’s exciting. Yes, these back-to-back hat tricks are the first in 100 years. These predictions of the Capitals getting to the Stanley Cup finals are premature and illogical.
Regardless of the hat tricks, this has been a conversation before. In fact, it’s been a conversation since Ovechkin joined the team in 2005. It was assumed that he could lead the team to victory that had not seen the Stanley Cup Finals since 1998.
Twelve years later, Ovechkin has still not made it past the second round of the playoffs. He has not brought his team to victory, as predicted. In reality, it’s an impossible task. One player cannot just bring their team to victory. No one has that power other than Wayne Gretzky.
That pressure shouldn’t fall on Ovechkin’s shoulders, it’s the organization’s responsibility. You can’t just sit back and watch one player score every goal and win every game. Time and time again this discussion has come up.
Ovechkin is an offensive player in the most basic sense of the word. He scores goals. That’s about it. You never see a highlight of an incredible pass from Ovechkin. It’s always incredible goals. It’s not a bad thing to be this type of player, but they need more.
Washington has Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov on their offense as well. They’re great players, but they’re not enough. The Capitals need more powerful defensemen who can score.
Braden Holtby won the William M. Jennings Trophy last season, proving that he is truly an elite goalie. Holtby is clearly great at defending the goal, but his defenders aren’t great at defending him.
Washington is proof that it’s not enough in hockey to have one star on each side of positions. They have an offensive star in Ovechkin and a defensive star in Holtby, but they need more. Other teams have stacks of strong guys on every line. Ovechkin can’t play every minute of the game, and the team struggles offensively when he’s off the ice.
So yes, these hat tricks are very exciting for Ovechkin and Washington. But they aren’t an indicator for how the season will turn out. More changes need to be made. Ovechkin has always been great offensively, but it’s not enough.