LOVERRO: Ovechkin belongs to Washington again and Washington belongs to him

OPINION:

The gift of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will continue for one more season.

The greatest goal scorer in the history of the National Hockey League will return to the Capitals for his 22nd season.

“I’m back!” Ovechkin said in a statement. “Thank you to everyone for giving me and my family the time to make this decision. I’m healthy. I love playing hockey and competing to win. I’m excited to come back and join my teammates so we can fight for a playoff spot and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!”

The team has a Zoom press conference scheduled for Monday with Ovechkin, owner Ted Leonsis, team president Brian MacLellan and general manager Chris Patrick.

I think most believed Ovechkin, who will turn 41 before the start of the season, was going to return. 

Last year was such a disappointment, with Washington missing the playoffs and the uncomfortable dance that Ovechkin performed throughout the season about questions surrounding his future that included leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins hanging on the ice when they stood on the ice and waited to shake his hand to pay tribute and say goodbye.

One of the greatest careers in the history of the game couldn’t end like that. One of the greatest athletes in the history of Washington couldn’t leave like that.

We don’t actually know if this will be his goodbye season, either. He didn’t indicate this would be his NHL finale in his statement, and neither did the Capitals.

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“Our entire organization is thrilled that Alex has decided to continue playing,” Patrick said in a statement. “Alex has proven year after year that he can produce offensively and that he is still the driving force of our team. We are excited about the additions we made this offseason to bolster our lineup and make our group more competitive.

“We believe that our roster is well balanced and will help create more opportunities for Alex to create offense and score goals. In addition, his presence in our locker room — especially with our young players — will continue to be an enormous boost for our organization and will help shape our team culture for years to come.”

His contract, though, is for one season, with a $3.25 million signing bonus and $4.75 million in salary. He will be 41, but is coming off a season where he still led the team in goals scored with 32. He is not stumbling over his skates on the ice.

But he is past the days when he could carry the load for a championship contender. So the Capitals front office got him some help last week. They acquired two scorers, St. Louis Blues winger Jordan Kyrou and Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch. They signed center Boone Jenner, forward Jonny Brodzinski and defensemen Vincent Deshamais and Justin Holl in free agency.

Now he is returning to a team that, if indeed this is his final season, should be more rewarding.

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Capitals coach Spencer Carberry believes the additions could make Ovechkin more productive. “Even if [his ice time] comes down a little bit, there’s little things that him and I talk about, like just making sure it doesn’t go for too long a stretch of — stuff that, it’s same for everybody,” he said. “I think, too, what O has done a great job of is, like last year, of (managing) the quality and the quantity. Being able to use more energy bursts throughout his shifts as the minutes come down.”

Ovechkin minutes. Games. Seasons. Decades. It’s all been a gift because Washington sports fans have been able to call every moment their own. It is maybe Leonsis’ greatest accomplishment to have built such a strong relationship with his superstar that has led to Ovechkin playing his entire career in front of the fans who have loved him.

It is a rare gift these days to have iconic players stay in one place their entire career. We’ve seen too many players leave Washington of late that had won the hearts of their fans, only to break them. The Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman played his entire 16-year career in Washington — beloved, but not with status in the world of sports that Ovechkin has achieved. Darrell Green played cornerback with Washington for 20 years. There were others, lately too few and far in between.

But you have to go back 100 years to Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson, who played 21 seasons for the Washington Senators, to find such a celebrated athlete in this city who created such a lengthy legacy of greatness in front of hometown fans. Cherish it.

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• You can hear Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.

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