One day after associate goaltending coach Olie Kolzig offered a stark assessment of star left wing Alex Ovechkin’s dip in play the last two seasons, general manager George McPhee was asked for a response. He was equally frank.
“Don’t disagree with anything that Olie said. What we have to understand is Olie had one of the highest work ethics of any player we’ve ever seen,” McPhee said. “It’s hard for anybody to match his level. And he holds everybody to that standard.”
It’s an interesting dichotomy here. A month ago, McPhee and owner Ted Leonsis were unequivocal in their support for Ovechkin after what they saw as an unfair three-game suspension after a hit against Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek on Jan. 22. They had no problem when Ovechkin bailed on the NHL All-Star game. Whether you believe him or not, he felt if he was suspended he’d be a distraction during the event. The organization was fine with it. But these recent comments aren’t exactly gentle. Kolzig’s didn’t seem premeditated at all. He was asked about Ovechkin’s play well into a general interview with reporters about the organization’s goalies and top prospects. And for his part McPhee addressed them openly when asked. He did add a qualifierm however.
“You look at a player like Ovechkin, he wouldn’t be who he is if he didn’t work hard,” McPhee said. “But like all the great ones whether it’s a [Mario] Lemieux or a [Sergei] Fedorov or a Corey Perry or an Ovechkin there are nights when you may not be giving it everything, but your skill makes a difference and you help your club win a game. But what we all learn is they have to be reminded once in a while if you’re working hard all the time that’s when you become unstoppable and you have to push them from time to time.”
Not sure how well it will go over that McPhee admits sometimes Ovechkin isn’t always there some nights. He is the team’s captain after all. Can’t recall anyone ever saying those things about fellow captains Sidney Crosby or Jonathan Toews. Then again, that may be the difference between fans and media, who have one set of expectations, and players, coaches and front-office personnel, who know the reality of the sport with its relentless schedule and so have their own. I just haven’t found any current Caps player willing to question Ovechkin’s work ethic and when they do – such as Matt Bradley’s infamous comments last summer that focused more on Bruce Boudreau and Alex Semin– they almost always say the compete level is there, but the ability to work smart sometimes isn’t. It’s never portrayed as a malicious character trait.
Ovechkin’s reaction? He took it in stride, apparently.
“About the rock star? Yeah, I just want to look like [Kolzig]. He's a rock star,” Ovechkin joked about Kolzig, his former teammate his first three years in the league. “Actually, he was a rock star. But right now he's in retirement. It's normal situation. I don't think the guys got to give lot of attention about what he said.”
Ovechkin also pointed out that Kolzig isn’t really with the team full time. He lives in the St. Petersburg, Fla. area and spends most of his time working with the goalies in ECHL South Carolina and AHL Hershey. His last visit with the team coincided with an unhappy time for Ovechkin – that three-game suspension. But when asked if he had spoken with Kolzig about the comments, he tried a joke that fell flat and then was done with the topic.
“Yeah, we got out dinner last night together,” Ovechkin said. “Make some happy time.”
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