Ovechkin Declares ‘I’m Back’

Today’s lead story on Alex Ovechkin’s decision to play one more season with the Capitals is powered by Betalytics — the intelligent platform for sports betting — and by Rude Hockey apparel.

While the Alex Ovechkin watch has dragged on since the star entered the last year of his contract with the Washington Capitals last July, it came to a sudden end on just the second day he was in free agency.

“I’m back!” Ovechkin said in a released 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 and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!”

The star signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal that will pay him a $1 million salary, include a $3.25 million signing bonus that will apply to this year’s cap, and a bonus for appearing in 10 games that is worth $4.75 million – and would apply to next year’s cap.

Ovechkin, who clearly was waiting on the Capitals to make their offseason moves before deciding on coming back to the NHL, didn’t waste a lot of time on giving his thumbs up on Capitals General Manager Chris Patrick’s offseason reconstruction.

While the Washington Capitals weren’t very active during the past season, the last two weeks have seen a massive shift in the construction of the roster, with Capitals General Manager Chris Patrick using most of the newfound cap space built over the past few seasons to make huge changes to the lineup.

After adding forwards Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch through trades before the NHL Draft, Washington added a couple of players in free agency once it opened on July 1, including Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner, Vincent Desharnais, Justin Holl, Jonny Brodzinski and Josh Dunne, not only adding some talent up front but also depth at the forward and defensive positions.

Two of the Capitals’ three unrestricted free agents, Trevor van Reimsdyk and Brandon Duhaime, found new homes on Wednesday, and the team’s two major restricted free agents, Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre, were all traded before they were able to even get a qualifying offer from Washington. Even longtime Capitals assistant captain John Carlson signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday after being traded to the Anaheim Ducks at the deadline for a first-rounder.

So, with just one of 23 roster spots left and around $5.392 million in cap space per Cap Wages heading into Thursday, the last one was the biggest name.

Certainly, while it appears Ovechkin was waiting to see if Patrick would improve the roster for next season after missing the playoffs last year, it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t pleased with the moves.