“I’m a risk taker.”
That’s what Ted Leonsis had to say after signing Alexander Ovechkin to the most lucrative contract in the history of hockey, seven years ago this past Saturday.
But really, how much of a risk was it?
At the time, Ovechkin was in the midst of a season in which he would score 65 goals— a number that has not since been breached, and had last been achieved by Mario Lemieux back in 1995-1996, when Super Mario dropped 69 twine-ticklers in a mere 70 games. Behind Ovechkin’s dominance, the Caps were on their way to their first playoff berth in four years, and their first division championship since ’01-’00 (which was DC’s second rafter banner in a row— their only other division win to that point came in ’88-’89 under coach Bryan Murray).
In the time before receiving his promise of $124 million, Alex Ovechkin gave Washington The Goal. He gave Ted Leonsis a viable opportunity to rebrand his hockey club. He provided first excitement and potential, and then delivered— not just in the stat and win columns, but in the ticket offices and behind the merchandise counters as well.
Alex Ovechkin had, to this point, lived up to his billing as a #1 overall draft pick and a generational talent. For the Washington Capitals organization that meant growth— it was plenty evident in the revenue numbers leading up to Ovechkin’s 65 goal season.
For Washington hockey fans— Washington sports fans, really— it meant a horse to hitch your cart to.
So, what’s Alex Ovechkin done since his happy trip to the bank?
Well, he’s scored 90 more goals and 59 more points than any other player in the league (and not for nothing he’s 14th in the league in assists over that span). He’s led the Washington Capitals to five division championships. He’s polarized the hockey community and put red jerseys on the television screens while talking heads do their best (which isn’t saying much) to make more opaque their transparent xenophobia.
He’s given ESPN— notorious for their willful ignorance of all things (Barry Melrose not included) hockey— a reason to air his highlights (even if it was just soften him up for a commercial spot). It’s given him endorsement deals with Nike, Bauer, Gillette, and Beats By Dre, among others.
He’s taken the Capitals from seventh-worst attendance in the NHL to fourth-best (trailing just three of the original six teams). He’s won four Rocket Richard trophies for best goal-scorer, three Hart trophies for most valuable player, one Art Ross trophy for most points, three Ted Lindsay awards for most outstanding player, and has been sent to represent the Nation’s Capital at seven NHL All-Star Games (and counting).
He’s been to precisely zero Conference Finals playoff series, and as a result of that, of course, has never won, let alone played in, a Stanley Cup Final.
When you’re as dynamic, gregarious, productive, and European as Alex Ovechkin, and you don’t have a championship to your name, the narrative of your legacy has a tendency to focus on individual deficiency instead of organizational shortcomings. But it comes with the territory— in no universe will a juggernaut superstar in one of the world’s largest media markets escape criticism, and a few clumps of prematurely silvering hair are a sad but probably fair price tag for Ovi’s fortune.
This is precisely what Ted Leonsis paid for. This is the commitment he made. Right now he’s getting most of what he paid for. The organizational growth is giving him the return on his investment. The regular season accolades, the brand shift from the blue eagle to the classic red, white, and blue, the League’s one-time premiere individual rivalry, the Winter Classic, are the fruits of a massively successful campaign for brand awareness.
All that’s left is a championship.
All the individual accolades are there. The market growth, awareness, and global branding have been achieved. The Verizon Center invariably sells out. The Capitals, not so long ago the scum of the NHL pond, are now doing plenty to pull their weight in the arena of team value.
There’s plenty more to Ovechkin’s story, namely the coaching carousel— Glen Hanlon, Bruce Boudreau, Dale Hunter, Adam Oates, and now Barry Trotz— the overstatement of his demise, and then his rise back to goal-scoring supremacy (and all the diminishing caveats that came with it).
At this point, there’s no question that making certain one of the most exciting players to lace up a pair of skates would call Washington, DC his home was a prudent move, on a business, organizational, and community level. Alexander Ovechkin remains the centerpiece of the Washington Capitals, a sturdy foundation around which the rest of the team may be crafted. The contract is large, but so has been the pay out, on and off the ice.
Ovechkin— to say nothing of the rest of the organization, including all of Alex’s teammates and coaches along the way— has already completed the lion’s share of the work. He’s put Washington, DC on the map for the hockey world. Without him, the image of 42,000 fans crammed into a DC baseball stadium to watch the Washington Capitals does not exist. Without him “Rock the Red” does not exist.
But regardless of how large the man has become, he’s still an athlete, and as for all athletes it’s the winning of a championship that will ensure Alex’s tremendous story is complete.