Alex Ovechkin left Capitals practice early this Wednesday morning, and the label attached to it is the one nobody in Washington wanted to hear: day-to-day.
He started the session with the group. It didn't last long.
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The issue is being described as lower-body. Nothing more specific has come out of the rink, and no timeline beyond that day-to-day tag.
For most veterans, a short skate in late September barely registers. For a 41-year-old winger heading into the final year of his contract, every early exit gets studied like a medical chart.
The timing isn't great either. Washington is back in action Friday night at home against Boston, then opens the regular season October 2 in Carolina.
That opener kicks off a back-to-back road trip, with Tampa Bay waiting the very next night. Not exactly a soft landing for a winger nursing anything below the waist.
Spencer Carbery faces a careful call with his 41-year-old sniper
Head coach Spencer Carbery has a simple decision in front of him, and he should make it quickly. Sit him for the rest of camp.
Rushing a 41-year-old back for an exhibition against Boston is a bad idea. Nothing that happens Friday night will matter in April.
Managing a body this age in camp is like keeping a classic car on the road in November. You drive it gently, and you pull over the second something rattles.
And the Capitals still need what he brings. Ovechkin scored 32 goals and dressed for all 82 games last season, a durable year for anyone at any age.
His career total sits at 929 goals over 1,573 NHL games. That leaves him 71 short of 1,000.
Can he get there this season? Not realistically. His best single season was 65 goals, back in 2007-08.
The contract adds another layer. His cap hit drops to $4,250,000 this season, and unrestricted free agency sits on the other side of 2026-27.
That price matters to GM Chris Patrick. A healthy Ovechkin at that number is a bargain in the top six, and a hobbled one becomes a very different conversation.
Washington has looked sharp in preseason, coming off a 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Monday. But September wins fade fast.
The next real clue comes at his next skate. Full session with the group, or another early exit, and a camp that suddenly feels a lot longer.
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Should the Capitals shut Alex Ovechkin down for the rest of the preseason?
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