Hockey is a funny game, and a lot of what occurs on the ice is a direct result of what happens off the ice.
What I mean by that is the culture in the locker room and around the team goes a long way in determining how far a group of talented players can go collectively.
Egos come into play as well as a pecking order. Teams can bring in player after player but if the same message and pecking order is in place around the team, the same results will likely follow.
Saying that Alex Ovechkin is not a winner is not entirely accurate, but yes he has yet to win in the greatest league on the planet. He will have to hear that until he either finally wins one.
I for one think that Ovechkin can win a Cup, but not in Washington that is for sure. He needs to move on to another team where he is a piece of the puzzle not the focal point.
He needs to get to a team that is on the cusp of winning to push them over the top with his presence and his goal scoring prowess.
There have been many great players like Ovechkin that finally were able to get the illusive championship, but only after they had moved on.
The one that most reminds me of Ovechkin, would be Brett Hull, who torched the NHL while with the St. Louis Blues, but he could not get them to the promised land. But once he got to Dallas and became just a piece of the puzzle, he not only delivered, but on the biggest stage of all. Sorry to you Sabre fans, I did not mean to bring up a sore subject, but Hull did win again in Detroit, once again as a piece not the focal point.
The same might also be said about Ray Bourque, who made the playoffs all those years in Boston, but finally hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup while a member of the Avalanche.
So will someone make a move for Ovechkin, or can a team actually make it work financially? And if so, will the Great 8 get his name etched onto the Stanley Cup?
Just saying that the Wild, might be that perfect fit