The NHL will go ahead with one of its signature events without one of its signature players, as Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will skip this weekend’s All-Star Game and festivities in Ottawa.
A day earlier, the league suspended him three games for a hit on Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek.
“My heart is not there. I suspended, so why I have to go there?” Ovechkin said. “I love the game; it’s great event. I’d love to be there, but I’m suspended. I don’t want to be a target. I feel I’m not deserving to be there right now. If I suspended, I have to be suspended. That’s why I give up my roster [spot].”
Capitals general manager George McPhee announced Ovechkin’s withdrawal in a meeting with reporters Tuesday, also citing the captain’s heart not being in it. Of course, there are other factors.
“He really doesn’t want to be a distraction up there, either,” McPhee said. “You know what the questions are all going to be. And so it’s a great event and he doesn’t want to [be] a distraction, and we don’t want it either.”
This was to be Ovechkin’s fifth All-Star appearance, and it will be the first NHL All-Star Weekend without him since he entered the league. Instead, the Caps will have just one representative, defenseman Dennis Wideman.
• Stephen Whyno can be reached at swhyno@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.