Earlier this month, with the Washington Capitals knee-deep in their quest to return to the playoffs, Barry Trotz was alerted to comments his star forward, Alex Ovechkin, made recently about how his goals had shifted.
Ovechkin had recently claimed the franchise record for goals scored, surpassing Peter Bondra with the 473rd goal of his career, and added it to a list of accomplishments he had already achieved this season. One by one, he etched his name repeatedly in the team’s record books, claiming its all-time records for points, multi-goal games, power-play goals, game-winning goals, overtime goals and shots.
Trotz, though, took note of what Ovechkin had said — that those accomplishments mean nothing, and that at this point in his career, 10 seasons and counting, the biggest one would be lifting a 35-pound, silver-and-nickel trophy above his head.
“I thought [it] was fantastic,” Trotz said Tuesday. “He talked about the 25 players and the group and all that, and he wants to do it with a group of people and obviously, try to win a Stanley Cup. I think he’s come full evolution as a young man who’s put Washington back on the map to maturing to a player who knows that the ultimate prize in this game is the group prize — and the group prize is something that keeps that group special.”
As the Capitals return to the postseason for the first time in two years on Wednesday evening, when they begin their first-round series at home against the New York Islanders, it’s clear that the pursuit of a championship gnaws at Ovechkin more than ever.
He has fondly spoken about the camaraderie between his teammates — just as they speak about how he’s found himself more ingrained in the team dynamic more than ever — and he’s warmed to Trotz’s influence as an experienced coach who truly desires only the best from everyone.
“I think it feel different,” Ovechkin said, asked about what the return to the playoffs means for he and his teammates. “It’s just a different team, I think, right now, compared to last couple years. Mature team. Experienced team. That’s how it’s different.”
When Trotz accepted the opportunity to become the Capitals’ coach last May following 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators, he tried his best to approach the new job with an open mind. He had heard from peers around the league that Ovechkin was a selfish player, a loner, one whose priorities were individual first, team second, and could not be switched.
Ovechkin, though, was merely looking for some guidance, and in Trotz, he found that. The winger knew he could benefit from Trotz’s experience and, perhaps more importantly, could trust that what the coach demanded of Ovechkin was truly for his benefit.
“I think everybody knew with Barry coming in that there was instantly that respect because he had been around so long and no one had heard a bad thing about him,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “You instantly trust what he has to say and know that it’s for the benefit of us, and you start to see it working. It just takes a little bit of time.
“We’re not an easy team to come in and take the reins from. We’ve got a lot of star players, a lot of guys that have the ability to go out there and just kind of, on the fly, make things happen. For him to go out there and have the structure and see the results is pretty amazing, and it didn’t take very long for people to want to do exactly what he tells you to do, because we know it’s all right.”
For Trotz’s system to work — and for the winger to reap its benefits — Ovechkin had to buy in. Trotz never had a player of Ovechkin’s caliber during his time in Nashville, and he believed that given Ovechkin’s size and physicality, he could be a dominant force on both ends of the ice.
Ovechkin, though, needed some prodding. At the beginning of the season, when asked what Trotz’s greatest demand of Ovechkin was during the offseason conversations, Ovechkin unleashed his gap-toothed grin. Backchecking, he said, as if he were delivering the punch line to one of his favorite jokes.
But Ovechkin, to his credit, did buy in. He’s been more active defensively than he has throughout much of his career — his 259 hits, a very rough, inexact measure, are the most he’s ever had — and his offense hasn’t suffered. He scored 53 goals, the third-highest mark of his career, and had 81 points.
With a goal against the Montreal Canadiens on April 2, Ovechkin surpassed Bondra for the team lead, ultimately finishing with 475 goals. He became the only 400-goal scorer over the past decade, and by scoring 53 goals during the regular season, he joined Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Marcel Dionne, Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux as one of only six players to score more than 50 goals in six seasons.
“I think he had something to prove,” general manager Brian MacLellan said. “I think he took criticism for that [-35 plus/]minus number last year, and you know, I think he wanted to prove that he could play within a structure — that he could do the same things he’s done offensively within a structured team environment and have team success, too. Yes, I think that was high on his priority list coming into this year.”
One would be quick to dismiss all of the accomplishments as being in jest should the Capitals, and Ovechkin, not hoist the Stanley Cup in mid-June. Ovechkin, though, doesn’t think about that — especially after being unable to participate in the playoffs a year ago.
“I just think we just missed that feeling, that time, that atmosphere,” Ovechkin said. “I will say it’s a fun time for us to create some history for us. I think we’re ready for it.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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