- Alex Tuch found out Ovechkin was re-signing straight from the Capitals team group chat
- The winger saw the text before the news went public but wouldn’t reveal what Ovi actually wrote
- Read below for Tuch’s take on how his new captain broke the news
Alex Tuch didn’t hear that Alex Ovechkin was coming back from a press release. He got the news in the team group chat.
Tuch, who signed with Washington this offseason, went on 106.7 The Fan’s Grant & Danny on Thursday and explained how the biggest domino of the Capitals’ summer landed in his lap. He was busy packing and doing radio hits, so he was off the internet when it broke.
On the air, he was asked how he learned Ovechkin was staying put:
“I had no idea until he texted in the team group message that he was coming back. I found out on the group chat, I wasn’t sitting there on social media or anything like that.”
Tuch had just been added to the chat, which made the timing even better. He wouldn’t say whether Ovechkin messaged teammates before or after the announcement went public.
The winger also refused to share what Ovechkin actually wrote, leaving that one for the captain to tell:
“I don’t want to be the first one to say anything. It was pretty funny, though, but he’ll have to explain that.”
Washington re-signed Ovechkin to a one-year deal on Thursday, ending any real talk that the greatest goal scorer in history would test the open market.
Ovechkin turns 41 in September and heads into his 22nd NHL season, all of it in Washington. He sits at 929 career goals, first in league history, and holds the records for power-play goals and game-winners too.
Now Tuch gets to chase a Cup alongside him. Not a bad group chat to get added to.
