- Dylan Strome says the Capitals room suspected Alex Ovechkin was coming back long before he signed
- Two moments in April tipped it off, and neither one had anything to do with a contract
- Read below for what Strome said about the group chat text that made the return official
The Capitals had a read on Alex Ovechkin long before he signed anything.
Dylan Strome joined TSN’s OverDrive on Thursday and was asked how the room figured out their captain was coming back for a 22nd season. His answer had nothing to do with the contract, per TSN.
“We really didn’t know. I think we all had a bit of an inclination that he was going to come back once he didn’t want to shake hands with the Penguins players and he kind of didn’t want to do a final goodbye against Columbus in our last game there and his family wasn’t at the game.”
That first tell came on April 12. Washington beat Pittsburgh 3-0 in the 100th career meeting between Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, and the Penguins stayed out on the ice afterward for a handshake line.
Ovechkin waved them off and headed for the tunnel. Watch the moment the room clocked:
Two nights later the season ended in Columbus. A big group of Caps fans made the trip, owner Ted Leonsis flew out for it, and Ovechkin tipped his stick to the crowd on the way off. He skipped the full farewell, though, and his family stayed home.
Here’s Ovechkin after that game, talking about the fans who showed up:
Ovechkin later said the whole thing hinged on whether Washington could actually chase a Cup. The front office answered by adding Jordan Kyrou from St. Louis, Alex Tuch in a sign-and-trade with Buffalo, and Boone Jenner on a four-year deal.
He re-signed on July 2, one day into free agency, on a one-year deal worth up to $9 million. Strome said the players got the news in a group chat text from Ovechkin himself, right before it went public.
Check out how the Capitals told everybody else:
Strome was also asked what losing the 41-year-old would have meant to the group.
“He’s still a huge part of our team. He led our team in goals and points last year. You don’t want to lose a guy like that and what he does for the locker room, on and off the ice, you can’t replace that with what he’s done in his career and how much he means to the team.”
Washington is coming off a miss, four points behind Ottawa for the final Eastern wild card a year after a 111-point season. Strome put up 19 goals and 58 points in 80 games, 24 points fewer than the year before.
Camp opens September 17, and Strome knows the noise around this roster is different now.
“Management has done their job and now it’s on the players to go prove why people are talking about us.”
