Capitals owner says team won't rebuild while Ovechkin chases Gretzky's record
There's no question that the core of the Washington Capitals is aging, with Backstrom, Oshie and Ovechkin all aged 35 or older, while Carlson, Kuznetsov and Orlov are all 30 and over.
Washington's window to compete for another Stanley Cup is closing and a rebuild would likely be in the cards within the next few seasons. Despite their window coming to a close, Alexander Ovechkin reportedly doesn't want to go through a rebuild while chasing Wayne Gretzky's goal record and owner Ted Leonsis agrees with his team's captain.
"I'm sure there'll be an influx of some young players, but we're not gonna rebuild the team," Leonsis said. "To me, a rebuild is when you look the players, the coaches, the fans in the eye and say we're gonna be really, really bad. And if we were really, really bad, I don't think Alex would break the record."
The Capitals currently sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 14-12-4 through 30 games and are two points out of a wild card spot and four points back of Carolina for third in the division.
As for Ovechkin, he's four goals back from tying Gordie Howe for second all-time in NHL history and he needs 97 more to tie Wayne Gretzky.
The @Capitals might be younger next season. But they aren't going to 'rebuild' as long as Alex Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record. https://t.co/Jo8QWUKn3C— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 13, 2022
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