Washington Capitals: Alex Ovechkin taking heat from players and media over COVID-19 violation
Anthony Scultore
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The Washington Capitals were hit hard for breaking the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols by hanging out in a hotel room without masks. Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samasonov, Dmitry Orlov, and Evgeny Kuznetsov were the culprits and will not be available to the Caps for three more games, if not more.
Alex Ovechkin apologizes
“I regret my choice to spend time together with my teammates in our hotel room and away from the locker room areas,” Ovechkin said in a statement. “I will learn from this experience.”
However, his apology doesn’t appear to be enough in the eyes of some in the media or around other NHL dressing rooms. It probably wasn’t helped by his wife who took to Instagram to criticize the NHL.
Ovechkin getting some heat
“I think the big thing is, it’s more a respect thing,” Brad Marchand of the Bruins said. This was coming off the heels of the Caps being fined $100,000 and Ovi’s apologetic statement.
“You can easily hurt your team by breaking the rules and potentially getting it and having to quarantine. It’s pretty simple to follow the rules,” Marchand continued. “If you get it by chance, it is what it is. It’s almost inevitable. But if you’re going to put yourself in a situation, that’s on you.”
Marchand has never been one to mince words, but this time he didn’t hold back as to why he felt the Caps players were being selfish.
“We all want to be able to play, and there’s rules put in place for a reason. They’re not that hard to follow. We all know the consequences of breaking the rules, and we know what the rules are. So they brought that on themselves.”
One of the top hockey writers, Larry Brooks of the NY Post was even more forthcoming. In his latest snark filled column, he wrote:
Hands, please, if you’re surprised that Alex Ovechkin was among the perps who violated the NHL’s — the NHL’s and NHLPA’s, by the way — COVID-19 protocols.
Didn’t think so.
Larry Brooks, NY Post
He certainly didn’t stop there, as he recalled the rumors that the Caps misbehaved throughout the RTP bubble. “Finally, there were anecdotal tales of the Caps behaving mischievously under the Toronto bubble before losing in the first round to the Islanders in August,” Brooks recalled. “’Twas easy to believe then, easier to believe now.”
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