Alex Ovechkin on missing the playoffs last year: 'It was suck'

Alex Ovechkin has a way with words where — while he may not be the most elegant English speaker — he still manages to perfectly explain his feelings and thoughts.

Case in point, Ovi’s pre-Home Opener interview with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan as the Capitals were out on the ice for warmups.

Kaplan asked Ovechkin for his perspective about missing the playoffs last year.

#ALLCAPS Ovechkin pregame interview, i slept through the first 2 periods… i shouldnt have napped pic.twitter.com/i6mOxEFADc

— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) October 14, 2023

“Uhh, it was suck,” Ovechkin said, “but you know we have plenty of time to recover, refresh your body, refresh your mind, and get ready for this year.”

The was suck line plays off Ovechkin’s popular mantra from the Capitals’ Stanley Cup-winning season of 2017-18. Heading into that year, the Capitals were not predicted to have much success. Ovechkin, though, was not as dreary telling the media during Training Camp, “I think we still have good team. We’re not going to be suck this year.”

The Capitals would go on, of course, to win the franchise’s first championship. Ovechkin would the line during his victory speech.

“Before the year, I said we’re not going to be f*cking suck this year. We’re the Stanley Cup champions!”

So basically, Ovechkin was describing the highest of highs with the lowest of lows by using the word suck. Incredible.

Turning his focus towards the 2023-24 season, Ovi shared his best advice for this year’s team as they try to find a way back into the big dance.

“Forget about last year and play this game as hard as we can,” he said.

Screenshot: ESPN+