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Following the death of his father Mikhail, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin took a leave of absence from the team to return to Russia to be with family. However, the Caps may soon be joined on the ice by their captain once more.
Per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Ovechkin is expected to return to Washington on Wednesday and will be in the lineup either Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks or Saturday against the New York Rangers.
Alex Ovechkin is expected to return to DC on Wednesday.
After a long, emotional trip, the Caps told him to take the time he needs – but sounds like he’ll be back in the lineup either Thursday or Saturday.
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) February 21, 2023
Head Coach Peter Laviolette was non-committal on an exact date of Ovechkin’s return when asked about getting his captain back, however expected The Great Eight back within the week; the team is giving Ovechkin as much time necessary following the trip.
By Michael Fleetwood
If he’s having to fly back a round-about way and arrive in DC Wednesday, might be on the move right now.
They said he was traveling tomorrow. He private jets his trips between Russia and US, and bypasses a lot of the mainstream red tape.
Interesting. And good for him. Some travel stories recounted at the start of the season were very very long trips to get around sanctions.
Oh no doubt. We did a piece on what Bogdan Trineyev went through last spring to come over to play for Bears after KHL season ended. It took a full week and a stop in the country of Georgia. 😳
Part of that was probably difficulty in obtaining the proper work visa. But I would think flying today would be a two day trip. My longest continuous trip (no hotel) was 23 hours elapsed time. I was worthless at the end. So glad his trip back won’t be as hard on him.
But, I should add, according to Google, it is already 4:20am Wednesday in Moscow.