Alex Ovechkin reveals how he feels about the Capitals hiring ex-Leafs coach Spencer Carbery

The Capitals organization is already familiar with Carbery, as he was the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, from 2018-2021. It's only fitting that Carbery returns to the organization to take over as head coach of the Capitals now that he's amassed a good amount of experience behind the bench in both the AHL and the NHL. Ovechkin seemed thrilled to have Carbery coming back. This much was clear from a recent interview he did with Sport-Express.

"We already knew him, we have a great relationship. I was happy with this hiring because he knows me, and he knows many of the guys on our team who had previously played in Hershey. I don't think we should expect any problems. The coaching staff has changed by 90 percent. Our power play will be different, perhaps the penalty kill and the system as a whole, too. The first month of training camp will be very important in that regard."

Ovechkin strongly believes that his Capitals are going back to the playoffs in 2023-24. He told Sport-Express that injuries played a huge role in the Caps missing the playoffs last year.

"Last season we were hammered by injuries. Both [Nicklas] Backstrom and Tom Wilson returned only in the middle of the season. It was hard after their return. It takes time to adapt, but now I think everything will be fine. We will enter the season in optimal shape. The main thing is that everyone is healthy."

Ovechkin is now just 72 goals back of Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record (894). At the rate that he's been scoring (42 goals last season and 50 the year prior), he'll not only catch Gretzky in the next 2 years, but pass him by a significant margin - but that's if he can keep scoring at a high level, like he's done throughout his career. Ovi will be 38 when the 2023-24 season commences.