Breaking: Alex Ovechkin's future in Washington could be in jeopardy

The Washington Capitals are currently sitting 2 points outside of a Wild Card spot as we approach the midway point in the season and there have been some rumblings that the organization could look to enter a rebuild as a result. If this occurs, Alex Ovechkin has reportedly already told the team that he may wish to be moved.

According to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Ovechkin does not wish to be a part of a rebuild in Washington as he looks to chase Wayne Gretzky's 894-goal record. Wyshynski reported on Tuesday that Ovechkin has already informed management of his desire to push for the record, establishing that he does not wish to do so on a rebuilding team.

It makes a lot of sense from Ovechkin's perspective. After all, we have seen what ripping it down to the studs can do to a superstar's production levels. We're seeing it right now with Chicago's Patrick Kane, who has been well above the point-per-game mark over his last four seasons, prior to this year. So far, in 2022-23, Kane is below the point-per-game mark, having recorded just 4 goals and 20 points in 26 games after the Blackhawks dealt Kirby Dach, Brandon Hagel and Alex DeBrincat and did not qualify center Dylan Strome or winger Dominik Kubalik.

The main problem Ovechkin might have is that he still has 3 more seasons on his current contract after this one, at a lofty $9.5M per season. Ovi, already 37 years old, will be 40 by the time his contract ends and is already well-beyond his prime. While he's still a very effective player now, there's really no guarantee that he can continue to be that as he inches closer to 40 years of age.

The two most likely outcomes here are that the Capitals delay a rebuild for a couple of seasons before they really go all-in on the idea or they look to kick-start the rebuild by trading Ovechkin ASAP - even if it means retaining a portion of his salary for the next 3 years.

This is going to be an interesting situation to keep an eye on for the next while.