Report: Ovechkin shows up to camp earlier than ever, looking 'slimmer'

[Intact]

Wait he was 240?!

 

[Stad]

heres him yesterday arriving in dc. not the best picture i know

Looks exactly the same IMO lol

 

[Paralyzer]

I wonder if this has to do with the Olympics....

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

I don't like Ovie, but he's a proud guy and I can't imagine last year sat well with him on a number of fronts.

I'll bet he has a bounce-back season - not to the Ovie of old, but he'll crack 40 goals again.

 

[Sam Spade]

I would love to see him get some speed back in his game and be a threat in transition like the old days

Yeah, like the season before last when he led the league in goals. Or the one before that, or the one before that, or the one before that. And the only guy to score 50 goals in a season in the last six seasons. The good old days.

I mean, at 32yrs old, he finally decides to take fitness seriously...good for him I guess?

But really, with how much the team invested in him, this should have been something that was already a bigger part of his life given his career. But good for him! It'll be nice to see Ovechkin back to being a solid contributor. 32 is still so freaking young, it's definitely going to help him this season, being quicker, getting to his usual scoring spots quicker before teams can set up, it's just a matter of how used to it he gets, you tend to lose mass throughout the season, he's starting a little lighter.

He has been such a disappointment.

Hahahah... where are the legions of people who insisted he wasn't out of shape now?

I never thought he was out of shape.

Not out of shape for an ordinary dude like you or me, but out of shape for what you want a professional hockey player's body to look like. There's no shortage of shirtless photos of him online, and some of us have been insisting for years that he needs to lose weight. I think he'll be a much better player because of it, but what a waste that he didn't do this earlier.

Again, his career has been such a disappointment, such a waste.

Imagine how much better his career would have been had he only been in better shape.

Also it seems like all the super workout guys like Subban, Stamkos and Letang spend a lot of time out with injuries.

#garyrobertsforever

 

[A1LeafNation]

Too bad it didn't happen last year when they were actually stacked. Day late and dollars short.

 

[TheOllieC]

He's an all time great who wants to win. Just doing what he has to do.

 

[Hokinaittii]

Good to hear he has lost some of his weight. If that helps himself to gain some of the speed and athletism back, he has a lot better chances reaching 50 this year.

 

[axecrew]

I mean, at 32yrs old, he finally decides to take fitness seriously...good for him I guess?

But really, with how much the team invested in him, this should have been something that was already a bigger part of his life given his career. But good for him! It'll be nice to see Ovechkin back to being a solid contributor. 32 is still so freaking young, it's definitely going to help him this season, being quicker, getting to his usual scoring spots quicker before teams can set up, it's just a matter of how used to it he gets, you tend to lose mass throughout the season, he's starting a little lighter.

I'm sure he'll find a way...

 

[Bobby Orr's Knees]

his parents probably kicked his lazy ass out of the house.

His mother in law died from cancer at 61. Suddenly. It's probably been a very rough month for Ovechkin and his family.

 

[tony d]

Good for Ovie. Be great to see him back at his best and scoring 50+ goals again.

 

[Male75FromFinland]

professional athlete and captain gets to better shape at 32 years old.........

Well it must have been tough to wait those passes and watch other players work so hard

 

[Wats]

He's not going to get 17 more goals on the year because he "slimmed down"

May be right but he went from 32, 38, 32 (in 48 games) to 51, 53, 50 once already in his career.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

I mean, at 32yrs old, he finally decides to take fitness seriously...good for him I guess?

So one off-year makes you decide he never took fitness seriously and just jogged his way into becoming the best sniper in history?

 

[stubbadub]

He's married now. Probably wants to be out of the house more.

 

[King'sPawn]

Got a lot of "exercise" with the new wife

 

[Barrie22]

So one off-year makes you decide he never took fitness seriously and just jogged his way into becoming the best sniper in history?

Brett hull was a great goal scorer also and he never took fitness serious either.

Certain styles of hockey just does not need top end fitnesd levels.

 

[Caps8112]

dont think he looks a lot skinnier but whatever

52 ties him with Hull. That seems very ovi like

 

[nothingbeatshockey]

People can hate on Ovie the way some hate on Crosby but the league is always more fun and exciting when you've those two guys going. Add in that kid in Edmonton [what's his name], and the one, or two, or three in Toronto and I can't wait for the season to start.

 

[trick9]

Brett hull was a great goal scorer also and he never took fitness serious either.

Certain styles of hockey just does not need top end fitnesd levels.

Are we seriously questioning whether Ovechkin took fitness seriously when he was at his peak? Unreal.

People forget so quickly.

 

[Mr Positive]

He did need to get faster so hopefully he can recapture some of his youth

 

[ujju2]

As much as I like the wrecking ball version of Ovi, if he has to sacrifice some physicality for some speed, that's probably a good idea with the direction the league seems to be going. I'm expecting a good bounceback.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Hahahah... where are the legions of people who insisted he wasn't out of shape now?

Slimming down doesn't mean he was out of shape.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

He's not going to get 17 more goals on the year because he "slimmed down"

He played 2 min/game less last year than the year before as Trotz wanted to save his legs for the playoffs. I'm not saying he'll pot 50 again this year but there were other variables to his decreased goal totals last year.

 

[Laineux]

He was so much faster back in his young days. Hopefully he can regain some of that speed back to keep up in the faster NHL. People say he's 32 but really that's still only 32. Tons of NHL players keep up their elite speed for much longer than that.