Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin announced earlier today that his father Mikhail passed away at age 71.
The sad news comes after it was announced on Tuesday that Ovi would be taking a leave of absence from the Caps.
Head coach Peter Laviolette revealed that Ovechkin left for Russia on Wednesday.
“He left I believe this morning and I sent him a text,” Laviolette said. “I have not heard from him yet.”
Ovi also communicated his father’s passing to teammates.
“Everybody was aware in the room of what’s going on,” Laviolette said. “Alex sent a text to the players and the organization to let us know. It’s just really sad. You feel for him and pray for him and his family.”
Mikhail was a constant visitor at the team’s practices and their games inside Capital One Arena before his declining health would not allow him to have a regular presence stateside. He was such a big personality that even someone like Laviolette, who was not in DC in those years, has heard plenty of tales about Mikhail.
“I’ve heard some stories,” Laviolette said. “I wasn’t here when his dad was around but just some stories about how he loved being in the practice facility and loved being with the team and the players.”
The death of a player’s father is something the team has unfortunately seen before in recent seasons. TJ Oshie’s dad Tim passed away during the 2020-21 campaign. The Caps rallied around TJ and played for their grieving teammate.
“It’s always a special relationship with your dad,” Laviolette said. “Oftentimes it’s your dad that gets you into the sport back when you’re a little kid. That bond that you have with your dad. It’s just a sad day, a tough day.”
The Capitals played their first game in Ovi’s absence, a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes – the Metropolitan Division leaders. The team hoped to get Ovi a victory to show their support.
“I thought the guys played hard,” Laviolette said. “We’ve got to find a way to win games but certainly I think they realize Alex isn’t here and what he’s done for the organization for so many years. We got a responsibility to make sure we’re pushing through and doing the right things and winning games in his absence.
“He’s got our full support.”
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
