Alex Ovechkin: Salary Rollback Could Send NHL Players Overseas ... For Good

For Capitals’ captain Alexander Ovechkin, a potential lockout is a situation he isn’t looking forward to. A native of Russia, Ovechkin stated on Tuesday that although he doesn’t want to return home to play this fall, he ultimately believes he will have to.

Via The Washington Times:

“Of course I think about [a lockout] because my hometown have teams and my Russian Federation have a league. Of course I’m probably gonna be there. But I don’t wanna be there; I wanna be here. But, again, my contract is here and I hope the NHL and NHLPA are gonna sign a deal before the 15th.”

The biggest issue that is separating the two sides is the NHL owners’ desire to limit player’s salaries. One solution that has been proposed is the concept of salary rollbacks where players contracts would be altered even though the deals were signed prior to the new CBA.

This concept doesn’t sit well with Ovechkin and he thinks it won’t sit well with other players, either; so much so that they potentially won’t want to return to the league.

“If they need us, how I say, if they’re gonna cut percentage of the contract and years, I don’t think lots of guys who signed American deals are gonna come back and play here. It’s not reasonable to be here. You have to think of the future, you have to think of your family.”

It’s important to note that the most recent offer from the NHL reportedly did not include salary rollbacks but did include escrow, which the NHLPA is arguing is basically the same thing.

For all the news surrounding the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement and the ongoing quest to replace it, stick with this StoryStream.