Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has informed the NHL that he will not attend the All-Star Game in San Jose later this month. Fans voted Ovechkin the Metropolitan Division captain, but he says he wants the extra rest (with the league’s all-star break merging into the Capitals’ bye week, missing the game would give him more than a week off.
However, Ovechkin will be required by the league to be suspended one game either immediately before or after the All-Star Game.
Ovechkin said Wednesday: “first of all, thanks for all the fans who voted for me. I know it’s a tough decision, obviously. I like to be part of all the events, but right now I think that time of the year and my age we decide to take a one-week break. It’s hard, but it’s better for me.” Ovechkin participated in the past two All-Star Games, but he missed the 2016 in Nashville because of an undisclosed “lower-body” injury. He chose not to go in 2012 because the event was going to fall in the middle of his three-game suspension for an illegal hit.
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