

(Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

Alex Ovechkin smiled, because by now the question had become commonplace, and he knew how to deadpan the answer. Entering another season under another new coach, what has Barry Trotz asked of the Capitals star?

“He wants me to play hockey,” Ovechkin said. He paused for effect, then continued, more sincere now. “That’s the most important thing, I think. I don’t think…it’s not about my game. It’s five guys on the ice.”

Yet only one wore the captain’s “C” last season, and only one topped $9 million in annual salary, and only one attracted the massive scrutiny Ovechkin commanded as Washington missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006-07. And so, as the marriage of Trotz and Ovechkin enters its first season, the spotlight again descends upon No. 8, this time with his wing placement.

“We’ve talked and I’ve told him he’s way more dangerous on the left side,” Trotz said Friday, the first day of Capitals training camp. “I’ve heard it from you guys too. It’s really what my eyes see. But I just said, I will keep him over there. He’s better on the ride side defensively, but his talent is on the left side and so if I’m going to maximize his talent, I need to get him on the left side. Now, if he doesn’t want to adjust defensively playing the left side, then we’ll talk about maybe moving him back to the right. But at this point, in my head I have him starting on the left.”

(For more on the fancy-stats side of this debate, read colleague Neil Greenberg here.)

Earlier this summer, at the NHL draft in Philadelphia, Trotz leaned toward keeping Ovechkin on the right side, where he had spent the past two seasons under since-fired coach Adam Oates. Trotz only recently changed his tune, but added that Ovechkin’s placement, particularly through the preseason, will be fluid.

“Alex has said wherever you want me to play, left or right, he will play,” Trotz said. “And I made the decision, I think he should go there first. I think he’s one of the most dangerous players in the National Hockey League offensively, so let’s give him a chance to do that. The stuff he does on the left side, there’s no coach on the planet can teach him what he does. If he’s willing to learn, I can teach him to do the other stuff. If he’s willing to learn. And I know he’s willing to learn.”

With just one practice separating the Capitals from Sunday’s preseason opener versus Buffalo, Trotz said he has already scripted a “ghost roster” for all eight preseason games, so he knows when Ovechkin will log his minutes. That said, exactly on which line Ovechkin plays might depend on the situation, and could change by the day.

“That’s where it starts,” Trotz said. “I’m going to be honest with you, he might be doing all the good stuff and I might put him on the right because I want to get him out there more. Don’t read into that one if all of a sudden I put him on the right and you go, oh he must be mad. No, he might be playing really good but I want to get him more ice time . I trust he can play both sides.

“You get late into games, down a goal, you need one of the most gifted guys offensively in the league, get him an extra shift here or there against a third pairing once in a while, that’s not a bad way to go.”

Asked what areas of improvement Trotz tabbed for the forward who celebrated his 29th birthday earlier this week, Ovechkin again showed a self-awareness of the criticism he has received, then shifted gears into more serious territory.

“Back check?” he said, once again letting the response sink in before continuing. “Again, if you want to be good you have to work on everything. Offensive, neutral zone, defensive style. It’s going to be different system. I’m probably going to play on left side. It’s situation where you just know exactly what you have to do.”