Fans asking for Alex Ovechkin to be demoted in the lineup

After another quiet night on the scoresheet, some fans have begun openly questioning whether the 40-year-old captain's heavy minutes are helping or hurting the Washington Capitals' offense. The frustration surfaced clearly in a post from The Cupitals on Twitter, who wrote that «giving a 40-year-old top line minutes (slowest player in the NHL) is not a good idea,» while pointing out that rookie Ryan Leonard has doubled the combined points of his linemates despite playing lower in the lineup. While this is tough to hear, they definitely have a point as Leonard is only averaging 12:49 of ice time and has looked very dominant at times with the puck.

Ovechkin's numbers this season back up the concern. Through 12 games, he's scored just two goals and added five assists for seven points - a far cry from his usual pace. His shot volume, once his defining weapon, has dipped to just under three shots per game, and he's averaging roughly 18 minutes a night, the lowest workload of his career.

The decline isn't sudden, but it's becoming harder to ignore. At even strength, Ovechkin's expected goals rate has fallen below 45 percent, and he's gone four games without a point. The power play, long his personal showcase, has sputtered too, converting on just 12 percent of its chances.

Fans have started suggesting that head coach Spencer Carbery experiment with moving Ovechkin down the lineup or pairing him with different linemates to spark chemistry. Meanwhile, Leonard, the 2023 first-round pick, has surged with six points in 12 games, including three goals - many fans feel he's earned a look alongside Dylan Strome or Connor McMichael higher up the rotation.

Here's the fan post that stirred the debate:

No one's writing off Ovechkin, but the tension is clear. He's already the leagues top goal scorer, and one goal away from 900, but he's fighting simply to find rhythm. Whether that happens on the top line or somewhere new may be Washington's biggest question of November.

But let's be clear here, we know Ovechkin goes through droughts, and all it takes is one game to really get him fired back up. We've seen him go a goal per game for almost 10 straight games before, so whether lowering him in the lineup is the right call until Ovechkin finds his groove, or just pushing through the bad times is the right call, it's not time to give up on Ovechkin either.