Caps Briefing: The Other Other Alex

Caps left wing Alexander Ovechkin is back in the spotlight today. The NHL named him its second star of the week. Last week, of course, Alexander Semin took over the NHL's scoring lead for the second time this season, and Ovechkin was among the first to suggest that his teammate would make a good MVP candidate this season.

Ovechkin was beaten for first star voting this week by his own linemate, sophomore center Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom came to the NHL last year with a limited understanding of English and a limited understanding of the North American style of ice hockey, which is played on a narrower rink than European hockey, and is therefore more physical. Backstrom has learned about both North American hockey and culture from veteran center Michael Nylander, while living in Nylander's house along with the latter's wife and five children. This week he scored 11 points in four games as the Capitals won three and kept the fourth going into a shootout.

Since Backstrom is doing so well now, The Fourth Period claims the Capitals have offered to trade Nylander away to Chicago. They cite the Edmonton Journal, but they do not offer a link. We're having trouble verifying the story on the Journal's website, but the chances of such a deal happening are slim to none. For one thing, Chicago traded away lower-priced, equally talented center Robert Lang this summer to make room under the salary cap. For another thing, Nylander has a no-trade clause in his contract. He's not going anywhere unless he wants to.