In an interview yesterday, discussing the state of goalie development in Russian hockey, Caps superstar Alexander Ovechkin optimistically announced that Caps goaltending prospect Semen Varlamov will remain in Russia this year, playing with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. This contradicted Ovechkin’s earlier optimistic prediction that Varlamov would challenge Olaf Kolzig for the starting job in Washington, which in turn contradicted Varlamov’s earlier announcement that he planned to play for Lokomotiv this year.

Goalies take longer to develop than other players, so there was never much doubt that Varlamov would end up in Russia this year. The story is just a positive example of Ovechkin getting excited about the future of the Capitals. Earlier this summer, NHL MVP Sidney Crosby signed a relatively cheap long-term contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, saying that he liked his teammates and wanted to see everybody stick together for a long time. It would be great if Ovechkin felt the same way about the Capitals, since he could otherwise become a restricted free agent next summer.

Meanwhile, the Capitals have a chance to impress Ovechkin with what a great team the Capitals are right now, but they may have a hard time doing that with their current goaltending situation. Olaf Kolzig won the Vezina Trophy in 2000 as the best goalie in the NHL. Since then he’s suffered several different knee injuries and celebrated his 37th birthday. In the injured Kolzig’s absence, Brent Johnson and Frederic Cassivi looked decidedly unheroic last year.