Alex Ovechkin, the NHL’s 2006 rookie of the year, has already won 2008’s Art Ross trophy and Rocket Richard trophy as the league’s top point scorer and goal getter. Now he’s finally been named a finalist for the Hart trophy as the league’s MVP.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, is waiting to join the Russian national team for hockey’s World Championships. The team, of course, would love to have him, but it’s taking some time to find insurance that will cover his $124 million NHL contract in the event that he is injured.

Former Capitals captain Jeff Halpern, on the other hand, has suffered no such holdup. The Bethesda native had no trouble finding insurance for the paltry six million dollars remaining on his contract. He has even been named Captain of Team USA. Given that Team USA is coached by Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella, our dream of the Capitals trading to get Halpern back from the Lightning is probably not going to come true any time soon. Still, it’s great news for Jeff.

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