Alexander Ovechkin's Suspension

Now that Alexander Ovechkin has served his two-game suspension for his clavicle-breaking hit on the Chicago Blackhawks' Brian Campbell, it's as good a time as any to take another look at Ovechkin as a player. He's beloved in the district, but he's slowly acruing a reputation as a borderline-dirty player around the league. Is it deserved? First of all, here's the hit, in case you missed it.

For this, Ovechkin was suspended for Tuesday's 7-3 drumming of the Panther's and yesterday's overtime loss to the Hurricanes. In a sport where fighting is considered part of the game and does not automatically result in ejection, it's hard to believe that a push should carry with it such a harsh reaction. Clearly, Campbell's injury -- he suffered broken rib, a concussion and a broken clavicle and may miss the remainder of the season -- played into the league's decision. But should it have? Ovechkin couldn't have known at the time what the result of the play would be, and it seems arbitrary to punish people for how a play turned out rather than for their actions during the play.

At the same time, this isn't Ovechkin's first rodeo. Earlier in the season, he was suspended for two games for a knee-on-knee hit on Carolina's Tim Gleason.

Ovechkin's response to his most recent suspension has been to express regret without apologizing for his play style. He said he was "disappointed" with the suspension, according to a statement released by the team, and that he does not plan to change the way he plays.

"Every time I have the honor to play for my team, I will continue to do what I have done since I was taught to play," he said in the statement. "I will play hard, play with passion and play with respect for my teammates, opponents and fans. I look forward to returning to my team and doing everything I can to be the best player I can be."

But Ovechkin should change the way he plays, if not for anyone else than for himself. A league official called Ovechkin's check in the March 14 game "reckless" and it is hard to argue otherwise. Ovechkin injured himself as well as Gleason from the knee-on-knee hit in November, and continuing to play this way could endanger his own career as well as others -- either as a result of more suspensions or injuries.

As the Washington Post's Mike Wise puts it, "But the more he takes runs at people who are nowhere near the puck, the more taking another player out from behind becomes acceptable and palatable ... the more chance that Alex Ovechkin isn't going to be around as long as anyone thinks."