In a conversation about the Washington Capitals, owner Ted Leonsis gave some unsolicited advice to free agent Bryce Harper: Stay with the Nationals.
“I look at the Nationals right now, and this whole season was, ‘Is Bryce Harper staying or leaving?’ Bryce Harper should stay. Maybe he’ll get a little bit more money from someone else, but he should stay. He should see it through. This is where he’s grown up, the fans love him," Leonsis said in an interview with The Washington Post.
Leonsis was singing the praises of Caps captain Alex Ovechkin and his loyalty to the organization before offering Harper this advice.
"We’re reminiscing on things, and I said, ‘Alex, I admire you and care for you,’ because people don’t understand the integrity of him. It’s easy to just write stuff, but Alex never threatened to leave. He never told me to fire a coach. He never said, ‘This guys sucks, trade him.’ He never asked to be traded. He trusted me. Because he did, (Nick Backstrom) said, ‘Well, if Alex is staying for 13 years, I’m signing a long-term deal,'" Leonsis said.
Ovechkin signed a 13-year, $124 million contract in Jan. 2008. Two and a half years later, Backstrom re-upped as well, to the tune of $67 million over 10 years. This ensured a 10-year window for them to win a Stanley Cup together. It worked.
"And Alex, they didn't threaten (to leave Washington). It was, ‘No, we believe, and we want to stay.’ After that, I said, ‘Well, let’s do your first deal and then your second deal,. He’s got three years left," Leonsis said.
It isn't difficult to see some parallels between the two star players' situations, but only time will tell how similar they remain.
Read the full interview in The Post.
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