NHL insider Bob McKenzie with an update on Alex Ovechkin's NHL future

At some point this season Washington Capitals fans are going to have to come to terms with the fact that their captain and franchise icon Alex Ovechkin is a pending free agent and has the power to leave the team completely high and dry this upcoming offseason. Ovechkin is in the final year of a 13 year, $124 million contract and is slated to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. But here's the thing...

According to NHL insider Bob McKenzie of TSN and NBC there is "mutual interest for the two sides to work out a deal." In other words, don't expect Ovi to bail on DC anytime soon. Ovechkin wants to play for the Capitals and the Capitals are happy to have him back, it's just a matter of sorting out the details. McKenzie reports that the Capitals are amenable to a contract extension but that because they're capped out and because Ovechkin's next deal begins at 36 years old, the team is wary of committing big dollars.

McKenzie also reports that Ovechkin (who represents himself without an agent) and Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan met earlier this season and agreed to table talks until later in the season. It is expected they could revisit the talks sometime around April.

For what it's worth, McKenzie never reported that a return to Russia and the KHL is an option for Ovechkin at this point.