Does Alex Ovechkin play too reckless?

Should he tone it down? 

The hit he put on Brian Campbell of the Chicago Blackhawks may have the multi-million dollar defenseman on the shelf for the rest of the season, and has re-ignited the bi-weekly "what can we do about the speed and physicality of Ovie?" debate.

Maybe he should just crank it up and become the ultimate "heel" out of the old WWF. He could be a Bond-esque villain that loves to be hated, and skate over a puppy's throat before every game just to drive the point home.

One of the concerns with his freight-train style is that it evokes memories of the shortened career of NHL great Bobby Orr. The game's worst nightmare is to be without one of its premier, blue-chip ticket sellers before he gets to his 30's, simply because he refused to protect himself. Combine the danger to himself with the danger to every other opponent in the league, and it becoems a worthy debate. 

So let's have a look at what we think Alex should do. I think we're all aware it doesn't matter – he is who he is. But lets at least take a crack at figuring this debate out:

If Ovechkin is unwilling to compromise his style, here are the "pros":

• More goals (and more highlight-reel goals for the fans)
• More hits (and more highlight-reel hits for the fans)
• Increased stressor on his opponents
• Increased chance of winning
• More fans attracted to the game
• He's the most effective he can possibly be

But what are the CONS of playing like he does now? The few are far too obvious:

• More likely to injure himself
  
• More likely to injure others
• More likely to take penalties and get suspended
• The possibility of shortening his career
• Over-pursuing puts you out of position defensively

The cons, though less in volume, are far more important in consequence. By sacrificing some offense and physical play, Alex could still play a more reasonable, intelligent game ... but nobody wants to see that. 

It would be nice if he could back off on a few "finished checks," but as I mentioned before, how can you expect someone not to go 100 percent in a line of work that requires it?

If you presented this argument to Alex, as others have before, there simply is no debate. He wouldn't even know how to slow down.

So let's admit something to ourselves: When we have this conversation again in three weeks, we need to know that we're getting the only option from the most exciting player in professional hockey. The guy has two gears: "on" and "off." We aren't going to talk him into inventing a third one. You know that, right?

So try as we might, there's just no debate to settle. The Capitals are getting what they paid for, and we're getting what we want to see. All we can do is sit back and watch the destruction, like some kind of intentional, talented car crash on skates.

When the dust settles at the end of his career, let's just pray that nobody has gotten seriously hurt.

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