‘We just say hello and that’s it’

Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said during the offseason he would continue negotiations with Alex Ovechkin on a new overtime when the team returned from the break. “We’re going to talk when we get back to training camp, continue our conversations (from the end of the season),” MacLellan said.

Before Christmas, MacLellan gave an update and seemed less secure. “[H]luckily we have the chance to do this during the camp.

On Thursday, before the Capitals’ season opener against the Buffalo Sabers, Ovechkin revealed that negotiations never resumed.

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“Alex, I wanted to follow up on the contract issue,” said Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. “I promise I won’t ask you this every day. Have you ever sat down with Mac? “

“No,” Ovechkin said. “We just say hello and that’s it.”

Earlier in the interview, Ovechkin was asked if this season felt any different because he was a free agent at the end of it.

“I’m not 22 when I had to worry about extending my contract,” Ovechkin said. “(I) just have to do my thing. I have to play. I have to win and be in the playoffs and try to do it.

Previously, Ovechkin answered contract questions on the first day of training camp.

“It’s our first day, so I obviously haven’t seen it,” Ovechkin said. “But we have a lot of time.

“I don’t think we are in a rush,” he added. “We understand everything that’s going on right now, so whatever gets done gets done. We will talk and see.

Ovechkin, 35, is in the final year of a 13-year, $ 124 million contract he signed in 2008. Both parties in the past year – the organization (Ted Leonsis, Brian MacLellan) and the player – have publicly declared that they like to make a deal.