Honestly, does it surprise anyone that Alexander the Great inked the richest deal in franchise and league history?

The Washington Capitals announced yesterday that Ovechkin signed a 13-year, $124-million dollar contract that will have him in a Caps uniform until he is 35. It’s not quite as long as Rick DiPietro’s 15-year deal but it’s certainly richer as reports have the first 6 years paying the young Russian forward $9m a season and then $10m a season for the remainder.

Now maybe all the “Ovechkin Trade!” rumors will go away. Let’s face it, Ovechkin wasn’t going anywhere. Even if a deal wasn’t signed by July, the Capitals had the option to match any offer sheet thrown his way and they would match it regardless of amount. Losing their franchise player, possibly the best player to ever wear a Caps uniform would’ve been devastating. Second only perhaps to Sidney Crosby, Ovechkin is the most marketable player in the league.

A lot of people are probably wondering why Alexander the Great is being paid more than Sid the Kid even though the latter is the reigning scoring champ and league MVP. This comes down to several factors, really. There’s absolutely no doubt that the Penguins would’ve signed Crosby for similar money given the chance but the Penguins and Capitals are very different teams right now. The Penguins have what I like to call “The Scottie Pippen Conundrum”, where they’ve drafted one world class player after the next and now have a team full of budding superstars. Crosby attracts most of the attention but let’s not forget about Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney and Marc-Andre Fleury as well as up-and-commer Kris Letang. Malkin and Fleury will surely demand superstar money when their years are up so Crosby has to accept a bit of a discount to hold the team together as long as possible.

Washington doesn’t have the same problem, really. No offense to Alexander Semin and Niklas Backstrom but the Capitals will be near the bottom-of-the-barrel for a few more years, especially if the underrated Olaf Kolzig retires anytime soon.

- In other news, the Dallas Stars re-signed Mike Ribeiro to a $25m, 5-year extension. Ribeiro wasn’t spectacular last year, putting up 59 points in 81 games but this year, he’s on a tear with 48 points in 43, on pace for a career year. Honestly, I never liked this guy after that whole incident when he still played in Montreal where he collapsed on the ice and then laughed when everyone in the building showed concern for his well-being but if he continues to put up the stats, this signing will be a bargain for the Stars. However, if he returns to his usual 50-60 points a year, then the Stars will have added another overpaid member to their lineup.

- Speaking of bargains, how about the deal the Detroit Red Wings got for veteran netminder Chris Osgood at an average of $1.5m over the next three years. Sure, he isn’t getting any younger at 34 but he’s 19-2-2 for the year and owns the leagues best save percentage. That’s one hell of a deal and the almighty Red Wings still have over $5m in salary cap space, which is no small wonder considering they have two top d-men getting $6m or more. However, this will probably end next year when they’ll most likely offer an extension to Henrik Zetterberg. Hell, maybe the ageless Dominik Hasek is up for another season too.

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The Steve Downie sucker punch on Jason Blake is getting most of the headlines but it wasn’t the only incident of the game, which also saw Derian Hatcher go after Alexander Steen for an open-ice hit and smoking Joffrey Lupul in the process. I don’t know what he’s thinking but do the Flyers really need more trouble than they’re already in? Another leaving-your-feet hit? Flyer’s management must have a serious headache right now.

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Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they were placing goaltender Marc Denis on waivers and earlier today, the Chicago Blackhawks did the same with winger Sergei Samsonov.

Denis was once one of the most promising young goalies in the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets, touted as a “goalie of the future”, shouldering a workhorse load in 2002-03 with 77 starts and put up decent numbers considering how horrible the CBJ were in years past. He was supposed to fill the void left by Nikolai Khabibulin, who left for Chicago after winning the Stanley Cup with the Bolts back in 2004. However, Denis has never really found any consistency and has yet to put up a winning record nine seasons into his career.

He is 1-5-0 with a .859 save percentage and over 4GAA, which are terrible numbers on any team, especially when you’re making close to $3m a season in the new, salary-capped NHL. The emergence of Kari Ramo as a capable goaltender that can be relied upon or at least split starts with the struggling Johan Holmqvist made Marc Denis expendable. I highly doubt anyone will take a chance on him and claim him off waivers. If he’s lucky, he might get another shot at the NHL level but for considerably less money next year. I’d consider him much more likely to go play somewhere in Europe.

Same goes for Sergei Samsonov. Although he put up some very respectable numbers in Boston, where he won the Calder trophy for Rookie of the Year in 1998, and also a good Cup run with Edmonton in 05-06, Samsonov’s point totals dropped considerably in Montreal last season where he had just 26 points in 63 games before being dumped to the press box and eventually waivers. He’s been a healthy scratch for several games this year for the Blackhawks, who really don’t need him with bright young stars like Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane duking it out for this year’s Calder. Samsonov doesn’t seem like much of a mentor type either and has just four points this year.

He’ll probably be on recall soon enough but even at half of his current $3.5m salary, he’s not worth it and it is unlikely that anyone will pick him up.

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The general consensus is no.

The NHL handed out the longest suspension in league history today when they suspended Chris Simon of the New York Islanders for thirty games. A few longer suspensions — including a lifetime ban — have been handed out before, but not in the NHL. And this isn’t the first time that “enforcer” Chris Simon has been sent away from the ice either.

This time around, Simon first tripped and then stepped on the ankle of Jarkko Ruutu with his skate. It’s clear enough that this was a blatant attempt to injure, and while Ruutu isn’t the cleanest player in the league either, Chris Simon is just plain dirty. Absolutely despicable. It’s almost beside the point that Jarkko managed to walk it off and continue to play, because if Simon’s skate blade dug a little deeper and perhaps a little higher, Ruutu’s Achilles tendon could have been cut. That’s not good.

It’s also clear enough that Chris Simon simply does not learn. He has a horrible issue with anger management, seeing how this is the eighth suspension of his career. In fact, he got a 25-game suspension earlier this year. What the hell is wrong with this guy?

A 30-game suspension simply is not enough to deter the 35-year-old (soon to be 36). The Islanders are already bottom-feeding in their division, so they don’t need this bad press to go with it either. I’m almost inclined to say that the NHL should have ended Chris Simon’s season and mandate some sort of anger management class.

Jesse Boulerice got 25 games earlier this season. Whether Boulerice’s act or Simon’s act was worse is up to debate, but when you consider that Chris Simon is a repeat offender with a mean streak, something had to be done. The league should have made an example of him. Thirty games? That’s a drop in the bucket. Who will want Chris Simon now? He’s not even an effective enforcer anymore.

Oh, and in case you didn’t see the Simon-Ruutu incident, here’s a clip from YouTube.

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We knew it was just a matter of time before one of the Ducks was shipping out with Scott Niedermayer announcing his return but few expected it would be speedy centerman, Andy McDonald. McDonald posted 78 points last year and was integral to Anaheim’s Stanley Cup run. However, the 30-year old has only 16 points (4-12-16) so far this season, hit hard by the absence of linemate Teemu Selanne and Niedermayer. Fast players need others with speed to play alongside and although Todd Bertuzzi has the talent, he’s no Finnish Flash.

McDonald was in the middle of a 3-year, $10m contract.

In return, the Ducks receive veteran forward Doug Weight, who has 11 points in 29 games this season. Weight is to receive $3.5m this season but is a UFA next year. The Ducks have the cap space for Niedermayer to return this year so this move is to free up salary cap space in order to re-sign RFA Corey Perry as well. The Ducks also receive prospect Michal Birner and a seventh round pick in the 2008 entry draft.

McDonald is the one who benefits most from this trade as he may regain some of his scoring form with new teammates in St. Louis, especially if he plays with equally speedy Paul Kariya. I wouldn’t expect much from 39-year old Weight, as this is probably one of his last seasons in the NHL.

This also ensures that Brian Burke retains the deepest blueline in the NHL, featuring Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Matthieu Schnieder, Francois Beauchemin and Sean O’Donnell. That is a lot of firepower on the back end. With Niedermayer’s return, expect Schnieder to move to the second unit power play, although we did see a three-defenseman setup last year as well.

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