Ovechkin offers advice to Matthews, then makes a joke about his former head coach Dale Hunter

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are in Toronto today to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena this evening and, as you might expect, Ovi held court with the media following his game day skate.

First up, Ovi joked with reporters that because he’s getting old, he has to conduct his media responsibilities sitting down now.

Check it out:

Scene: Crowd of media in Toronto surrounds Ovechkin's stall. Ovechkin asks if he should sit or stand. Someone says whatever he wants, he can stay sitting.

Ovechkin: "Thank you guys, thank you. Old body you know? Need to rest all the time."
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) October 29, 2019

When asked about Leafs superstar Auston Matthews though, Ovi gave a surprisingly thoughtful response and even offered up some advice for the youngster. First off, dial up former Caps head coach Dale Hunter, now back with the London Knights, if you want some tips on how to improve your defensive game.

Ovechkin's advice to Auston Matthews' for trying to improve defensively as a young player and what that takes early on:

"I think he should call Dale Hunter and ask him advice."
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) October 29, 2019

Ovi then cut the jokes and offered up some kinds words for Matthews:

Ovechkin, later, continues re Matthews: "He's still young, he is going to be a great player and he is right now. Again, it is good thing like he wants to learn and he wants to be better, so it's nice."
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) October 29, 2019

You know what? Matthews would be wise to listen. Ovechkin is a first ballot Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest pure goal scorer to ever lace ‘em up in the NHL. He’s an absolute workhorse of a player and has been the face of a franchise for nearly two decades. If Matthews can manage even HALF of Ovechkin’s accomplishments over the course of his career, it would be a damn fine career when it’s all said and done.

Thankfully for us as hockey fans though, there’s still a lot more hockey to be played before either of these guys hangs ‘em up. Should be a good one this evening.

Lets go, boys! Puck drop is 7:00pm ET from Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto.