Alexander Ovechkin is the best pure goal scorer the NHL has seen in quite a while (if he played 20 years ago, he might’ve scored 100 in a season), but the Capitals are a bit perturbed over a story in MAXIM that portrays Ovechkin as a Skoal chewin’, blond lovin’, fast drivin’ rebel.

An excerpt from the MAXIM story has made its way online, and it’s one of the more ridiculous things you’ll read this year. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the writer was talking about a Russian version of Corey Feldman, circa 1987. He’s breaking all the rules. Yellow lights? Alex doesn’t slow down for those.

Excerpt after the jump:

(excerpt courtesy of PUCK DADDY)

Fock it, indeed, Alex. Sounds very glamorous, until you realize it’s happening in Baltimore. Maybe he picks up Michael Phelps every night and they go cruising for chicks.

PUCK DADDY’s Greg Wyshynski says the Caps are not very happy with the tone of the story, nor the casual reference to chew:

The Capitals told me today they aren’t pleased that the chewing tobacco reference made it into Pat Jordan’s piece, as well as with the general tone of the article. It’s that tone — which portrays Ovechkin somewhere between perturbed and egotistical — that has Caps bloggers dismissing it as trash.

Wyshynski then rightly points out that the writer shouldn’t be blamed for mentioning the tobacco if it’s something he observed. If Alex is stuffing Skoal in his mouth all the time, it would be irresponsible not to mention that in a story about the guy. The writer should, however, be blamed for a cartoonish profile of Ovechkin that Wyshynski says ends like a “Yakov Dice Smirnoff routine.”

Ovechkin is, other than Sidney Crosby, probably the NHL’s most marketable player right now, and some seem to think that the chew habit and his casual dropping of the word “fockink” might not make him the best role model (although use of chewing tobacco is still widespread in baseball).

What does Caps owner Ted Leonsis have to say about all of this? Well, nothing yet. TED’S TAKE is, of course, essential reading around here these days.