OPINION: Fans Of Alexander Ovechkin Should Not Try To Ruin Jack McBain's Life

Alex Ovechkin is now 27 goals away from setting the all-time NHL goal scoring record. He's about to pass Wayne Gretzky. At the start of the year, people thought he might have a shot at it. Or that maybe it would take into next year as well. But then Ovechkin scored 15 goals in 18 games. Leading the NHL in goals at 39-years old. One of the more incredible things we've ever seen in the history of hockey. 

Then he collided knees with Jack McBain. Now Ovechkin is injured, listed as week-to-week. As you might expect, Capitals fans are not handling it great.

I'm certainly not equating sending Jack McBain mean replies on Instagram to "ruining his life". But we've all seen this happen before. We all know the direction this can go. And where there's smoke there's fire. I'm not personally in Jack McBain's DM's. But if you consider the reaction to Ovechkin's injury last night. If you take a quick look at the public comments under his most recent Instagram picture...

It would be shocking if there weren't more than a few threats of death's in the DM's. 

Yeah they're definitely threatening his life in there.

Take a deep breath everybody. There's simply no need for death threats. No need to inform Jack that you know the names of his closest friends and family members. That you know where they work and go to school. That you connected with one of them on LinkedIn and you could set up an in-person appointment to "go over life insurance policies" at the drop of a hat. You don't need to let him know the contents of your gun cabinet.

Now if you've already done any of those things, that's ok. I don't condone it, but online death threats are for the most part ignored nowadays. You'll probably get away with it if you leave it at that. I mean, who among us hasn't terrorized a collegiate kicker after he fucked up your $10 parlay. If you don't go any further, I'm sure it will all blow over.

But if at some point today you found yourself perusing the Master Address Repository on SLC.gov searching the last name "McBain".. then maybe step away from your computer for a bit. If you're already past that point, and you are in possession of Jack McBain's home address, you can still just get rid of it. You don't have to pass it on to a member of the KGB. Or take a few hundred mg's of Adderall and white knuckle the 30 hour drive to Salt Lake City so you can set fire to his gazebo. 

I know how it feels to be angry about sports. When you feel like you've been done wrong by another player, team, or even an analyst. Earlier today I felt the urge to construct an axe throwing range in my backyard and stick Brandon Walker's face on all the targets. Then play videos of him saying, "Indiana Football is a great story bUt tHeiR sChEDule…" on a loop while I fire my axes repeatedly into his big dumb South Eastern Conference face. I promise I can relate. And there's something especially upsetting about an injury. When you feel like a player intentionally hurt one of yours. Especially when they're on the verge of greatness like Alex Ovechkin or the Indiana Hoosiers. That brings out a special type of rage. But you can't act on it. You have to be a rational adult and bottle that shit up inside until someday it all comes boiling to the surface and you take it out on a person you love.

And lets be real. For one, Jack McBain didn't intentionally do shit. This 24-year old player early in his career is not out there gunning for Alex Ovechkin's knee in an effort to thwart his quest to be the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. It was whatever the hockey equivalent of a bang-bang play is. At VERY worst he dragged his leg for a little long. That doesn't mean he was set out to snap his femur in half. 

For two. Even if Jack McBain did blatantly try to injure Ovechkin. You have Tom fucking Wilson on your team. You can't in good faith begrudge little ol' Jack McBain when you're willfully cheering on Tom Wilson, who has a full library of "trying to injure other players" highlight reels on the internet.

And he already took care of the retaliation to Jack McBain last night.

If anything, maybe blame Tom Wilson for the bad karma he put out into the world.

One more time, for good measure, I'm not accusing any fans of ordering the necessary tools to make a pipe bomb off the dark web, then applying for a front desk job at the JW Marriot so that next time The Utah Hockey Club comes to town you'll know exactly which room he's staying in. Just take a deep breath. It will all be ok. There's no need for death threats of any kind. Ovi will be back in no time to shatter that bitch Wayne Gretzky's goal record. Nobody will even remember Jack McBain's name a year from now. And hopefully that's not because Putin quietly made him disappear.