If healthy, Ovechkin says he will go to the All-Star Game originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The biggest question about the All-Star Game was not if Alex Ovechkin would be selected, but, rather, would he go? Ovechkin was announced as the Metropolitan Team captain for the All-Star Game as the top vote-getter in the fan vote and, on Friday, confirmed that he did intend to go to this year’s event.

“It’s great stuff, you know?” Ovechkin said of the All-Star Game. “You’re gonna see lots of great players out there and obviously I’m going, but you never know what’s going to happen, right?”

This is the 12th time Ovechkin has been selected to the All-Star Game in his career, but he has only participated seven times, declining invitations in recent years due to the desire to rest in preparation for the remainder of the season.

But while Ovechkin did say he intended to go, he also made clear that his health is the priority.

Given the remarkable durability he has shown throughout his career, assuming that Ovechkin will be healthy is normally a safe bet. Now, however, he is dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him out of practice Tuesday and Thursday — Wednesday was an off day — and is something he said he has been dealing with “for a little bit.”

So while Ovechkin was very clear that he intends to go to Las Vegas this year for the All-Star Weekend on Feb. 4 and 5, he did note one important caveat.

“Great. Excited,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously most important thing I have to get healthy and we’ll see from there.”