Ovechkin says decision on NHL future will come in offseason

Alex Ovechkin will wait until the offseason to decide whether this will be his final season in the NHL, the Washington Capitals captain said in an interview posted by the team on social media.

The 40-year-old left wing is nearing the end of his 21st NHL season and is in the final season of a five-year, $47.5 million contract ($9.5 million average annual value) he signed with Washington in 2021. That’s led to speculation throughout this season about whether this will be the NHL’s all-time leader in goals’ last in the League.

“When you love something, you do it with heart,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, I love playing hockey, I love scoring goals. … We’re going to make a decision in the summer. I have to talk to my family, with Ted (owner Ted Leonsis), (general manager Chris Patrick), (president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan). I have to make a decision in the summer.

“… I’m going to be 41 in September. You just have to be smart about it.”

Ovechkin told NHL.com after returning from the Olympic break in February he had yet to talk with his family, owner Ted Leonsis and general manager Chris Patrick about his future and, with his focus on trying to help the Capitals qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he “probably” wouldn’t make his decision until after the season.

The Capitals are still alive in the playoff race with four regular-season games remaining, including, potentially, Ovechkin’s final game in Canada against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, MNMT). Washington (39-30-9) trails the Philadelphia Flyers by five points for third in the Metropolitan Division and the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

The Capitals qualified for the playoffs in 16 of Ovechkin’s 20 previous NHL seasons, including the past two. They have taken a step back, though, after a magical 2024-25 season when they were 51-22-9 and finished first in the East with 111 points before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.

The most memorable moment of last season was Ovechkin breaking the NHL goal record when he scored No. 895 on April 6, 2025, against the New York Islanders to surpass Wayne Gretzky. Since then, Ovechkin has increased his total to 928, including a team-leading 31 goals in 78 games this season.

Ovechkin is 10th in NHL history with 1,684 points in 1,569 regular-season games, including a team-leading 61 points season.

He has 77 playoff goals and became the second in NHL history to reach 1,000 total goals, joining Gretzky (1,016) when he scored against the Colorado Avalanche on March 22.

The Moscow, Russia native was the fourth player in NHL history to score 30 goals at age 40 or older, joining Gordie Howe (44 in 1968-69, 31 in 1969-70), Johnny Bucyk (36 in 1975-76), and Teemu Selanne (31 in 2010-11). He has at least 30 goals an NHL-record 20 times. The only time Ovechkin didn’t reach 30 was when he scored 24 in 45 games during the 2020-21 season that was abbreviated to 56 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ovechkin also holds the NHL record for 40-goal seasons with 14 and is tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most 50-goal seasons (nine). He is second in 20-goal seasons with 21, behind Howe, who had 22.

Selected by Washington with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Ovechkin has won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for leading the NHL in goals a League-record nine times. He scored 52 goals in 81 games as a 20-year-old in 2005-06 to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year.

Ovechkin won the Art Ross Trophy for leading the NHL in points in 2007-08 when he had 112 (65 goals, 47 assists) in 82 games to help Washington reach the playoffs for the first time in his career. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2012-13 and the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP in the playoffs in 2018 after leading Washington to its first Stanley Cup championship.

In addition to being the NHL’s all-time leader in goals, Ovechkin also holds League records for power-play goals (331), game-winning goals (141), overtime goals (27) and empty-net goals (71).