Ovechkin may be wrapping up career with Capitals, Gulitti says

Alex Ovechkin's future took center stage on the latest edition of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast.

In the wake of Ovechkin’s announcement Wednesday that he would decide his future in the offseason, NHL.com senior writer Tom Gulitti discussed the career of the legendary Washington Capitals forward and what could come next. 

Gulitti, who covers the Capitals for NHL.com and has covered Ovechkin for the past 10 years, joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke to discuss Ovechkin's future, including the possibility of this week being his final week with the team.

The 40-year-old Capitals captain said in an interview posted by the team on social media Wednesday that he will wait until the offseason to decide if this is going to be his last season in the NHL.

Gulitti, when asked for his gut feeling on what the future holds, said that he's felt all season that this most likely would be Ovechkin's final one in the League and the announcement Wednesday did not change the equation

Ovechkin is in the final season of a five-year, $47.5 million contract ($9.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Capitals in 2021.

In addition to talking about Ovechkin and his future, Gulitti discussed the state of the Capitals with Rosen and Roarke. They are five points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with four games to play, including against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, MNMT).

The Capitals play a home-and-home with the Pittsburgh Penguins this coming weekend. Gulitti will be covering both games, at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, TVAS) and at Capital One Arena on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, MNMT, truTV, TNT, SN360, TVAS).

The podcast also features discussions with the co-hosts and Gulitti on why the New York Islanders changed coaches Sunday, hiring Peter DeBoer after firing Patrick Roy, and if they can make up three points in the final four games to get into the playoffs.

They dive into the decision by the New Jersey Devils to part ways with general manager Tom Fitzgerald, and debate what the future holds there, with Rosen saying he thinks the Devils will be filling three positions during the offseason: president of hockey operations, GM and coach.

The playoff races in both conferences, including why the Vegas Golden Knights should be considered the favorite on the Pacific Division side of the Western Conference bracket, also are part of the discussion.

The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.