Ovechkin to return for 22nd season, signs 1-year contract with Capitals

Alex Ovechkin is coming back to add to his NHL-record goal total and take another shot at winning the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin will return for a 22nd NHL season after the Capitals announced the left wing signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract on Thursday.

“I’m back!” Ovechkin said. “Thank you to everyone for giving me and my family the time to make this decision. I’m healthy. I love playing hockey and competing to win. I’m excited to come back and join my teammates so we can fight for a playoff spot and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!”

Ovechkin, who became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after the five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021 expired, took some time after last season to figure out if he wanted to continue playing in the NHL with his 41st birthday approaching on Sept. 17. 

Capitals general manager Chris Patrick said on June 27 that he expected to talk with Ovechkin, “in the near future and get a good sense of where he's at.”

Ovechkin was apparently a very interested observer when Washington added three-time 30-goal-scorers Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch in separate trades on June 23 and 24, respectively, as part of an aggressive offseason attempt to upgrade its roster after missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

“I know Alex, as you guys all know, is a really competitive person and he wants to win,” Patrick said on June 27. “So, I think he definitely wanted to see kind of what we did here in this off-season and help inform his decision. So, I think this will help give him some more information to make a decision on.”

Ovechkin demonstrated he could still produce at a high level last season, leading the Capitals with 32 goals to increase his NHL-record career total to 929. He also led Washington with 64 points while not missing a regular-season game for the sixth time in his career.

Washington (43-30-9) missed the playoffs, though, finishing three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division and four points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. Selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, Ovechkin helped the Capitals qualify for the postseason in 16 of his first 21 seasons and captained them to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018.

During the Capitals’ end-of-season media availability on April 16, Ovechkin cited having the chance to play in the playoffs and contend for the Stanley Cup among the factors he wanted to discuss with Patrick, team president Brian MacLellan and owner Ted Leonsis.

“Obviously, if I want to come back, it has to be a decision on, first of all, we’re going to make the playoffs and we have to fight for a Cup,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest thing. Otherwise, if you take different scenarios, like family-wise, health-wise.

“But team-wise, this is the most important thing for me.”

At the time, Ovechkin seemed to be leaning toward returning, saying multiple times after the Capitals’ 2-1 win in their season finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 14, “I hope it’s not my last game.”

Ovechkin said his sons, Sergei, 7, and, Ilya, 5, didn’t want it to be his last game either.

“Kids are already asking, ‘Daddy, are you staying or not?” he said. “I tell them, ‘We’ll see.’ They’re excited. They want me to come back because they love the city and they love the team and they love the boys.”

In addition to being the NHL’s all-time leader in goals, after surpassing Wayne Gretzky (894) when he scored his 895th goal on April 6, 2025 against the New York Islanders, Ovechkin owns a host of other League records. He also ranks first in NHL history in power-play goals (331), game-winning goals (141), overtime goals (27), empty-net goals (72), 30-goal seasons (20), 40-goal seasons (14) and 50-goal seasons (nine – tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy).

He’s won the Rocket Richard Trophy for leading the NHL in goals a record nine times and ranks 10th in NHL history with 1,686 points in 1,572 regular-season games. He is second in Capitals history with 758 assists, behind Nicklas Backstrom's 762.

Ovechkin has also scored 77 goals in the playoffs, including a League-leading 15 during the Capitals’ run to the Cup in 2018, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the postseason. His combined total of 1,006 goals is second in NHL history, 10 behind Gretzky, who had 1,016.

That record appears likely to fall now, too.

This season, the Moscow, Russia, native became 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). The only season he didn’t reach 30 goals was 2020-21. He scored 24 goals in 45 games that season, which was abbreviated to 56 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ovechkin scored 52 goals in 81 games as a 20-year-old rookie in 2005-06 to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.

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 three times (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13), was voted to the NHL First All-Star Team eight times (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2018-19).