Alex Ovechkin announced Monday that 2026-27 will be his final season in the NHL. The Washington Capitals captain, 41, has 929 career goals, well clear of Wayne Gretzky’s previous total of 894.
The main development
Ovechkin revealed the decision through a statement released by the Capitals and in a video message to his teammates, which the team posted on social media. “My family and I decided this summer that this will be my final year in the NHL,” Ovechkin wrote, according to Yahoo Sports. “I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it’s the right decision.”
In his locker room address to teammates, Ovechkin kept things light despite the weight of the moment. “It’s sad, but it is what it is,” he said, per FOX Sports. “It’s hard, but let’s enjoy it and let’s do some special things this year.” He added a callback to the team’s Wednesday night home opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins, signing off with “See you Wednesday, babes!”
Ovechkin said timing the announcement before that opener mattered to him personally, according to ESPN. “It was important for me to make this announcement before our first home game, so I have the chance to thank all the people around the game,” he wrote.
What it means for the Capitals
Washington enters the season having retooled its roster around its captain’s final year, adding wingers Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou in an offseason the Capitals also used to prepare for life after Ovechkin. Washington missed the playoffs last season despite Ovechkin’s 32 goals and 64 points in all 82 games, but the Capitals are now considered among the Eastern Conference contenders entering 2026-27.
Coach Spencer Carbery managed Ovechkin’s workload carefully last season, with his average ice time dipping to a career-low 17:27. Expect that trend to continue as Carbery balances a farewell campaign with a roster built to win now.
Ovechkin’s final regular-season home game will come against longtime rival Sidney Crosby, whose career has run parallel to his since both entered the league in 2005. Crosby, 39, has no plans to retire, sources told ESPN, even as he enters the final year of his own contract with Pittsburgh.
A record-setting legacy
Ovechkin broke Gretzky’s previous goal-scoring mark in April 2025. He has won nine Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies as the league’s top goal scorer. He holds the record for most 40-goal seasons with 14 and shares the mark for most 50-goal seasons at nine with Gretzky and Mike Bossy. Last season he recorded his NHL-record 20th 30-goal season and led or co-led the Capitals in goals for the 21st consecutive year.
Beyond the goal-scoring, Ovechkin was the 2005-06 Calder Trophy winner, a three-time Hart Trophy MVP and the Conn Smythe winner in 2018, when he scored 15 goals in 24 playoff games to deliver Washington its only Stanley Cup. This season, Ovechkin and Crosby join Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Stan Mikita and Steve Yzerman as the only players in NHL history to complete 22 seasons with one team.
Ovechkin signed his one-year deal to return to Washington this summer worth $4.25 million in average annual value, with an additional $4.75 million performance bonus triggered once he appears in his 10th game, per ESPN.
What’s next
Ovechkin and the Capitals open their home schedule Wednesday night against Crosby and the Penguins. Washington will spend the season both chasing a playoff spot and celebrating its captain’s farewell. Ovechkin sits 10 goals shy of Gretzky’s combined regular-season and postseason goals total of 1,016, according to the Sporting News.
Reporting from ESPN, Yahoo Sports, FOX Sports and Sporting News contributed to this story.
