It’s official: Alex Ovechkin is calling it a career after this season.
Ovechkin, the longtime captain of the Washington Capitals and the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, informed his teammates on Monday morning that the 2026-27 season will be his last. The 41-year-old forward is currently playing his 22nd season in the NHL and is in his 26th season playing professional hockey.
“This is going to be my last year,” Ovechkin said to his teammates. “Like, I’m pretty sure it’s for me, for my family, it’s very important to you guys to know first. Yeah, it’s sad, but it is what it is.
“We have an unbelievable team this year, and 82 games left,” Ovechkin continued. “Let’s make the playoffs, let’s have fun, and enjoy the moment because, you know times fly… it seems like yesterday I was here my first year, and right now this is my 22nd year. And it goes like [snaps fingers] this. It’s hard, but let’s enjoy it and let’s do some special thing this year.”
The Capitals additionally released a written statement from Ovechkin, who came to the decision with his family over the summer. Ovechkin made it a priority to announce his retirement before Washington’s home opener, which will be on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it’s the right decision,” Ovechkin said.
Considered a can’t-miss prospect in Russia, Ovechkin was selected first overall by the Capitals in the 2004 NHL Draft. Despite having his age-19 season wiped out by the 2004-05 NHL lockout, he universally impressed in 2005-06 by scoring 52 goals and tallying 106 points to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year.
After another strong season in 2006-07, Ovechkin cemented himself as hockey’s premier goal scorer in 2007-08. He won his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy with a career-high and league-leading 65 goals and captured the Art Ross Trophy by leading the NHL with 112 points (also a career-best); he won both the Hart Memorial Trophy (NHL MVP) and the Lester B. Pearson Award (now the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the NHL’s most outstanding player from the NHLPA) after the season.
While Ovechkin’s highest point totals came in his first five seasons, his goal totals remained remarkably consistent. Outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, he has scored at least 30 goals in every season of his career. Renowned for his one-timer from the left faceoff circle (known as Ovechkin’s Office), Ovechkin has more goal-scoring titles than any other player in history with nine; he is the only player ever with 14 seasons of 40 or more goals and is tied with Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most 50-goal seasons with nine.
Ovechkin’s trophy cabinet is sizeable with three Hart Trophies (2008, 2009 and 2013), and three Pearson/Lindsay Awards (2008, 2009 and 2010) in addition to the Calder Trophy and nine Rocket Trophies, but his most prized awards came in 2018. After years of playoff disappointment, Ovechkin dominated the 2018 playoffs with 15 goals and 27 points in 24 games as he captained the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. His incredible playoff run earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and his long-awaited Cup hoist is one of the most iconic moments in hockey’s past decade.
On April 6, 2025, Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leader in goals with his 895th tally; it took him the same amount of games as Gretzky (1,487) to reach the total, cementing himself as the greatest goal scorer in the history of hockey. Ovechkin has since become the inaugural member of the 900-goal club, and it’s unlikely that anyone else will join him considering Gretzky’s record was previously considered unbreakable.
As of Monday, Ovechkin has 929 goals and 1,688 points to his name in 1,575 regular season games, all with the Capitals. He is still looking for his first goal of the season two games in, but hockey fans will eagerly follow his farewell campaign and wonder when he will find the back of the net for the final time.
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