Alex Ovechkin’s future beyond the NHL has become a recurring topic since the Washington Capitals captain acknowledged this summer that he intends to finish his playing career where it all began.
The 41-year-old remains under contract with Washington after signing a one-year, $4.25 million extension in July, and he has not committed to 2026-27 being his final NHL season. Still, Ovechkin’s repeated comments about eventually returning to Dynamo Moscow have only fueled anticipation in Russia.
So much so that the excitement about Ovechkin’s potential homecoming has now reached Dynamo Moscow’s brass, with the club already looking beyond Ovechkin’s final years in North America.
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Speaking to Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov, Dynamo CEO Anatoly Kharchuk revealed he recently met with Ovechkin and delivered a personal message about the future.
“I met with (Ovechkin) recently, and I said, ‘It was 2004, your Super League championship season; we worked together then,'” Kharchuk said. “‘Oddly enough, I’ve just returned, and you’ve already said several times that you might retire at Dynamo. This time, Sasha, I’ll definitely be waiting for you! And I’ll make sure we finish this magnificent story together.'”
Kharchuk also outlined how Dynamo intends to approach Ovechkin’s eventual return to Russia’s KHL, promising Ovechkin that the franchise would build its roster around the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer.
“There are mega-people like Sasha Ovechkin in various fields,” Kharchuk said. “And it’s precisely around people like him that teams are always built. If Sasha returns, I think we’ll work to build a team around him. Because Sasha is a truly extraordinary individual.”
Ovechkin revealed on July 18 that he indeed plans to play ice hockey for the last time in his career back in his native Russia. “My last game in hockey will be for Dynamo Moscow,” he said.
“Sasha has never let go of his finger on the pulse of his hometown club, and he never will,” Kharchuk said. “And if Ovechkin returns to Dynamo, it will be a colossal success for all of our hockey. And for Dynamo, first and foremost.”
The Capitals superstar developed in Dynamo’s academy, debuted professionally with the club as a teenager, and returned during the 2012-13 NHL lockout before helping the team capture the Gagarin Cup.
