Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, 41, announces NHL retirement after this season
Ovechkin said he and his family chose this summer to end his NHL career after 22 seasons and 929 regular-season goals.
- On Monday, 41-year-old Alex Ovechkin announced the 2026-27 season will be his final NHL campaign, sharing the news with Washington Capitals teammates first in a team-posted video.
- Ovechkin signed a one-year deal worth up to $9 million in July with a $4.25 million cap hit to return for his 22nd season, entering this final year with 929 career goals after surpassing Wayne Gretzky's all-time record in April 2025.
- The Moscow native won three Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award titles, nine Maurice Rocket Richard Trophies, and earned the Art Ross Trophy, Calder Trophy, and Mark Messier Leadership Award while helping the Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018.
- In his locker room address, Ovechkin said, "It's hard, but let's enjoy it and let's do some special things this year," emphasizing his focus on making the playoffs with his teammates.
- Representing Russia three times at the Winter Olympics and 13 times at the World Championship, Ovechkin won gold medals in 2008, 2012, and 2014, solidifying his legacy as a Hall of Famer.
250 Articles
250 Articles
Record-breaker Ovechkin says it is his last NHL season
NHL all-time scoring leader Alex Ovechkin on Monday said that the current season would be his last in NHL. The Russian superstar left wing is in his 22nd season with the Washington Capitals, the team he has represented ever since arriving in the US in 2005. Ovechkin, 41, shared the decision first wi
SPORTS SCOPE: End of an NHL era coming for Alex Ovechkin
For more than two decades, Ovechkin has been one of the biggest personalities and most dominant goal scorers the NHL has ever seen. He came into the league in 2005 and immediately became a star, but even then, I don't think anyone could have predicted just how incredible his career would become.
Alexander Ovechkin announced that the 2026/27 season will be his last in the NHL.
The Great 8's Last Lap: Ovechkin Announces Final Season
Alex Ovechkin picked the date on purpose. Twenty-one years to the day after he first stepped onto NHL ice, the Washington Capitals captain announced Monday that the 2026-27 season will be his last in the league. “My family and I decided this summer that this will be my final year in the NHL,” Ovechkin said. […]
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