Alex Ovechkin Focused on the Season Decision to Come After
Nobody knows what the future is going to hold for the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin. Despite a little error at the beginning of the season, Ovechkin has not said one way or another if the 2025-26 season will be his last in the NHL.
Ovechkin is a pending unrestricted free agent, meaning he is in the last year of a five-year, $47.5 million deal that he signed on July 27, 2021. In 68 games this season, he has 51 points (24 goals and 27 assists). Ovechkin has gone through bouts of inconsistency this season, scoring goals, but similar to Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ovechkin will have as much time as needed to make a decision.
Given the fact that John Carlson was traded from the Capitals to the Anaheim Ducks, Ovechkin has a lot running through his mind. But as he told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com following the trade deadline, the trade affected him, but he isn’t sure if it will go into his decision to continue or not.
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“I don’t know,” Ovechkin said. “I’m still here, so we’ll see. We’ll see what’s going to happen, but, yeah, it’s a hard one.”
As Washington Capitals General Manager Chris Patrick told Dan Rosen and EJ Hradek on First Shift on NHL Network on Tuesday, the future of Alex Ovechkin with the Capitals is up to him, and it is status quo. When he is ready to make a decision, he will let the Capitals know.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Dan Rosen: “We talked about John Carlson. Obviously, there’s another guy hanging over here in Alex Ovechkin, and what his future might be. While I don’t expect you to break news right here, you can, if you’d like to, what is just, what’s the update? What’s the latest that you really can share?”
Chris Patrick: “Yeah and being completely transparent, it’s kind of status quo. He still is kind of just approaching this the season as he’s playing the games and trying to get the team into the playoffs. And he wants to have some conversations, both with his family and with Ted (Leonsis) and Brian (MacLellan) and me. So he hasn’t fully gone through his process yet, so we’re respecting that. And when the time is right and when he’s ready, he’ll let us know.”
EJ Hradek: “Big decisions for everybody involved.”
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This is a feeling similar to the one he had following the March 6th trade deadline.
“Alex and I will just talk about what happened and he’ll be able to vent if he wants to vent,” Patrick said. “I have no sense on what he’s feeling. The great thing about Alex is he’s pretty singularly focused on his team, on his teammates, on playing games and on trying to win, and that’s all he’s been doing.”
As the Washington Capitals fight for their playoff lives, all eyes will be on Alex Ovechkin once the season is over.
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