Alex Ovechkin, the legendary captain of the Washington Capitals, isn’t getting any younger at 40 years of age, and he’s also playing in the final season of his current contract, understandably fueling speculation that this could be his final campaign in the NHL.
It was just over one year ago that Ovechkin officially passed Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL’s leading goal scorer in history with 895 goals, but the simple fact is that his best and most productive days are well behind him.
On Sunday, he faced the Pittsburgh Penguins, against whom he’s battled 100 times now, potentially for the final time in his career. What did Ovechkin have to say about the prospects of coming back for one final season in the NHL before his Hall of Fame career comes to an end?
Washington Capitals Icon Alex Ovechkin Officially Addresses His future
Following the game, during which Capitals fans at Capital One Arena chanted repeatedly, “One more year!”, Ovechkin was asked about the potential of making their wishes come true by suiting up for one final season in the NHL.
“I will think about it,” he said.
Ovechkin took the opening face-off against Penguins captain Sidney Crosby as a gesture of respect for the many battles they’ve had over the years against one another.
“As competitors, as athletes, it’s been pretty cool to be able to be part of some big games and that rivalry,” Crosby said. “That’s something that obviously a lot of people have watched and cheered for. Whether you cheered for or against, or whatever it was, it’s something that has been special over that time period and something that I appreciate and hopefully everybody appreciates.”
Last season, not long after Ovechkin broke Gretzky’s record, both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin posed with him at PPG Paints Arena and gifted him an engraved Rolex timepiece.
Alex Ovechkin Has Not Decided His NHL Future Yet
Following the game, which resulted in a Capitals victory to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Penguins players remained on the ice with the intention of forming a line to shake hands with Ovechkin, but he waived them away despite appreciating the gesture.
“Because I don’t decide yet,” Ovechkin explained. “Thanks for them to wait out there, but I’m going to see Sid right now after the interview, and Geno, and we’ll talk.”
The Capitals are facing a potential elimination scenario with their upcoming game against the Columbus Blue Jackets because of the tight standings. If the Philadelphia Flyers were to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, the Capitals will be mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.
That would mean that facing the Blue Jackets on Tuesday could potentially be the last time that Ovechkin laces up the skates in the NHL. But has he given that serious thought?
“Well, we’re in a battle for a playoff spot,” Ovechkin said. “I don’t think about what’s happening in a week or tomorrow. We just have to concentrate on this game.”
Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, has 929 career goals.
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