NHL’s all-time leading goalscorer Alex Ovechkin to retire after 22nd season
Alex Ovechkin said on Monday in his locker room address that his 22nd season in the NHL will be his last, beginning a farewell tour for the longtime Washington Capitals captain who holds the league’s career goalscoring record. He told his teammates of the decision before the Capitals posted a message from the Russian star on social media and added: "It's sad, but it is what it is."
Ovechkin turned 41 in September and signed a one-year contract this past summer; he said he and his family decided in recent months that this would be the end of his career. He also told teammates and the media, "I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it's the right decision." Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's goals record in April 2025 and entered this season at 929 career goals.
The Capitals' front office added Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch in trades and signed Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais in free agency as reinforcements around a young core in the hope of mounting another long playoff run. Ovechkin urged the group to seize the season, saying: "We have an unbelievable team this year. Let's make the playoffs, let's have fun and enjoy the moment because times fly."
Ovechkin has spent his entire NHL career with Washington, winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2005-06, the Hart Trophy as MVP three times and leading the league in scoring nine times. He was named playoff MVP in 2018 when he led the Capitals to the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.
There has been speculation that Ovechkin could face unfriendly receptions on the road after appearing in an advertisement aligned with Vladimir Putin during the offseason, and Ovechkin confirmed he would be going back to live in Russia when he retired. Reports noted there was not much sign of adverse treatment during the first two games of the season, at Carolina and at Tampa Bay.
In Washington's season-opening win over the Hurricanes, Ovechkin logged just under 13 minutes of ice time, the lowest of his career in a game when he was not injured or ejected. The Capitals missed the playoffs in 2025-26; Ovechkin played all 82 games that year and scored 32 goals, and he has reached 30 goals in every season of his career except 2020-21, when he played 45 games.
The Capitals drafted Ovechkin No 1 overall in 2004, and he and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby emerged as stars in 2005 when the league returned after a lockout season. Ovechkin scored a career-high 65 goals in his third season, which earned him his first Hart Trophy, and Washington won the Presidents' Trophy three times but fell short in the playoffs before the 2018 Cup run. In four postseason meetings between Crosby and Ovechkin — in 2009, 2016, 2017 and 2018 — the winner of the series went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Ovechkin's retirement announcement comes as the Capitals prepare for their home opener on Wednesday night, the next scheduled milestone of his final season.