Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin said he’s “pretty sure” that Tuesday’s season finale at Columbus won’t be his last game, as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer contemplates retirement.
“To be honest with you, I’m pretty sure it’s not my last game. I hope it’s not my last game, against Columbus,” said the 40-year-old captain. “I have to make a decision to see where we’re at. The team, family. The kids are already asking me, ‘Dad, are you staying or no?’ And I tell them, ‘We’ll see.’ They want me to come back. They love the city, they love the team, they love the boys.”
Ovechkin said last week that he would decide on his future in the offseason, after consulting with his family and the Capitals. He reiterated he hadn’t yet spoken with general manager Chris Patrick about his future.
“To be honest with you, I’m pretty sure it’s not my last game. … The team, family. The kids are already asking me, ‘Dad, are you staying or no?’ And I tell them, ‘We’ll see.’ They want me to come back. They love the city, they love the team, they love the boys.”
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin
When asked what he’d like to hear from Patrick, Ovechkin joked: “We want you for two more years. Here’s your contract, sign it.”
Ovechkin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, said he would “probably not” play for another NHL team if he didn’t return to Washington.
He had 32 goals and 32 assists, playing all 82 games for the Capitals in his 21st NHL season. Ovechkin finished the season with 929 career goals in 1,573 games, having passed Wayne Gretzky last year for the most regular-season goals in NHL history.
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Ovechkin wouldn’t reveal a timeline for his decision but said the Capitals’ ability to make the postseason — after failing to qualify this season — and win the Stanley Cup are paramount, alongside considerations about his family and his health.
“In the summer, you have to work your ass off to get better and be in shape. When you’re 20, it’s no big thing. When you’re 40, it’s harder and harder,” said Ovechkin, who revealed he suffered a hamstring injury in the preseason that impacted his season. Ovechkin only scored two goals in the opening month of the season.
If Ovechkin doesn’t return to the NHL, he left open the possibility he could play in the Russian KHL. Ovechkin spent parts of five seasons with Moscow Dynamo, four before he arrived in the NHL and one during a 2012 work stoppage.
The uncertainty about Ovechkin’s future led to some surreal moments in the last two games of Washington’s season. Their home finale on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins featured video tributes to Ovechkin and to his rivalry with Sidney Crosby, as fans chanted “one more year!” during the game. But when Crosby had the Penguins ready for a postgame handshake line with Ovechkin, the Capitals star waved them off.
“I [haven’t] decided yet. Thanks to them for waiting out there,” Ovechkin said.
On Tuesday at the Blue Jackets, who were the first franchise Ovechkin faced in the NHL as a rookie in October 2005, visiting Capitals fans serenaded him with chants and support during Washington’s win.
“I could hear them cheering for me and screaming one more year,” he said.
Now, the Capitals wait for Ovechkin’s decision.
“I never could even come close to wrapping my head around what he’s done over the last three years. He did so many things to defy odds at his age,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “And then getting to know him as a person. How infectious his personality and enthusiasm every day at the rink is. If this ends up being his last year, that’s what I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
