Alex Ovechkin has one year remaining on his current contract with the Washington Capitals. He fully intends to play out that campaign, but questions continue to linger about his future beyond that.
In recent days, a Caps’ corporate sales department member sent out an email to a select group of season-ticket holders, stating that the 2025-26 season would be Ovechkin’s last. Then, Ovechkin’s wife, Nastya Ovechkina, gave an interview in Russia saying the family would return to their home country for good after Ovechkin’s “last season next year.”
In the latest chapter of the “will he or won’t he” saga, a source close to Ovechkin tells RG Media’s Sergey Demidov that the Capitals captain has not yet decided on whether he’ll stick around in DC past next season or not.
“Alex has not made a decision to retire from the NHL in 2026,” the source told Demidov. “His position remains the same – he has a contractual obligation to play the 2025-26 NHL season, after which he will decide whether to remain with Washington or not.”
The source’s information aligns with what Capitals PR stated in their response to the fallout of the erroneous email.
“No decision has been made on Alex Ovechkin’s future following the 2025-26 NHL season,” the team wrote. “An email was sent from an individual with the corporate sales department that mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin’s final year.”
Demidov says that Ovechkin has not made any statements on his own, outside of confirming he will play next year during his Breakdown Day media availability, and adds that he will not be available to the media again until mid-July. The Ovechkin family is headed off to their annual vacation in Turkey later this week.
“Alex has always been honest with himself and the hockey community,” the source adds. “If he feels he can no longer play at the highest level, he won’t continue playing just for the sake of staying.”
Ovechkin, who will turn 40 in September, continued to produce at a high level in his age-39 season, tying for the third-most goals in the league in 2024-25 and recording a total of 73 points (44g, 29a) in 65 games. If he hadn’t missed 16 games with a broken leg, he likely would have notched his 10th career 50-goal season, setting a new NHL record.
The Capitals excelled as a team alongside Ovechkin, finishing atop the Eastern Conference with their first 50-win season since the 2016-17 campaign. With the Caps now a likely perennial playoff team under head coach Spencer Carbery, Ovechkin could be convinced to stick around.
“If next year he continues to play at the same level, and the Capitals offer him a worthy contract, there wouldn’t be many reasons for Alexander to refuse,” the unnamed source said. “However, any decision will ultimately be made by Ovechkin himself, but only next year.”
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