Hockey's greatest goal-scorer isn't in a rush to hang up his skates.
Speaking with reporters on Monday after signing a one-year deal that will keep him with the Washington Capitals, Alex Ovechkin did not rule out returning for the 2027-28 season.
"We will see," the 40-year-old said. "Right now, I'm focused on coming back to D.C. and (showing) that I'm still a good player, that I can still help the team to win."
Ovechkin will be 41 when he takes to the ice for his 22nd NHL season in September.
The longtime Capitals captain said he believes his team is still a Stanley Cup contender and discussed with his wife returning on either a one- or two-year deal.
"I was talking to my family, my wife, first of all, and she's like, 'Let's play one more year. Or maybe two years,'" Ovechkin said.
At 1,006 goals including the playoffs, he stands just 10 away from Wayne Gretzky's cumulative total of 1,116. Ovechkin broke Gretzky's regular-season record of 894 goals in April 2025, and now sits at 929 across his 1,573-game career.
"You never know," Ovechkin said when asked if he seriously considered retiring. "Last season was hard, emotionally, with all the trades and all the situations that happened with the team. Then I was talking to me wife, and she's like, 'OK, let's go.'"
After bringing in Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues and Alex Tuch from the Buffalo Sabres, in addition to up-and-coming youngsters in Cole Hutson and Ryan Leonard, the Capitals appear poised to take a run at the playoffs again after missing the dance this season.
If the Capitals want to repeat their 2018 Stanley Cup, they may only have two more years to do it alongside the best goal-scorer to play the game.
