Alex Ovechkin to Retire After 2026-27 NHL Season
publishers 13articles 13first reported 5 Oct, 15:16 UTCdeveloping since 5 Oct · 8 editions
Alex Ovechkin announced Monday that the 2026-27 NHL season, his 22nd in the league, will be his last. The 41-year-old Washington Capitals captain told teammates before the club shared his decision on social media.
“I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it’s the right decision,” Ovechkin said in the announcement. Addressing teammates, he urged them to enjoy the season and “do some special things this year.” He signed a one-year contract during the summer and said he and his family reached the decision in recent months.
Ovechkin has spent his entire NHL career with Washington since the Capitals selected him first overall in the 2004 draft. He broke Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record in April 2025 and entered this season with 929 goals. His honors include the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, three Hart trophies as league MVP and nine goal-scoring titles.
In 2018, Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP while leading Washington to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship. He played all 82 games and scored 32 goals last season, when the Capitals missed the playoffs.
Ovechkin also confirmed that he plans to return to Russia to live after retiring from the NHL.
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Written from 6 articles, 1 with the publisher's own text; 6 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written within the hour the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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