Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carbery confirmed that Alex Ovechkin, who will turn 40 in September, will continue with the team for his 21st NHL season.
My understanding is that he is under contract, so he will be back next year.
Spencer Carbery
These statements came after the Capitals’ 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5, which meant Washington’s elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ovechkin is under contract through the 2025-26 season with a $9.5 million cap hit.
I thought ‘O’ was great in the playoffs. I know the stats won’t be flattering in this series.
Spencer Carbery
In the regular season, Ovechkin scored 44 goals in 65 games, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record with his 895th goal in the NHL. His performance in the postseason was less remarkable, with only one goal in five games against Carolina.
In total, Ovechkin scored five goals and one assist in 10 playoff games, with most of his goals coming from the first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
Carbery praised the way Ovechkin bounced back from his performance in last season’s playoffs. He highlighted Ovechkin’s overtime goal in Game 1 against the Canadiens as a crucial moment.
It was fantastic this year, and I think he had a great playoffs. He did what he came to show this year, and he also did it in the playoffs.
Spencer Carbery
The Capitals showed an admirable effort in Game 5, but failed to break the tie in the third period. The Capitals won the Eastern Conference in the regular season with 111 points.
The season was defined by the emergence of young talents like Aliaksei Protas, successful acquisitions like Pierre-Luc Dubois and goaltender Logan Thompson, in addition to Ovechkin’s historic quest to surpass Gretzky’s goal record.
There’s not much more to say about him. It’s an honor to play with him and see the way he competes. He’s an easy guy to follow. Who knows how much time he has left, but we’ll follow him while he’s here.
Dylan Strome
