Alex Ovechkin has been a leader for the Washington Capitals since his NHL debut in 2005. Nearly 20 years later, Ovechkin continues to progress at a Hall of Fame pace.
As one of the greatest players of all time inches closer to making history and closing in on the all-time goalscoring record, questions are starting to arise about what the future holds for Ovechkin. At almost 39 years old, he doesn’t have many miles left to go.
Ovechkin has two years left on his NHL contract with the Capitals, but once that’s up he hopes to focus on the KHL in his native Russia.
“I have two years left on my NHL contract,” Ovechkin said. said to rsport.ru. “Of course, I want to play my last match for Dynamo, where I started my career. But there is no point in discussing this topic now.”
Before being selected first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Ovechkin played three seasons with his hometown team, Dynamo Moscow. He continued to play for Moscow after the draft, through the full-season lockout in 2004–05.
Over his four seasons in Russia, Ovechkin scored 36 goals and 33 assists for 69 points. Granted, that doesn’t sound like much, especially for Ovechkin, but he was under 18 and the KHL isn’t known for being a high-scoring league.
When he returned for 31 games during the 2012-12 partial lockout, Ovechkin had 19 goals and 21 assists, more in line with his usual offensive level.
Ovechkin’s NHL career is far from over and he has one of the most important records in sight. He is just 41 goals away from breaking the NHL’s all-time goals record, held by Wayne Gretzky with 894.
Of course, Ovechkin and the Capitals would also like to add another Stanley Cup to their legacy of success. It’s unclear whether they can win the Cup again in the next two years, but the goal-scoring record seems almost inevitable.
When all is said and done for Ovechkin in the NHL, he hopes he still has enough energy to return home and continue playing.
