Alexander Ovechkin announces current NHL season will be his last
The Washington Capitals captain said he and his family decided this summer that the 2026–27 campaign will be his final season.
Alexander Ovechkin, the 41-year-old Russian forward and long-time Washington Capitals star, announced on October 5, 2026 that the current NHL season will be his last.
“I love hockey, but in my heart I know this is the right decision. My family and I sat down this summer, talked and decided this will be my final season,” Ovechkin said, explaining that the choice was reached together with his family.
Records that define a career
Selected first overall in the 2004 draft, Ovechkin has rewritten the NHL scoring record books during his decades in the league. He has scored 929 goals in his NHL career, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s 894. He also leads the league in power-play goals with 331, has recorded at least 40 goals in a season 14 times, and was the league’s top goal-scorer on nine occasions.
Ovechkin lifted the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018. Internationally, he won three world championship titles with Russia and added two silver and four bronze medals to his résumé. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time.
“This is my final season and I am especially looking forward to it. I want to achieve something special with my teammates,” he said, underlining his focus on team goals for the months ahead.
Ovechkin’s announcement closes a chapter on one of the most prolific scoring careers in hockey history and sets the stage for a farewell season watched closely by teammates, rivals and fans worldwide.
Photo: press material from the event
