Alex Ovechkin just added some new hardware to his overflowing trophy case.
Friday, the NHL announced that Ovechkin was the winner of the 2024-25 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. The nod is given “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
According to the NHL, Messier, a former captain of the New York Rangers, gets suggestions from team and league personnel to compile a list of potential candidates. He then selects the ultimate winner.
ESPN aired video of Messier congratulating Ovechkin on the win.
Mark Messier: Hey, Alex, it’s Mark Messier. Thanks for coming on. I want to congratulate you on being the 2025 Mark Messier Leadership Award winner. You’ve had, obviously, an amazing career. You’ve inspired thousands of boys and girls in the DMV area with your infectious personality, your passion for the game. First question I have for you is — what a year you had this year, but what has the last 20 years meant to you and your involvement in that community where you live?
Alex Ovechkin: Yeah, obviously, thank you very much for give me this award. It’s a special award. It means a lot. How you said, I play hard every single day since my day one. And it’s been hell of a year, what we’ve been through for these last couple of months, chasing the Great One and passing him. And yeah, it was something special here.
Mark Messier: Well, we’ve all been privileged to watch you over the last 20 years. And for me personally, to watch your growth, not only as a player, but as a leader, of becoming captain, being a Stanley Cup winner. You involved everybody in the pursuit of Gretzky’s record this year. And to me, (that’s) a testament to a great leader, is how you support the people around you and how you include the people around you. That was evident this year. When I hear the teammates talk about you and what you’ve meant to them as a mentor and as a leader, that evolution, for you, has got to be very gratifying over the last 20 years.
Alex Ovechkin: Oh, yeah. I’ve been lucky enough to play with the greatest players. Fedorov, Jason Arnott, Mike Knuble. Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, we grew up together and we support each other as a leader, as friends. And, I learned from them a lot. Without them, I would never be that kind of person, that kind of leader on the ice and off the ice. And obviously the Capitals organization, what we’ve been through together, we’re growing up as an organization, as a player, and as a team. It’s been a tremendous 20 years.
Mark Messier: Well, Alex, I just want to again congratulate you on winning the 2025 Mark Messier Leadership Award.
Alex Ovechkin: Thanks, Mark.
Mark Messier: With a lot of respect, I say congratulations and good luck in the future.
Alex Ovechkin: Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Good luck.
Ovechkin’s nod comes after he broke the NHL goals record on April 6, scoring his 895th career goal against the New York Islanders. But it was his durability — he returned after suffering a broken leg midseason — and grace during the chase that really turned heads.
One of the most notable moments came when Ovechkin scored his 894th goal at Capital One Arena on April 4. With Wayne Gretzky in attendance, Ovechkin located The Great One in the stands and bowed to him at center ice, acknowledging his vast accomplishments in the game.
Ovechkin, who has been captain of the Washington Capitals since January 5, 2010, also helped lead the team to a first place finish in the Eastern Conference and a league-high 25 comeback wins. Throughout the season, he set an example to his teammates, like when he gathered up the team to shake the hand of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in his final game against Washington.
The NHL also cites Ovechkin’s work in the community, including his work with the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA), his “THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer” initiative, and his impact on the growth of hockey in the DMV.
The Messier Leadership Award is the ninth different NHL trophy Ovechkin has won in his career. He’s the only player in NHL history to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (9), Hart Trophy (3), Ted Lindsay Awards (3), Calder Trophy (1), Art Ross Trophy (1), Conn Smythe Trophy (1), Stanley Cup (1), and Messier Leadership Award (1) combined.
The past five winners of Messier’s Leadership Award include New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba (2023-24), Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (2022-23), Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (2021-22), Boston Bruins Center Patrice Bergeron (2020-21), and Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano (2019-20).
Here’s the full press release from the NHL:
Capitals’ Ovechkin Wins Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award
NEW YORK (May 23, 2025) – Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is the 2024-25 recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, presented “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
Messier solicits suggestions from team and League personnel to compile a list of potential candidates for the award. However, the selection of the winner is Messier’s alone.
Ovechkin, playing in his 20th NHL season and 16th as Washington’s captain (tied for the third-longest tenure in League history), completed “THE GR8 CHASE” on April 6 to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history – a record “The Great One” held for more than 31 years. Ovechkin finished the campaign with 897 goals, three more than Gretzky totaled during his legendary career, to propel the Capitals (51-22-9, 111 points) to the No. 2 overall record in the League and the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2016-17.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin, despite fracturing his fibula and missing nearly six weeks, shared third place in the NHL with 44 goals in 2024-25 alone (65 GP). Only one other player in League history has scored as many goals in a season at age 39 or older: Gordie Howe, who registered 44 at age 40 in 1968-69 (76 GP w/ DET).
Ovechkin’s record-setting campaign additionally saw him surpass Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals in NHL history; extend his own marks for career 40-goal seasons, 30-goal seasons, power-play goals and overtime goals; tie Phil Esposito for the fifth-most hat tricks in League history; and move into 11th place in NHL history for career points.
The No. 1 overall pick from the 2004 NHL Draft also continued to build his legacy off the ice. Since 2005-06, Ovechkin’s rookie season, there has been significant youth hockey growth in the Potomac Valley (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). Hockey is offered to children year-round in local arenas, ball hockey rinks and schools.
In the past 20 years, hockey players in the Potomac Valley have increased by 71 percent, totaling more than 20,000, while youth hockey players (18 and under) have increased by 43 percent, surpassing 12,000. More than 9,000 players also have been introduced to hockey since the Capitals launched their Future Caps “Learn to Play” program in 2016, supported by the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund.
An additional 1 million students in Washington, D.C.-area elementary and middle schools participate in the Capitals’ “Hockey School” program annually. Available to students in Grades 1-8 at more than 1,600 schools, the initiative includes street hockey equipment, a custom written curriculum and staff training. This program also is supported by the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund.
Fourteen outdoor inline/ball hockey rinks also have been built, or refurbished, by the Capitals in the past two decades in response to increased demand for access to youth hockey.
As part of his quest to become the League’s all-time goals leader, Ovechkin, the Capitals, Hockey Fights Cancer and The V Foundation For Cancer Research partnered on “THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer,” an initiative to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research. Ovechkin, starting with his 885th career goal, is donating money for every goal he scores during the remainder of his NHL career, with Monumental Sports & Entertainment matching his contributions.
Ovechkin’s philanthropic efforts also have included a longstanding relationship with the American Special Hockey Association (ASHA), with “The Great 8” hosting multiple ASHA skating sessions as well as a street hockey event since 2014. Ovechkin additionally launched “Ovi’s 8s” in 2006 to provide underserved children with tickets to Capitals games, a program that has given more than 6,000 individuals the chance to see the team free of charge.
The Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award adds to a trophy case for Ovechkin that also includes nine Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies (most recently 2019-20), three Hart Memorial Trophies (2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13), three Ted Lindsay Awards (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10), the Calder Memorial Trophy (2005-06), the Art Ross Trophy (2007-08), the Conn Smythe Trophy (2017-18) and the Stanley Cup (2017-18).
