The Washington Capitals were forced to clarify Alex Ovechkin’s future after an email campaign from the organization’s corporate sales department was sent to a select group of season-ticket holders, stating that the 2025-26 season would be Ovechkin’s last in the NHL.
The hubbub began when a partial screenshot of the email was first published to X at 7:08 am by The Hockey Writers’ Tony Wolak. The Capitals’ sales team wrote:
OCTOBER — the start of Capitals hockey and Alex Ovechkin’s FINAL NHL SEASON
Jacob Billington then wrote an article about Ovechkin’s future on The Hockey Writers’ site entitled Capitals Reveal 2025-26 to Be Alexander Ovechkin’s Final Season. The story went up around noon.
As word spread on social media, Bleacher Report reposted the news and sent out a push notification to followers, lending the reporting another layer of credibility to a much bigger audience.
The now-deleted tweet from BR said:
The Capitals sent an email to season ticket holders saying 2025-2026 will be Alex Ovechkin’s FINAL year in the NHL.
One final ride for the Great 8 🏁
Capitals PR responded to the news at 12:47 pm, stating that the email’s text regarding Ovechkin’s career was not worded correctly.
No decision has been made on Alex Ovechkin’s future following the 2025-26 NHL season.
An email was sent from an individual with the corporate sales department that mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin’s final year.
Bleacher Report then sent out a push notification retracting its previous push notification.
Ovechkin addressed his future on Capitals’ Breakdown Day nearly two weeks ago. After joking about reporting to the Hershey Bears and their playoff run, Ovi left his options open beyond next season.
“Be honest (with) you, I haven’t thought about it yet, but we’ll see what’s going to happen,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, I’m going to try to do my best to be able to do well next year, and we’ll see.
“For me, it’s first of all to make a roster when 40 years old, you know? I have to pass skating test,” he said smiling. “It’s one thing, and then we’ll see.”
Capitals president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan confirmed days later that he expected to see Ovechkin hit the ice next season and potentially beyond that.
“I think we’ve learned with him to leave possibilities open all the time,” MacLellan said. “I think he had a fun year this year. He really enjoyed himself. The team had a lot of fun together and was successful, and I think he’ll come back, and we’ll see where it goes from there. Hopefully, he has another good year.”
Ovechkin is nine games away (1,491) from appearing in 1,500 during his legendary career. The Capitals’ captain scored 44 goals last season, tied for third-most in the NHL, despite missing over a month of games due to a broken leg.
“I don’t want to think about the day where he’s not a Cap,” Tom Wilson said. “(He’s) just such a big part of this organization. You guys know that. It’s insane how big a part he is of DC hockey and everything he’s done here.
“It’ll be a very weird day when that happens, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there….He’s truly a legend in every meaning of the word.”
While how much longer Ovechkin plays is unclear, the 2025-26 season is his last currently under a five-year contract extension he signed in 2021.
