Alex Ovechkin was named the Capitals’ nominee for the 2026 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy on Wednesday morning. The trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
The players are voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, which RMNB is not part of (we’re as confused as you are).
Ovechkin, 40, is the third-oldest player in the NHL this season, his 21st in the league with the Washington Capitals. Despite his age and after breaking his leg last year, Ovechkin has not missed a single game for the Capitals, putting him on track to play a full 82-game season for the first time since he was 32 years old.
The Capitals captain also leads the team in scoring with 61 points (31g, 30a) in 78 games, a feat he hasn’t accomplished since the 2022-23 campaign.
On March 31, he hit the 30-goal mark for an all-time leading 20th time, and just days before that, he recorded his 34th career hat trick, scored his 1,000th career goal, regular season and playoffs combined, and tied Gordie Howe for the most 25-goal seasons in NHL history.
Earlier in the season, Ovechkin also achieved a number of other historic feats:
- Became the first player in NHL history to put 7,000 shots on goal
- Scored 20 goals in a season for the second-most times in NHL history
- Broke the NHL record for the most home games with a goal
- Became the fifth-fastest player age 40 or older to score 15 goals in a season
- Became the 11th player in NHL history to record 1,800 points, regular season and playoffs combined
- Became the seventh player in NHL history to record 800 points on the road
- Moved into the top 10 of the NHL’s all-time points list
- Broke the NHL record for most career goals scored against a goaltender
- Broke the NHL record for most goals scored at a single venue
- Became the first player in NHL history to score 900 goals
- Became the 24th player in NHL history to play in 1,500 career games.
The Masterton Trophy is one of the few individual awards that Ovechkin has not picked up during his illustrious career. He finished fourth in voting for the award last year.
No Russian player has ever won the award since the trophy’s inception following the 1967-68 season. Jose Theodore is the lone Capitals player to receive the honor, winning the trophy after the 2009-10 campaign.
The list of 32 nominees will be narrowed down to three finalists. The winner is announced during the playoffs.
