In the final days of the Washington Capitals‘ 2025-26 season, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan wrote a profile on Alex Ovechkin and his impending retirement decision. In the story, Kaplan dove into Ovechkin’s eating habits, a daily routine that former Capitals defenseman and health nut Brooks Orpik once called “borderline inspiring.”
The Capitals captain drinks Coca-Cola out of water bottles on the team’s bench, grabs a sub and a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos from Subway before every road trip, and devours the same chicken parm ahead of home games. According to longtime teammate Tom Wilson, the ferocity with which the Big Man takes down his grub can apparently even be dangerous for anyone or any surface in the splash zone.
“He gets two big bags dropped off,” Wilson told Kaplan. “There’s the team meal, and then there’s, like, the Ovi station of Mamma Lucia. Bunch of different sauces, bunch of different stuff. He’s very specific on toasting his garlic bread and making sure the sauces are right in what he’s eating. It’s a spectacle. I think at one point, we had to clean the pillar beside where he sits because there’s tomato sauce everywhere.”
Ovechkin, who once asked John Carlson’s aunt to put ketchup on his pasta, started ordering from Mamma Lucia, a local Italian restaurant with multiple locations in the DMV, very early in his career with the Capitals. According to a 2018 report from Kaplan, Ovechkin’s order always included chicken parm, spaghetti, four special sauces, and two slices of bread.
Initially, the restaurant itself would deliver Ovechkin’s order to the Capitals’ practice rink, but over time, the team had their chef recreate the meal to avoid the impracticality.
“Everybody’s different,” Ovechkin said. “Some people love Subway, McDonald’s, whatever, and they’re still playing hockey. Maybe it’s not right for young generation, but you know, I grow up differently.”
While how he eats may not be for everyone, Ovechkin has clearly made it work for him, as the future first ballot Hall of Famer currently sits at an NHL record 929 career goals after 21 seasons in the league. The 40-year-old winger is also coming off a full 82-game season, not missing a single game for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.
Ovechkin is still to determine this summer whether he will be back for a 22nd season with the Capitals. If he does sign on for another year, the team will need to keep his personal pasta station around and have plenty of cleaning supplies on hand for when he digs in.
