Alex Semin is 42-years-old and has been retired from professional hockey since the 2020-21 season, when he suited up for the KHL’s Vityaz Podolsk and posted 19 points (8g, 11a) in 40 games.
Just a year and a half older than Alex Ovechkin, Semin, who played six years (2006-2012) with The Great 8 during his 11 seasons in the NHL, has a valuable perspective on what it takes to be and remain a top star in the league and how his body is responding in his forties.
With his former linemate and good friend considering retirement, Semin spoke to TASS about Ovechkin’s upcoming decision, which the Capitals’ captain said he’d make this upcoming July.
“It’s a tough question; it all depends on him whether he wants to play another year,” Semin said to Tass, per a translation by Google Translate. “Because maintaining this level of fitness at 40 is quite challenging. It’s getting tough, and the younger players are overtaking and catching up. I can’t speak for himself; it all depends on him.”
Ovechkin scored 32 goals and recorded 64 points in 82 games as a 40-year-old last season, notching the 20th 30-goal campaign of his career. Heavily deployed in the offensive zone by Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery, Ovechkin led the team in both goals and points.
Immediately after the season ended, Ovechkin told the media that “I hope it’s not my last game” and that he’s “pretty sure” he’d return for another year. Ovechkin, who is set to spend the next month in Turkey, will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and has said the most important factor in his decision is team success.
Semin has remained good friends with Ovechkin in retirement. The pair took the ice together at Pavel Datysuk’s “Magic Game” last summer, The Magic Man’s on-ice goodbye to fans, and had dinner together afterwards. Ovechkin also gave Semin an opportunity to hold up his milestone 895-goal puck
The two former Capitals first-round picks played together in Washington from 2006 through 2012. Ovechkin has called Semin one of the three greatest forwards he’s ever played with.
“I am not surprised by anything when it comes to Alexander,” Semin said to TASS of Ovechkin in December 2024. “He may not have the same speed as before, but he’s one of those guys who can throw with both power and accuracy.
“He’s playing incredibly well at his age. He’s a unique individual, not from this planet, and everyone’s known that for a long time.”
Semin added in another interview in 2025 that Ovechkin is a once-in-a-century hockey player.
