Alex Ovechkin may have spent the offseason pondering his NHL future, but actually agreeing to a new contract didn’t take long.
The Capitals announced Thursday that Ovechkin would return for his 22nd NHL season, signing him to a one-year deal to end months of retirement speculation. Once he decided to come back, Ovechkin said, he and the Capitals hammered out the details almost immediately.
“I think it took us maybe 10 minutes,” Ovechkin said Monday. “I called (Capitals general manager) Chris (Patrick) and I said, ‘Okay, let’s make a deal.’ And he said what’s going to happen with the signing bonus, with all the bonuses, and I said, ‘Okay, let’s go.’”
Speaking to reporters virtually while on vacation in Turkey, Ovechkin emphasized the role family played in his decision-making process. His wife, Nastya, ultimately gave her blessing for another season.
“I was talking to my family, my wife, first of all. And she’s like, ‘Okay, let’s play one more year, or maybe two years. I don’t know,” he said, later adding, “Obviously family is first in our lives. She saw the kids. Every day they asked me, ‘Are you coming back? Are you coming back?’ Then she saw me, every time I’m thinking about coming back to the Caps. Then she’s like, ‘Okay.’”
Ovechkin inked a deal worth $4.25 million for 2026-27, plus an all-but guaranteed performance bonus of $4.75 million for 10 games played.
“I called KP and we said, ‘Okay, here we go. Let’s talk about contract and let’s do what’s best for the team,’” Ovechkin said of the negotiations.
The 2025-26 season wasn’t an easy one for Ovechkin, though he led the team in both goals (32) and points (64). The Capitals missed the playoffs by three points, the second time in four years they failed to make the postseason, and seeing longtime teammate John Carlson (as well as veteran Nic Dowd) traded away at the deadline hit Ovechkin hard.
After deflecting questions about his future for the better part of a year, Ovechkin tipped his hand when his season ended in April, saying he was “pretty sure” he hadn’t played his final NHL game. Still, he confirmed Monday that retirement had remained a serious possibility.
“Well, you never know, because last season was hard, emotionally, with all the trades and all those situations that happened with the team,” he said. “And then, how I said, I was talking to my wife and she was like, ‘Okay, let’s go. Let’s go one more year.’”
Ovechkin made clear this spring that, if he were to come back for another season, the Capitals would need to assemble a competitive roster around him. On that front, general manager Chris Patrick delivered. Washington acquired star wingers Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch via trade, then added depth with players like Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais in free agency.
Those moves helped convince Ovechkin to return.
“When you look at our roster,” he said, “it’s a Stanley Cup contender.”
High-scoring wingers like Tuch and Kyrou could also lighten the load on Ovechkin, who will turn 41 in September. Head coach Spencer Carbery indicated Friday that several of the team’s top forwards, including Ovechkin, will likely see their minutes come down from last season.
Ovechkin declined to comment on his expected role next season, but Patrick said the Caps will have plenty of flexibility with Ovechkin’s deployments.
“I think we have a pretty balanced team, so [Ovechkin] can really, like a lot of our players, he can move up and down the lineup how Carbs sees fit, and how he wants to use the lines and deploy the lines on a given night,” Patrick said. “Obviously the power play piece as well, where Alex has proven time and again he’s an effective player.
“It’s hard to say he’s going to be playing with this guy on this line for 84 games, but I certainly think he gives us a lot of options, as do a lot of the other guys we brought in and have on our roster.”
Now that he’s made his decision, Ovechkin can turn his focus to the season ahead. The Capitals have assembled a threatening roster, and they’ll have the greatest goal scorer of all time in their arsenal. All that’s left is to rise to the occasion.
“I’m very excited for our team, for fans as well,” Ovechkin said. “Because on the paper, you can see our team is one of the best teams, but now we have to work for the Stanley Cup. For playoffs, first of all, then a Stanley Cup. We’re all going to do our best to prove that all the moves and all the signings that we did are going to work.”
