From losing his tinted visor to dealing with escrow payments, Alex Ovechkin has had plenty of reasons to feel nickel-and-dimed by the NHL over the years.
Over the next two seasons, however, the league is set to make some changes that Ovechkin can get behind. In July, the NHL and NHLPA ratified a new collective bargaining agreement, set to start in 2026-27, that includes pro-player items like no more fitness tests, shortened training camps, and kiboshed off-ice dress codes. Even better, the two parties agreed to relax team dress codes a year early, leaving Ovechkin free to make his own fashion choices starting this fall.
Ovechkin gave props to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for agreeing to the new standards during his first interview with Capitals media on Thursday, though his tone indicated it could be a bit too little, too late as he winds down his NHL career.
The conversation went like this:
Q: Excited about no dress code?
Alex Ovechkin: “Well, we’ll see how it goes. We’ll see.”
Q: Are you excited for no more skate tests?
Alex Ovechkin: “It’s funny. We were just talking, this is my 21st year and next year is not going to be a skating test and no dress code. Atta boy, Gary.”
Q: Does it make you want to come back more after this season?
Alex Ovechkin: “Maybe. We’ll see.”
Note: The questions were edited for brevity and clarity.
Ovechkin first commented on the abolition of the NHL’s dress code to Russian media in July, seemingly unmoved by the change then.
“It makes no difference to me whether I wear jeans or a suit,” Ovechkin said in Russian, per Match TV and a Google Translation. “I always feel comfortable.”
While his new fashion choices are yet to be determined, Ovechkin is officially done with skate tests in his career. He did not take part in the skate test with his teammates on Thursday, with the Capitals telling reporters he completed the test prior to the start of this year’s camp. Ovechkin later left his first skate of camp early to be evaluated for a lower-body injury.
