Spencer Carbery spoke to Alex Ovechkin earlier on Thursday, revealing that the Washington Capitals captain is excited about the team’s offseason moves thus far.
Carbery discussed his interaction with Ovechkin, who is vacationing in Turkey, during an appearance on 106.7 The Fan’s “Grant and Danny,” adding that the NHL’s greatest goal scorer has yet to decide whether he’ll return for another year or retire.
When asked directly if the additions of Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch would impact Ovechkin’s decision, Carbery responded, “I don’t think so.”
“I spoke to him this morning,” Carbery added. “He’s on vacation with his family and doing some working out there. But at this point, no. There’s been no decision. He’s just spending time with his family and trying to make the best decision. And when he tells us he’s ready to decide, we’ll be right there for him. So there’s no timeline… He did mention and say today that he’s following and seeing the moves and was really happy for the organization about acquiring Jordan and Alex.”
Ovechkin, who recently completed his 21st season in the NHL, is a pending unrestricted free agent. He has been in Turkey since the beginning of the month, remaining active by hitting the weight room, playing beach volleyball and soccer, dancing, and — oh yeah — feeding wild goats.
In a Russian-language podcast during the offseason, Ovechkin said he will announce his decision in July.
“It’s not a secret,” he said.
Ovechkin played in all 82 games last season, leading the team in both goals (32) and points (54) despite being 40 years old. The Capitals missed the playoffs for just the fifth time during the Ovechkin Era, as they struggled with injury and a poor power play.
A big part of his decision to return hinges on whether the Capitals’ roster in 2026-27 will be improved enough to compete for a championship next spring.
“Well, obviously, if I want to come back, it has to be a decision. First of all, we’re going to make playoffs, and we have to fight for a Cup,” Ovechkin said on Breakdown Day in late April. “That’s probably the biggest thing.”
Carbery echoed those comments during his interview with Grant and Danny, noting that Ovechkin’s role might change somewhat if he does indeed return.
“Above all, O wants to win,” Carbery said. “I know sometimes we lose track of that because the goals and the individual accolades, and he’s (40)-years-old. He genuinely wants to win. So as we improve the forward group, if now all of a sudden we’ve got two more 30-goal scorers, and that means O plays a minute or two minutes less of five-on-five and we’re a better team, he is going to raise his arm and go, ‘Yes, I love this’ because he wants to win. And it’s no different on the power play as well.
“I think that’s where we’ll try to utilize improving our forward group the way that we have, really leaning into our depth. Okay, even Pierre-Luc Dubois and even Tom Wilson, his minutes got high last year. Like, can we now bring those down maybe two minutes a game? Maybe bring O’s down two minutes a game, and now he’s much more effective and efficient. As opposed to having to play 19, he’s playing 17, and those 17 minutes are higher quality. So, a little bit more quality versus quantity. And I think now you get 12 forwards that continue to roll out there and you get to utilize and are maybe playing one minute less, but you’ve got way more effective minutes.”
As for how excited Carbery was about the moves, he revealed part of a discussion with Capitals general manager Chris Patrick.
“I bumped into Chris this morning, and I said, ‘Wow, what a 48 hours.’ And I sort of joked with him, ‘Could it be 72 hours?’ And what do you know, another deal today.”
By day’s end, the Capitals made two deals total, dealing depth forward Hendrix Lapierre to the Pittsburgh Penguins for two draft picks and sending Declan Chisholm to the New Jersey Devils for a 2027 fourth-rounder.
