Alex Ovechkin has no interest in standing behind the bench of the Russian national team, at least yet.
The Washington Capitals captain was recently asked during a press conference at the annual Ovi Cup whether he has any plans to become the team’s head coach in the near future. He balked at the idea, emphasizing that he would rather talk about playing for the team on the ice again rather than blowing a whistle at practice.
“I’m still a player,” Ovechkin told sports.ru’s Alexander Plekhanov, as translated via Google Translate. “I don’t want to be a player-coach. We have some pretty skilled coaches, basically. You have to want to coach the national team — I don’t want to yet.”
Ovechkin has not suited up for Russia since the 2019 World Championship, where he helped his nation win a bronze medal. The NHL did not send players to the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Russia has since been banned from IIHF competition following the country’s illegal military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That ban was recently extended through the 2026-27 season.
“We haven’t been reinstated yet,” Ovechkin said. Hockey hasn’t been allowed to participate in official events. So for now, [we’re] fans.”
From a coaching perspective, Ovechkin has been facing questions about his future job prospects as his legendary on-ice career winds down. He was also asked this past March if he had given any thought to one day coaching, and also balked at the suggestion then.
However, he did say that if Evgeni Malkin were to retire and ever become a head coach somewhere, he would immediately sign up to be an assistant coach on Malkin’s staff.
“The atmosphere in the locker room would definitely be awesome,” Ovechkin said. “That’s why I’d even go be his assistant.”
Outside of coaching, Ovechkin already holds an administrative role with his former team, Dynamo Moscow of the KHL. He is still listed as a “Senior Advisor” for the club, a role he has held since 2010. Dynamo’s president, Viktor Voronin, has also said he is open to Ovechkin taking on an ever larger management role with the team once he is officially done playing.
For now, Ovechkin, who turns 41 in September, is focused on his 22nd NHL season with the Capitals. The league’s all-time leading goal scorer signed a one-year contract to return to the Caps this past July and has yet to rule out playing future seasons beyond the 2026-27 campaign.
