One of Alex Ovechkin‘s best friends from earlier in his legendary career recently shared their thoughts on the 2026-27 NHL season being his last.
Alex Semin, who officially retired from professional hockey himself in May 2022, recently spoke with Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov about Ovechkin’s big announcement. The two were teammates with the Washington Capitals for six seasons (2006-2012) and formed a close bond as the two Russian-speaking members of Washington’s star quartet of “Young Guns.”
“I don’t think it was a secret to anyone,” Semin said, as translated via Google Translate. “The question was whether he would play (this season) at all. But there’s still one more milestone left. I think he’ll break it and, so to speak, retire with a clear conscience.”
The milestone Semin refers to is Wayne Gretzky’s combined regular-season and postseason goals record, which stands at 1,016 goals. With his goal against the Seattle Kraken earlier this month, Ovechkin (1,007) is now just nine goals away from tying Gretzky for the top spot.
Ovechkin started the 2026-27 campaign with the slowest goal-scoring pace of his 22-year career, with one marker in his first nine games, but Semin remains confident his countryman will get the job done.
“Although with every goal it gets harder and harder,” Semin said. “Of course, we’re not getting any younger. But I think Sasha can handle this task. He’s used to such challenges. Everyone said it was impossible, but it turned out to be possible.”
Ovechkin’s pursuit of those remaining goals will likely be aided by the Capitals’ big-time roster strengthening this past offseason. With names like Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, and Boone Jenner now among the forwards, Caps head coach Spencer Carbery can lean less on Ovechkin and only deploy him in the most advantageous offensive situations.
Overall, the additions have also put the Capitals back in the conversation about which NHL teams could have a dark-horse shot at winning the Stanley Cup this year. While Semin believes it’s too early to talk about that, he is rooting for his former club to return to the playoffs and fight for its second-ever championship.
“The season has only just begun, so it’s difficult to make any predictions,” Semin said. “Everything depends on the guys themselves, on how they gel together, how they interact with each other. I wish them the best of luck, and to go as far as possible in the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup.”
Semin, who scored 239 goals in 650 career NHL games for the Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, and Montreal Canadiens, has not played since the 2020-21 campaign, when he suited up for the KHL’s Vityaz Podolsk and posted 19 points (8g, 11a) in 40 games.
