One of the world’s most recognizable and beloved athletes, Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin, has announced he will retire at the end of the current NHL season, closing out a record-breaking career spanning more than two decades.
The 41-year-old Russian legend, who is entering his 22nd and final NHL season, broke the news to his teammates on Monday, saying it was hard to tell them he would leaving after this season, but “it is what it is.” He urged the team to “enjoy the moment” and “do some special things this year.”
The timing was poignant: Monday marked exactly 21 years since Ovechkin made his NHL debut with the Capitals.
For more than two decades, the man known as ‘the Great Eight’ (he has worn the number 8 throughout his NHL career) has been far more than a celebrated athlete. Known affectionately as Ovi, he became the face of a franchise, an icon in both Russia and the US, and the most prolific goalscorer in NHL history. Through it all, he remained proudly Russian, even as political pressure on Russian athletes reached a boiling point.
So who is the man behind the records?
How Ovi came to hockey
Ovechkin was born into a sports family in Moscow. His mother, Tatyana, was a two-time Olympic basketball champion, and his father, Mikhail, played professional football. But it was hockey that captured their son’s imagination.
He came through the famed Dynamo Moscow system and made his professional debut in the Russian Superleague at just 16. Powerful, fast, and relentlessly physical, Ovechkin combined brute force with a devastating shot – qualities that quickly made him one of the game’s most exciting young talents.
The Washington Capitals selected him first overall in the 2004 NHL Draft, although the 2004-2005 lockout delayed his arrival in North America by a year. When he finally stepped onto NHL ice in October 2005, he scored twice on his debut and went on to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
Ovechkin’s spectacular goals and bruising style soon helped turn the Capitals into one of the NHL’s biggest attractions. In January 2010, he became the 14th captain in franchise history – a role he has held ever since, making him the Capitals’ longest-serving captain.
Trophies and records
Ovechkin’s trophy cabinet is difficult to match. He is a three-time world champion with Russia, a three-time Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, and an eight-time First All-Star Team selection. In 2007-08, he won the Art Ross Trophy after recording 112 points, including 65 goals.
Washington reached the playoffs in 16 of Ovechkin’s 21 seasons and won three Presidents’ Trophies (given to the team with the best overall record). But the big prize that had eluded him for many years finally came in 2018, when he captained the Capitals to their first and only Stanley Cup, scoring a league-leading 15 playoff goals.
Then came the record once thought untouchable. On April 6, 2025, Ovechkin scored his 895th regular-season goal, passing Wayne Gretzky’s 894 to become the NHL’s all-time leading regular-season goalscorer.
He went on to become the first player to reach 900, pushing the record to 929 at the time of writing.
Behind many of those goals was an Ovechkin trademark: His devastating one-timer from the left faceoff circle. The spot became known as ‘Ovi’s office’.
His name sits atop numerous other lists: He holds NHL records for power-play goals (331), game-winning goals (141), overtime goals (27), empty-net goals (72), and 30-goal seasons (20). His nine 50-goal seasons tie Gretzky and Mike Bossy. Gretzky still holds the records for career points, playoff goals, as well as combined regular-season and playoff goals – but Ovechkin still has plenty of time to pass ‘the Great One’ in combined regular-season and playoff goals.
The quirks behind the Great Eight
For all the discipline required to stay at the top for more than two decades, Ovechkin has never exactly been a sports nutritionist’s dream. Teammates have spoken of his fondness for spicy Italian sandwiches, hot Cheetos, and Coca-Cola – which he has been known to drink on the bench.
His celebrations have been equally memorable. After Washington’s 2018 Stanley Cup triumph, Ovechkin famously performed a headstand over the Cup in a Georgetown fountain. The stunt was later recreated on ‘The Tonight Show’, with Ovechkin holding Jimmy Fallon upside down as the host drank from the Cup.
His legendary slapshot has even reached space, at least in name. In 2014, an asteroid was officially named 257261 Ovechkin in honor of the player whose slapshot has been clocked at more than 160 kph.
One of his best-known rituals carries a far more personal meaning. After scoring, Ovechkin kisses his finger and points to the sky in memory of his older brother Sergey, who died in a car accident when Ovechkin was ten.
A different kind of legacy
Away from the rink, Ovechkin has spent years supporting children, cancer research, and accessible hockey in both North America and Russia. His Ovi’s 8’s program, launched in 2006, has provided more than 6,000 game tickets to underserved children and families. In Russia, he has supported children’s charities, orphanages, and adaptive sports, including para hockey.
One memorable episode came at the 2015 NHL All-Star Draft, when Ovechkin famously campaigned to be picked last so he could win a new Honda – not for himself, but to donate to a hockey program for children with developmental disabilities, inspired by 10-year-old fan Ann Schaab, who had Down syndrome. He missed out, but Honda later gave him a car anyway – and Ovechkin kept his promise.
More recently, he turned his pursuit of Gretzky’s record into a fundraising drive. His ‘GR8 CHASE’ campaign has raised more than $256,000 for pediatric cancer research, with Ovechkin donating for every goal he scores and Monumental Sports & Entertainment matching his contributions. His farewell season will also feature a new charitable effort announced on the eighth of each month, the team announced on Monday.
Unapologetically Russian
For all the affection Ovechkin has earned in Washington, he has never tried to hide his love for his homeland. Through more than two decades in the US – and amid tensions between Washington and Moscow – he has continued to describe himself first and foremost as Russian.
That refusal to distance himself from his homeland has made him a target of criticism from supporters of Ukraine, particularly since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. While Ovechkin has publicly called for peace, he has repeatedly resisted pressure to denounce Russia. Among his fiercest critics is former Czech goaltender Dominik Hasek, who has called for Russian NHL players’ contracts to be suspended and accused the league of facilitating Russian propaganda by continuing to showcase Ovechkin.
The pressure has extended beyond criticism. Ukraine imposed sanctions on Ovechkin in 2022, and he was later added to Kiev’s controversial state-linked ‘Mirotvorets’ database, which lists people it considers enemies of the country, and has been described by critics as a ‘kill list’ after several people named on it were killed or died under suspicious circumstances.
Ovechkin once again attracted criticism after appearing in a campaign video for Russia’s ruling United Russia party last month. Latvia subsequently banned him from entering the country, while the Ukrainian Canadian Congress called for him to be sanctioned and barred from Canada. Commenting on the ad, Ovechkin said: “I’m Russian, and I support my country.”
The controversies have done little to diminish Ovechkin’s standing with hockey fans, with his milestones celebrated in North America and around the world. US President Donald Trump earlier this year described him as “a great hockey player, a great gentleman.”
How Ovi’s news was received
The announcement prompted tributes from teammates, rivals, and some of hockey’s biggest names.
Zach Leonsis, the president of Capitals owner Monumental Sports & Entertainment, who has known Ovechkin for more than 21 years, said, “I know this season will be emotional,” urging fans to “cherish every game and every moment.”
Capitals coach Spencer Carbery pointed to Ovechkin’s reach far beyond Washington, recalling his amazement at seeing thousands of his jerseys at away games. For younger players, he said, Ovechkin’s 22 seasons carry a simple lesson: “It goes by in a flash… Make sure you make the most of it.”
Gretzky said the farewell season will be “great for the NHL... I’m happy for him.” Fellow Russian star Evgeny Malkin, who entered the NHL a year after Ovechkin and went from bitter rival to close friend, was similarly reflective. “He’s a legend. Fans love him,” Malkin said, wishing Ovechkin a healthy final season.
Columbus coach Rick Bowness recalled Ovechkin’s famous falling-down goal against Phoenix during his rookie season, saying his defenseman and goalie did everything perfectly, but the puck still went in. “I knew right there, ‘Wow, this kid’s special.’” More than 20 years later, he said it’s been “a real pleasure to coach against him his whole career.”
What’s next, Ovi?
When Ovechkin told his teammates he is retiring, he did not specify whether he meant the NHL or professional hockey as a whole, briefly leaving open the possibility of a return to Russia’s KHL. Speaking to reporters later on Monday, however, he indicated that this would likely be his final season as a professional player.
“I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it’s the right decision… I’m not 20 years old,” he said. “I want to play with my kids when they’re growing up. Play hockey, play soccer, play basketball. I want to be healthy enough to do that kind of stuff.”
Ovechkin has revealed few other retirement plans, but several projects offer clues.
Earlier this year, he completed the preliminary defense of a 145-page dissertation on hockey training methods as part of his pursuit of a candidate of sciences degree in pedagogical sciences – roughly equivalent to a Western PhD. He is also closely involved in the Alexander Ovechkin International Hockey Academy, a 43,000-square-meter complex under construction in Moscow. Ovechkin owns a 35% stake in the academy, which aims to develop young Russian talent and could give the Great Eight a new role in hockey after retirement.
Last month, Ovechkin made it clear where he expects to settle once hockey is over.
“I’m Russian, so when I’m done playing hockey, probably I’m gonna stay there,” he said. For now, though, Ovechkin has one season left and a characteristically simple priority: “I’m gonna focus on my game.”