Alex Ovechkin is coming back for another year with the Washington Capitals and for good reason.
The 40-year-old is coming back for a 22nd season after signing a one-year, $4.2 million deal with the Capitals. It was pretty clear based upon Ovechkin’s end-of-season comments that he wanted to make sure that Washington would field a team capable of winning a Stanley Cup. Based upon his text to general manager Chris Patrick, he felt that was exactly the case, according to The Athletic’s Barry Svrluga.
“When you look at our roster, it’s—how I say it—it’s Stanley Cup contender,” Ovechking texted general manager Chris Patrick while vacationing in Turkey.
The Capitals missed the playoffs last season for just the second time since the 2014-15 season. It was just the fifth time in Ovechkin’s career that he’s missed the postseason.
Washington has made a number of moves to ensure they’ll make a better run at the playoffs this upcoming season, signing Alex Tuch to an $84 million contract, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais.
“I think it took us maybe like 10 minutes,” Ovechkin said Monday of the one-year contract he signed. “I called Chris (Patrick, Capitals general manager) and said, ‘OK, let’s make a deal,’ and he said what was going to happen with the signing bonus and I said, ‘OK, let’s go.’”
Capitals Face Stacked Competition in Eastern Conference
It won’t be easy for the Capitals considering they play in a stacked division featuring the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes are coming off one of the most dominant playoff runs ever, going 16-3 while completing the second-best postseason run in the 16-win era.
Outside of the Hurricanes, the Metropolitan Division also features the likes of the Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, both of whom are coming off of 98-point seasons and playoff runs.
The rest of the Eastern Conference is just as difficult with the Florida Panthers — the Stanley Cup champs in 2024 and 2025 — now reloaded with a healthy roster featuring Brady Tkachuk.
Alex Ovechkin Still Playing at High Level Entering Age 41 Season
With that being said, Ovechkin is extremely optimistic this Capitals team can win the Stanley Cup. The NHL’s all-time leading scorer has won just one Stanley Cup in his career and has advanced past the second round just once in his illustrious career.
He’s still playing at a high level, scoring 32 goals and 32 assists during his age 40 season. During the season prior, Ovechkin notched 44 goals, ranking third in the NHL. He played in all 82 games last season, showing that he remains as durable as ever in his later year.
“What management did signing new players, trading for new guys, you can see how (Patrick) said for ‘Carbs’ (coach Spencer Carbery), it’s going to be lots of work, lots of thinking of what line combinations are going to be,” Ovechkin said. “We have lots of depth in our lineup, so yeah, I’m very excited. I’m very excited for the team and for the fans as well because on the paper, you can see our team is one of the best teams. But now we have to work for the Stanley Cup, for the playoffs first and then the Stanley Cup.”
Alex Ovechkin’s Makes Bold Statement to Capitals General Manager in Text