Now that the 2025-26 NHL regular season has come to a close for the Washington Capitals without a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all speculation is now understandably turning toward the future of captain and soon-to-be first ballot Hall of Fame forward Alex Ovechkin, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency starting on July 1.
Ovechkin has given several major hints that the recently-completed season may not have been his last in the NHL, but an official decision has yet to be made, as he indicated that he needs time to talk about it with his family.
However, if the words of a former teammate of Ovechkin’s holds any weight, Capitals fans may get the chance for a farewell tour for the Great 8 in the 2026-27 NHL season after all.
Former Alex Ovechkin Teammate T.J. Oshie Believes He’ll Come Back For One More Year With The Washington Capitals
Former Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, who played the second half of his NHL career as Ovechkin’s teammate and was a part of the historic 2018 Stanley Cup-winning squad, recently gave a major clue as to what Ovechkin’s plans for next season could be.
While appearing on the “Home By 3” podcast, Oshie revealed that he caught up with Ovechkin following the final game of the season earlier this week against the Columbus Blue Jackets and said that while he initially believed it was his last appearance in the NHL, he’s now thinking that Ovechkin will in fact come back for one more “farewell-style” season.
“All the other guys took off, and me and O stayed for probably an hour and just chatted, me and him… If you would have asked me a week ago, I would have said no,” Oshie answered when asked his view if Ovechkin would play another season.
“If I have a gun to my chin, I’m gonna say he’s probably coming back for one more farewell tour, like a real one. I think he’ll sign a one year deal,” he said. “I think it’d probably be a little bit more fair to the contract wise to him, then to the club maybe, just as like, thanks for everything you’ve done type thing.”
It was just over one year ago that Ovechkin broke the NHL goals scored record, which stood for nearly three full decades by Wayne Gretzky. In April 2025, Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his career, officially overtaking Gretzky for most goals scored in NHL history.
Earlier this season, Ovechkin also scored the 1,000th goal (regular season and playoffs combined) of his career.
The Capitals Missed The Stanley Cup Playoffs
For the second time in the last three seasons, the Capitals failed to earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It was at this time last year that they were among the better clubs in the Eastern Conference, and defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the postseason before eventually falling in the Eastern Conference Semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes.
This season, their 95 total points was four shy of the 99 it took to earn the second and final Wild Card spot in the East.
Former Alex Ovechkin Teammate Gives Major Clue On His Future