ARLINGTON, Va. — Alex Ovechkin will open his 22nd NHL season Friday night when the Washington Capitals visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. At 41, the Capitals captain remains eager for another run, even after missing the entire preseason with a lower-body injury.
“I still love the game,” Ovechkin said. “My body is getting old, of course, but I still love it.”
Washington’s opener is set for 7 p.m. ET. Ovechkin is expected to start on the left side with Dylan Strome at center and Ryan Leonard on the right, while also taking his familiar place on the top power-play unit.
Quick facts
- Ovechkin enters the season with an NHL-record 929 regular-season goals.
- He led Washington last season with 32 goals and 64 points while appearing in every game.
- His one-year deal includes $1 million in salary, a $4.75 million games-played bonus at 10 games, and a $3.25 million signing bonus.
- Washington added Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais during the offseason.
- Ovechkin needs 11 combined regular-season and playoff goals to move past Wayne Gretzky’s record of 1,016.
The Russian left wing took time after last season to weigh whether he wanted to continue. His contract had expired, and Ovechkin wanted to speak with his family, assess how his body felt and see whether the Capitals would build a stronger roster after they missed the playoffs.
Washington’s summer business helped settle the question. The club brought in Tuch and Kyrou, each a three-time 30-goal scorer, plus Jenner and stay-at-home defenseman Desharnais. Ovechkin signed for one more season on July 2.
“The moves we made this summer gave me motivation to come back,” Ovechkin said. “I hope we’re going to be better than we were last year.”
There was also a reminder of how much has changed in Washington. Defenseman John Carlson, Ovechkin’s teammate for 17 seasons, was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks on March 6. At a team dinner this week, Ovechkin told Tom Wilson that the two were the last remaining players from the Capitals’ 2018 Cup-winning group.
Ovechkin surpassed Gretzky’s former regular-season goals mark of 894 on April 6, 2025, and has continued to pile up records. He is the NHL leader in power-play goals with 331, game-winning goals with 141, overtime goals with 27 and empty-net goals with 72.
He also owns the League marks for 20 30-goal seasons and 14 40-goal seasons. His nine 50-goal campaigns are tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy. Counting his 77 playoff goals, Ovechkin has scored 1,006 times in NHL games.
His Washington totals are just as deep: 1,573 games, 929 goals and 1,687 points. His 758 assists leave him five short of Nicklas Backstrom’s franchise record of 762.
Those numbers did not drive the decision to return. Strome sees the pursuit of another championship as the central reason.
“There isn’t much left for him to achieve,” Strome said. “I think it’s the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.”
More forward depth could mean a lighter workload for Ovechkin. He averaged a career-low 17:27 per game last season, and coach Spencer Carbery indicated that Washington will manage his deployment carefully, particularly after he missed exhibition action.
Carbery said the staff will watch Ovechkin’s minutes and power-play usage as he gets up to speed. Still, the coach expects the captain’s usual pace and energy once the regular season begins.
“I expect O to be O,” Carbery said. “He’ll be flying out there, full of energy and jump, leading the charge.”
Ovechkin’s role now goes beyond his shot and power-play spot. He has worn the captain’s “C” since 2010 and has become an everyday reference point for a changing room that includes 20-year-old rookies Cole Hutson and Ilya Protas, along with veteran arrivals Tuch, Kyrou, Jenner and Desharnais.
Tuch, beginning his 11th NHL season, said Ovechkin has made the transition easy for new teammates. He described the captain as a huge presence who treats a player with one NHL game the same as one with 1,000.
“That’s the kind of leader you need,” Tuch said. “My body hurts just thinking about 22 seasons. It’s insane.”
Durability has been a major piece of Ovechkin’s long run. Before a fractured left fibula sidelined him for 16 games in 2024-25, he had never missed more than six straight games. Washington has played 1,649 regular-season games since his 2005-06 debut, and Ovechkin has sat out only 76 of them.
He has also dressed for all 161 Capitals playoff games during that span. Wilson said the recovery work behind those appearances is difficult to appreciate from outside the room, noting that Ovechkin can be covered in ice bags after games.
“His durability is something they’ll be studying for a long time,” Wilson said. “He’s one of a kind.”
Ovechkin adjusted his offseason work to put a greater emphasis on conditioning and appears leaner entering camp. He acknowledged losing some weight, although his listed weight remains 238 pounds, the same figure carried since 2017-18.
Whether this becomes his final NHL season remains unanswered. Ovechkin said he has not made that call and has not yet had that conversation with the Capitals.
General manager Chris Patrick said discussions since last season centered on the coming campaign, Ovechkin’s new contract and Washington’s roster moves. The next decision, Patrick said, will wait until the season unfolds.
Ovechkin has watched Jaromir Jagr’s late-career model closely. Jagr played in the NHL through age 45 and signed one-year contracts for each of his final seven League seasons, deciding annually whether to continue.
That is where Ovechkin stands now: focused on the next game, the next season and another chance at the Cup.
“I want to make sure my body handles it the right way,” Ovechkin said. “It gets harder and harder to come back. The League changes, hockey changes, and you don’t get younger. You have to be smart about it.”
