COLUMBUS -- “The Great 8” skated off into the great unknown Tuesday.
Alex Ovechkin insisted again that he’s unsure what the future holds for him following the Washington Capitals’ 2-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets in their season finale at Nationwide Arena. But the 40-year-old left wing seemed to leave the door open that this wasn’t the end of his NHL career.
“I hope it’s not my last game,” Ovechkin said after assisting on Jakob Chychrun’s winning power-play goal at 15:53 of the third period. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. So, we’ll see.”
Ovechkin, the NHL record holder with 929 career goals, said again that he plans to make that decision in the offseason, which is officially underway for the Capitals (43-30-9) after they failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2023. Their hopes of completing a miracle run to nab third place in the Metropolitan Division, fueled by an 8-2-0 surge in their final 10 games, fizzled when they were eliminated from contention by the Philadelphia Flyers’ 3-2 shootout win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.
That made the game Tuesday anticlimactic for both teams – the Blue Jackets were also eliminated by the Flyers’ victory – with the only real drama of the night being the possibility of it being Ovechkin’s final NHL game. The Capitals captain just completed his 21st NHL season and is in the final season of a five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021.
The players looked to be going through the motions as each team tried to play through its disappointment in a goalless first period. The intensity picked up some in the second and third periods, but it still felt more like a preseason game.
“The season is over,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, you don’t want to end like that, but it’s a learning process for young guys. … I think it’s on us and, obviously, last night was not a good scenario for us and for Columbus as well.”
Even with the game having no meaning in the standings, a large contingent of fans made the trip from Washington just in case it was their last chance to see Ovechkin play. They held signs against the glass during pregame warmups supporting Ovechkin. One read “THX OVI” and another said, “One more year!”
The Capitals supporters chanted that in the final minutes of the third period. Then they yelled, “O-vi! O-vi!” as he headed off the ice following the final horn. Ovechkin reached up and applauded them with his gloved hands before disappearing down the tunnel to the visiting locker room.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ovechkin said. “The fans that came here from D.C. and from different spots to watch the game, it was very nice. I can hear their cheering for me and scream ‘One more year!’ So, that’s important, too. It shows lots of respect. So, thanks for the support.”
Playing for the Capitals is all Ovechkin has ever known in the NHL since they selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. And he’s been the face of the franchise for two decades, including as captain of their first Stanley Cup championship team in 2018.
Ovechkin played in all 82 games again this season, marking the fifth time in his career that he has not missed a game, and he led the Capitals again with 32 goals and 64 points. Capitals coach Spencer Carbery tried to help him add another goal to his total by leaving him on the ice for the final 1:49 after the Blue Jackets pulled goalie Jet Greaves for an extra attacker.
Ovechkin looked like he might get his 930th goal when Tom Wilson’s pass sent him ahead on the right wing, but he couldn’t get the bouncing puck to settle, and his shot went wide right of the empty net.
“I felt like I wanted him to maybe, if this is it, to ice it with one more empty-netter,” Carbery said. “He had a good look at it; the puck just was rolling.”
Carbery said there was some discussion about Ovechkin’s uncertain future during the postgame meeting in the locker room but preferred not to share what was said.
“I’ll just keep that between us,” Carbery said.
An emotional Wilson said Ovechkin tried his best to keep the focus off him.
“He's doing his best job just to keep it normal,” said Wilson, his eyes glassy with burgeoning tears. “He definitely doesn't want any extra attention. I mean, he's the man. However he wants to do it, I think he's going to let it go down. But right now, he's not tipping us. He's not telling us what's going on.”
Ovechkin said the first step in his decision process will be the Capitals’ end-of-season meetings on Thursday. He has mentioned multiple times that his health will be a consideration as he approaches his 41st birthday in September. He plans to sit down with Carbery, general manager Chris Patrick, team president Brian MacLellan and owner Ted Leonsis in addition to talking to his family.
“We’re going to stay a little bit in D.C.,” Ovechkin said. “I don’t know when we’re going to fly, probably May, fly back home.”
If this was Ovechkin’s last NHL game, there was some symmetry to it being against the Blue Jackets. He made his NHL debut against Columbus on Oct. 5, 2005, in Washington and scored two goals in a 3-2 victory.
No one would’ve predicted then that he’d go on to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals, which he did on April 6 of last season. Ovechkin has also scored 77 playoff goals, including a League-leading 15 during the Capitals’ 2018 Cup run, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the playoffs.
That gives him a combined total of 1,006 goals, 10 fewer than Gretzky’s record of 1,016.
Judging by Ovechkin’s production this season, he would be certain to break that record too, if he chose to play another season. His legacy is secure, though, if he doesn’t play another game.
“He’s the greatest goal-scorer of all time,” said former Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, who worked the game Tuesday as an analyst for ESPN. “If he came back next year, probably, if he wanted to, he’d score 30 again. And I wouldn’t put 40 out of the question because he can just score goals.
“He can just do it.”
