Ovechkin, Capitals to talk in 'near future' about potential return for next season

ARLINGTON, Va. – Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will talk soon about whether he will return for a 22nd NHL season.

Although general manager Chris Patrick is reluctant to provide a specific timeline for when that chat with the NHL’s all-time leader in goals will take place, he said he doesn’t expect it to drag on too much longer into the offseason.

“No, I don't think so,” Patrick said Saturday after the completion of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft. “I think we'll have a conversation in the near future and get a good sense of where he's at.”

Headed toward his 41st birthday on Sept. 17, Ovechkin is on an expiring five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed with Washington in 2021 and can become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. There isn’t much urgency to get a contract done before then, given Ovechkin’s previous statements that he can’t envision himself playing for another NHL team.

Patrick said the Capitals have the cap space to re-sign him, if he decides to return, and add further to their roster after acquiring forwards Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch in separate trades earlier this week.

“From my conversations with Alex (Ovechkin) before he left (for the offseason), I think I have an understanding of if he does come back, kind of, what he's looking at contract wise,” Patrick said. “So, that kind of gave me some clarity as far as what I'm able to do spending wise.”

Ovechkin, who led the Capitals with 32 goals this season to increase his NHL-record career total to 929, undoubtedly was an intrigued bystander when they added two three-time, 30-goal scorers in Kyrou and Tuch. 

Washington acquired Kyrou in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday for forward Connor McMichael, forward prospect Milton Gastrin and the No. 16 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The 28-year-old has five seasons remaining on an eight-year, $65 million contract ($8.125 million average annual value).

The Capitals acquired Tuch in a sign-and-trade deal with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday for forward David Kampf, who is on an expiring contract, and a third-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft. The 30-year-old, who could’ve become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, signed an eight-year, $84 million contract (average annual value of $10.5 million) with Buffalo before being sent to Washington.

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said during a radio interview with Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto on Thursday that he spoke with Ovechkin on the telephone and he was “very, very impressed” with the moves to acquire Kyrou and Tuch. Patrick said he still doesn’t know, though, if Ovechkin plans to play next season. 

“I don't,” Patrick said. “I know Alex, as you guys all know, is a really competitive person and he wants to win. So, I think he definitely wanted to see kind of what we did here in this offseason and help inform his decision. So, I think this will help give him some more information to make a decision on.”

Patrick said acquiring Kyrou and Tuch wasn’t done, though, with the intent of convincing Ovechkin to return for another season. The Capitals had been trying since to add speed and skill on the wing to their top two lines since last offseason.

That became even more of a priority after Washington (43-30-9) missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, finishing three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and four points behind the Ottawa Senators for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

“I’m making the moves for what I think our team needs, what our hockey ops group thinks our team needs and how to make us the best team possible either with Alex or without Alex in the lineup,” Patrick said. “And these are moves for the next several years in the future, as well where, I think, we've got a really good core of players over the next several years that we have a chance to be a contending team for a while here. 

“So, we want to make sure we added guys to help complement that group.”

Patrick said the Capitals are probably done adding through trades, but plan to explore unrestricted free agency, saying, “I think we're going to be looking in both the forward and the 'D' market.”

The Capitals are thin on defense with Rasmus Sandin recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee and expected to miss an extended portion of next season, and Trevor van Riemsdyk, a 34-year-old who has played the past six seasons in Washington, slated to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. The Capitals also traded depth defenseman Declan Chisholm to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft on Thursday, so they likely have a couple of holes to fill. 

Regardless, Patrick said the Capitals have the cap space to continue to upgrade while they wait on Ovechkin.

“I think this has been a nice combination this summer of us having tradable assets and a lot of cap space,” Patrick said. “So, it has given us flexibility to kind of pursue some offseason moves while 'Ovi' mulls over his decision. … We're going to have lists of names on the board, and they're going to be, I'm assuming, at various price levels so we can just kind of see what fits what we have space for.”