Ovechkin goals record celebrated by Capitals owner

Ted Leonsis has been owner of the Washington Capitals since 1999 and has had an inside view of Alex Ovechkin’s 20-season climb to becoming the NHL’s all-time goals leader. Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal Sunday against the New York Islanders to break Wayne Gretzky’s record.

In an exclusive column for NHL.com, Leonsis writes about his bond with Ovechkin and the impact he has had on the Capitals, from being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft to leading them to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2018 to scoring his record-breaking goal.

Before we won the Stanley Cup in 2018, I took little joy from our accomplishments. My emotions in those moments were always relief. Since then, however, I have given myself permission to have joy and Alex breaking this record brings tears of joy.

It also brings a sense of accomplishment and reflection. Every day now something harkens up a memory.

I remember when the Capitals general manager George McPhee dropped Alex off at my home in McLean, Virginia the first weekend when we drafted him in 2004. He didn’t speak much English.

We were in the pool in my backyard and I told him, “We’re in this together and we’re going to win the Stanley Cup, and you can be one of the greatest players ever. My goal is to treat you like you’re a part of the family and this is going to be a great experience for the two of us.”

You look back now and you go, “Oh, wow. I love it when a plan comes together.”

Time unspooled and the change is everywhere, but a constant is just the determination and fidelity of Alex Ovechkin. I don’t think that’s been celebrated enough.

If you look at the four big professional sports -- how many players drafted and retained by one organization have been an MVP, won a championship and broke an all-time record?

LeBron James is the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, and he’s played for four teams. Tom Brady, an NFL superstar, has played for two teams. Michael Jordan played for the Chicago Bulls and us (the Washington Wizards).

Going through the list, I think Bill Russell and Steph Curry might be the biggest one-team players or player/coach.

It’s so rare.

I don’t know if a record will be broken again by one player who shows his love and respect for the fanbase, for the franchise, for the owners and for the community the way Alex has with us. That’s where I’m really proud of him. He’s so against type.

I was watching a video that came up on Facebook and it was Alex at his house playing goalie with his kids and a friend, and his mother was playing a goalie, too. It showed how real, how human, how sweet and nice he is … and the guy is the all-time leading goal-scorer breaking a record many believed couldn’t be broken!

I’ve spent some time with Wayne Gretzky. He’s a great man. He’s said that he was this enthusiastic about Alex breaking this record because, “If anyone was going to be break that record, it’s him. He earned it.”

The impact that Alex made is palatable and you can carbon date and trace it. We have one of the top youth hockey communities in the country. I call that “The Ovechkin effect.”

You go to a game now and you see everyone wearing his jersey. But you’d watch a game before him, and it was just a regular game where we were probably only 70 percent sold out.

Alex comes in and we made the Stanley Cup Playoffs the third year he’s on the team and pretty much every year since then. And everyone’s in a jersey and most of them are with his name on the back.

We were a “Woe is me. Why can’t we have nice things in hockey?” organization. The turning point psychologically was when Alex was coming off his rookie contract. Sidney Crosby was signing a five-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the CBA was written in a certain way that someone could have put an offer sheet on Alex.

I wasn’t worried about that, but we came to an agreement on an extension and then-Capitals president Dick Patrick, the most conservative, traditional hockey purest said, “We agree to that deal, but let’s sleep on it. I just want to explore some ideas with Ted and George.”

And Dick said, “Why don’t we negotiate with him his unrestricted free-agent contract on top of this extension at the same time?” It had never been done before and the rules at that time allowed it. So we came back to him with the 12-year offer and his mother, who was his agent, said, “13 years.”

Then, we held this season-ticket holder party, and I remember ad-libbing and walking up and saying, “There’s a lot of rumors that Alex is going to sign an extension for five years, and I’m sorry, it’s not true.” And the victimhood was palpable. Everybody was like, “Ugh. I knew something bad was going to happen.” Then I said, “But he is going to sign a 13-year deal,” and the place went nuts.

Everything flipped by him saying, “This is where I want to be, and I’m committed.” The fans just went, “I’m relieved now. I can trust that we can have nice things.”

Alex has been consistent and straightforward. I never had a tough conversation with him. He never asked to be traded. He never said, “Fire this coach.”

The only thing he ever did when I would get involved in the last minute of negotiations was say, “You have to promise me we’ll have a great team. I don’t want to be the guy who breaks a record and didn’t win the Cup.”

When he negotiated his current five-year contract in 2021, the one thing he said was, “You have to promise me we’ll have a great team. If we have a great team, everything else will take care of itself. I don’t want to be a guy who breaks a record and is playing on the fourth line and you trot me out on the power play. I’ll quit. I’ll retire.”

That level of self-reflection and awareness is one of the things I’m the most proud of. Last season, we made the playoffs the last day of the season. This season, we were the first team in the NHL to qualify for the playoffs, and he hugs me and smiles at me. It’s like, “OK, you delivered. I’m going to deliver.”

He’s just one of a kind.

Alex and I don’t hang out together. Alex and I don’t go to dinner and lunches together, but I’ve been around him just enough. We’ve had some high-quality, high-bandwidth discussions. I really trust him, he really trusts me and it’s a rare case where we could have a good-news, happy-ending kind of story. But I really don’t want the story to end.

Our challenge is going to be one day when he’s no longer here. How do we keep his impact culturally? But it’s immeasurable. I remind my son, “Don’t think this is going to happen again.” It’s historic and unprecedented. So, I want us to appreciate this now because, in hindsight, it was remarkable and really special.

My relationship with Alex extends to his mom and his late father. Mikhail loved his son, the Capitals, and our fans. He played an enormous role in Alex’s journey, as did Alex’s mother, Tatyana. Tatyana, an incredible athlete in her own right, couldn’t be prouder of her son. My friendships with both Mikhail and Tatyana are among the many highlights of my relationship with Alex. They are two amazing people who raised an exceptional son. As much as I couldn’t wait to see Alex break the record, I was just as eager to witness Tatyana experience that moment as well.

Family is incredibly important to Alex, and they are important to us too. I have watched Alex grow from a teenager into an amazing husband to Nastya and a devoted father to two sons.

Seeing him with Sergei and Ilya and observing their bond is truly touching. We love watching Alex find Sergei in the stands when he scores a goal. The Ovechkin family’s love and support for Alex during this incredible time in his life is inspiring. Their encouragement truly drives him.

Over the years, I have introduced Alex to many legends, including LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. Greatness recognizes greatness, and Alex truly embodies the title of "The Great 8." One thing Alex and I noticed when meeting these legendary athletes is the class they exhibited. Leaders show class, and Alex Ovechkin is a true leader.

I will savor the moment when Alex broke the record. There are many goals yet to score—new records to set. Our collective goal remains unchanged: to win another Stanley Cup.

I hope Alex gets to enjoy being the record holder for a long time. But I know that if a player ever finds a way to break Alex’s record, just like Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s, Alex will be there to congratulate the new goal-scoring king. But right now, in this moment, no one is more deserving than Alex. He has a rich life filled with a healthy family, success, prosperity, an outstanding reputation, and now, a historic achievement.