Starting with his 2005–2006 rookie season, Alex Ovechkin hasn’t disappointed National Hockey League fans.
How time flies. For some fans, it seems like yesterday when Ovechkin was the overall top draft pick. The Washington Capitals, who had finished at the bottom of the then Southeast Division with just 59 points and subsequently won the NHL Draft Lottery, made Ovechkin their selection. Now, 21 seasons later, the Moscow native is still the center of attention of his team, and the NHL.
Eventually, of course, there will be a changing of the guard. For fans who haven’t attended a game with the NHL’s all-time scoring leader, at 897 goals, and want to be able to say they saw “The Great 8” in person, time could be running out. Currently, Ovechkin is in the final season of the five-year deal he signed with Washington in 2021. At least publicly, as of this time, Ovechkin hasn’t decided if there is a season 22 in his future.
Three games into this season, the Capitals are 2–1, collecting four points in the Eastern Conference Metropolitan Division. After losing the season opener at home to the Boston Bruins 3–1, Washington bounced back with two straight wins in The Big Apple. On Saturday, while hosted by the New York Islanders at UBS Arena, Washington earned its first victory, 4–2, for the 2025–2026 campaign. The Capitals’ first goal of the game was scored by Martin Fehervary, with assists by Ovechkin and John Carlson. That was Ovechkin’s 727th career assist. He increased this total to 728 on Sunday when the Capitals were at Madison Square Garden defeating the New York Rangers 1–0.
A career lifer with the Capitals, Ovechkin’s shifts are shorter now than just a few seasons ago, and he may have lost a stride or two chasing pucks and setting up his linemates since being named the NHL rookie of the year in the spring of 2006, after scoring 52 goals and accumulating 106 points, but defensemen still give him special attention. As smart as he is skilled, Ovechkin achieved his 14th season of scoring 40 or more goals just last year, and has led the NHL in goals scored nine times.
As the Capitals’ team captain for 17 seasons, Ovechkin understands that his role on offense has gradually changed in recent years. He is passing the scoring torch on to the next generation of wings and centers.
Last season was just amazing for Ovechkin, as the media and fans alike closely monitored his chase to become the NHL’s all-time goal scorer. In November, however, while on the ice, Ovechkin suffered a fractured left fibula in a game with Utah. At the time of the injury, Ovechkin had tallied 15 goals. After missing 16 games, the captain was back skating on December 28 at Toronto.
Late in the 2024–2025 season, as April arrived, Ovechkin inched closer to Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s total of 894 goals. In a game against the Blackhawks on April 4, Ovechkin launched the puck into the goal before the hometown crowd at Capital One Arena, tying the record. Two days later at USB Arena, Ovechkin surpassed Gretzky with goal No. 895 in a 4–1 Washington loss to the Islanders.
With the scoring record already secured, between now and the Capitals’ final regular season game on April 14, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington’s general manager, Chris Patrick, may come to terms with his star shooter on a contract offer.
Meanwhile, for last season’s team successes, including 111 points, defeating the Montreal Canadiens in first-round playoff action, before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in second-round play, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery was named the NHL’s Jack Adams Award winner (coach of the year).
Even at this late stage of his career, Ovechkin is a game-changer. Tuesday’s welcoming of the Tampa Bay Lightning to Washington offers Ovechkin another opportunity to score a hat-trick, which would allow him to reach yet another NHL milestone—900 goals.
To put Ovechkin’s achievement in perspective, a rookie in the NHL today dreaming of equaling or surpassing what “The Great 8” has rung up would have to average 45 goals per season across 20 years.
Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top draft pick in 2005 (N0. 1 overall), is the current NHL skater closest to Ovechkin’s 897 goals. Crosby has found the back of the net 626 times, good for 16th place among all-time goal-scorers.
Throughout his career, Ovechkin has done one thing on ice very well—score. Each game the Capitals play between now and April could be a countdown to Ovechkin’s retirement speech. What a ride it remains. Shoot, score, and repeat. “The Great 8” is arguably the best offensive threat the NHL has ever known.
