Alexander Ovechkin isn’t done yet. The Washington Capitals forward has signed a one-year deal worth up to $9 million, setting up his 22nd NHL season.
Under the new contract, Ovechkin carries a cap hit of $4.25 million. He can also collect an additional $4.75 million bonus if he appears in 10 games next season.
The 40-year-old just kept climbing the record book in 2024-25, when he passed Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals mark. Through 21 seasons, Ovechkin has piled up 929 goals and 1,687 points in 1,573 games.
He added 32 goals and 64 points in 82 games with Washington last season.
This new agreement comes after the five-year, $47.5 million contract he had been playing under, a deal that carried an annual cap hit of $9.5 million.
Ovechkin’s Capitals career has been packed with hardware and team success. Drafted first overall by Washington in 2004, he helped the franchise win 10 division titles, three Presidents’ Trophies and the Stanley Cup in 2018.
That championship run came with a huge individual performance from Ovechkin, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring 15 goals and totaling 27 points in 24 playoff games.
His trophy case is already one of the most loaded in the sport. Ovechkin is an eight-time first-team all-star, a three-time Hart Trophy winner and three-time Ted Lindsay Award winner, taking those honors in 2008, 2009 and 2013. He has also claimed the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy nine times as the league’s top goal scorer.
The accolades go deeper still. Ovechkin won the Art Ross Trophy in 2008, the Calder Trophy in 2006 and was recognized as the Mark Messier Leadership Award winner in 2025. He was also named one of the NHL’s all-time top 100 players during the league’s centennial celebration in 2017.
On the international stage, the Moscow, Russia native played in three Winter Olympics, finishing fourth in 2006, sixth in 2010 and fifth in 2014. He also appeared in 13 World Championships for Russia, winning gold in 2008, 2012 and 2014, silver in 2010 and 2015, and bronze in 2005, 2007, 2015 and 2019.
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