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Washington Capitals refute rumor that Ovechkin will retire next year
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It seems that Alex Ovechkin will be playing for the Washington Capitals next season, and is excited to be begin, according to several reports available across the hockey universe, all of them citing a Capitals' PR tweet that was recently posted.
It seems, then, that there won't be an NHL tour next season - at least not for Alex Ovechkin, as he is set to return to the Capitals in 2025-26, to play at least one more season.
The hockey world had gone into a frenzy when word leaked that a Capitals sales department staffer sent an email to ticket holders sayin that Ovechkin was hanging up his skates.
But the matter was clarified on Thursday with a further tweet issued by the Washington Capitals: "No decision has been made on Alex Ovechkin's future following the 2025-26 NHL season. An email was sent by an individual with the corporate sales department that mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin's final year."
Ovechkin turns 40 years-old in September. He passed Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record this spring, to become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer. With that in mind, and having reached the top-15 in NHL games played, he may very well retire. What more need Ovi accomplish?
Well, he is still producing at an elite level, for one thing. He scored 44 goals in 65 games this season, while missing 16 games with a broken leg. There's the all-time goal record, of course. And he scored 5 goals in 10 playoff games. Where is his downside?
"I'm going to use those couple months (the offseason) to rest, enjoy my life, then back to work," Ovechkin said. "Me and (trainer Pavel Burlachenko) are going to our job to get ready for the season and just do my best. I'm looking forward to next year."
We all know what Ovechkin's best looks like. And when the 2025-26 season does finally begin, with Ovi in a Caps jersey, we, and the NHL, will be better off for it.
| POLL | ||
MAI 31 | 27 ANSWERS Washington Capitals refute rumor that Ovechkin will retire next year Will Ovechkin score 50 goals with Capitals next season, for a record-setting 10th time? | ||
| Yes | 10 | 37 % |
| No | 17 | 63 % |
| List of polls | ||
