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Alexander Ovechkin, who not too long ago surpassed Wayne Gretzky because the NHL‘s all-time main goal-scorer, is ready to retire following the 2025-26 season. However somewhat than Ovechkin or the Washington Capitals asserting Ovechkin’s impending retirement with the pomp and circumstance it deserves, followers discovered in a much more benign method.
In line with a number of season-ticket holders, followers obtained an e mail with a topic line studying: “OCTOBER – the beginning of Capitals hockey and Alex Ovechkin’s FINAL NHL SEASON.” The Capitals shortly took to social media in an try and debunk the declare.
No determination has been made on Alex Ovechkin’s future following the 2025-26 NHL season.
An e mail was despatched from a person with the company gross sales division that mistakenly alluded to subsequent yr being Alex Ovechkin’s closing yr.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) Could 29, 2025
Washington Capitals Refute E mail Stating That Alexander Ovechkin Is Retiring
“No determination has been made on Alex Ovechkin’s future following the 2025-26 NHL season,” the workforce mentioned in a publish on X from its PR division. “An e mail was despatched from a person with the company gross sales division that mistakenly alluded to subsequent yr being Alex Ovechkin’s closing yr.”
Now, possibly that’s the reality. It’s doable Ovechkin has not decided. But it surely certain feels just like the PR division is making an attempt to place out a hearth after somebody mistakenly broke the information.
In spite of everything, Ovechkin will likely be 40 years previous following the 2025-26 season and is getting into the ultimate yr of the five-year, $47.5 million extension he signed with the Capitals in 2021. So it appears as if 2026 is a fairly logical time for him to finish a legendary profession.
However there are causes to imagine in any other case. For one, the Caps preserve that no determination has been made. Moreover, Ovechkin is coming off a 44-goal, 73-point season in simply 65 video games. Which means he’s higher than a point-per-game participant nonetheless, and the 44 objectives ranked third in the whole NHL. Why dangle it up if you’re nonetheless taking part in a celebrity stage?
So it’s totally doable Ovechkin isn’t finished. But it surely certain appears as if somebody simply let the cat out of the bag within the worst doable method.
