Alex Ovechkin announced on Monday that this will be his last NHL season. Ovechkin is entering his 22nd season, and his career will come to a close at the end of it. He announced to his teammates that “it’s sad, but it is what it is. We have an unbelievable team this year. There are 82 games left. Let’s make the playoffs, and let’s have fun.”
Ovechkin has made himself the greatest goal scorer of all time with 929 goals, and he still has 82 games left this season until it’s time to hang up his skates. He passed legend Wayne Gretzky last season with the most goals of all time, a record that was held by Gretzky for decades.
Ovechkin was the number one overall pick in the 2004 draft. He established himself with 52 goals in his rookie year and won the Calder Trophy. He has also won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goalscorer a record nine times. In the 2017-18 season, the Washington Capitals finally won the Stanley Cup by beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 in the series.
Ovechkin is the longest-tenured player ever in hockey to have played all of his career with the Capitals. He has also been captain of the Capitals for as long as he has played with them. Even though he officially announced his plans for this season to be the last, it came as no surprise to his teammates and coach.
The Capitals will have some big-name games this year that will be great to watch as Ovechkin’s career comes to a close. The Great 8 and the Capitals play the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby on October 7th; on December 28th, they will play the Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid; lastly, they will play the NHL’s last-season top goal scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche.
These are definitely must-see games if you are a true hockey fan and love watching the NHL’s best on best. If the Capitals can make the playoffs this year, they would be one of the teams to watch in the race to the Cup and make Ovechkin’s season that much sweeter.
Ovechkin has mentioned in the past returning to his home country, Russia, to possibly play in the KHL for the Moscow Dynamo, but nothing is official for him as of yet. He will just focus on one game at a time in his last season in the NHL. Enjoying the moments with teammates and helping the Capitals win games.
When the Capitals’ season does come to a close, it will be a sad and emotional day for their fans. They will have to find a new Captain for the following season. A new face will need to fill in some big skates when that day comes.
Ovechkin has had a heck of a career not only with the Capitals but in his hockey career, breaking records as a rookie, winning trophies consecutively, and winning a Stanley Cup. He will go down as one of the best hockey players ever to play the game. The hockey world will be different without the Great 8 on the ice in a Capitals uniform next season, but after an incredible career, he deserves the best rest from hockey and to enjoy the next phase of life.
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