Alex Ovechkin undecided if 2025-26 will be final season

• Greg WyshynskiSep 18, 2025, 04:13 PM ET

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  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin said he hasn’t decided whether 2025-26 will be his final NHL season.

“I don’t know if this is going to be the last. We’ll see,” Ovechkin said Thursday at the start of Capitals training camp.

Ovechkin, 40, became the NHL’s leading career goal scorer last season, passing Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky (894) and finishing with 897 career goals.

The Capitals captain eased concerns that he was slowing down with 44 goals in a season that saw him miss 16 games with a broken leg. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season, his 21st in the league.

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Ovechkin said he has yet to discuss his future with general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan.

“I just came back [locally] almost a week ago,” he said. “I’m pretty sure we have lots of time to talk.”

Patrick said the Capitals don’t currently have a sense of what Ovechkin is thinking regarding his future.

“I want him to have the space to have this season go how he wants it to go,” Patrick said. “If he wants to talk, we’ll talk. If not, we’ll figure it out later.”

The 2025-26 season has Ovechkin in range of a few more NHL records and personal milestones, beginning with the chance to become to the first player to score 900 goals.

“I’m excited for 900. That will be really neat to see,” Patrick said. “I’m just at a point where every time I see him play, I’m just appreciating it, because he’s 40 years old. We’re not going to have this forever. To get to witness it every night is a treat.”

Although Ovechkin caught Gretzky in the regular season, he trails The Great One by 42 for the most goals scored between the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs combined. Gretzky has 1,016, while Ovechkin’s combined 49 goals last season gave him 974 for his career.

Ovechkin will also have a chance to set a record for most goals scored by a 40-year-old player. Gordie Howe holds that mark with 44 tallies in the 1968-69 season. From a personal standpoint, Ovechkin is just nine games from 1,500 in his career, a benchmark only 22 players in NHL history have reached.

While there’s still history to be made, Ovechkin said he welcomes a season without something like the Gretzky goals record chase overshadowing everything else.

“You just get tired to hear when it’s going to happen, how you’re going to do it,” he said. “Right now, we just focusing on the different things.”

Defenseman John Carlson, who also doesn’t have a contract beyond this season, said it’s been “a hell of a ride” with Ovechkin, whether or not this is his final season.

“I’m not going to get too nostalgic too early here, on Day 1 at camp,” Carlson said. “But, yeah, it’s been really cool to play with one of the game’s greats, and now the leading goal scorer of all time. Those are insane things that you can reflect on. Pretty special times.”