Alex Ovechkin, the highest goalscorer in National Hockey League history, will retire when the current season ends. The 41-year-old Russian, now in his 22nd straight NHL season with the Washington Capitals, said he loved the game but knew in his heart that stopping was the right decision.
Ovechkin took the record in April 2025, scoring his 895th regular-season goal to move past Wayne Gretzky. The Canadian Hall of Famer had held the mark for 31 years after overtaking his compatriot Gordie Howe in 1994. Ovechkin now has 929 regular-season goals, ahead of Gretzky on 894, Howe on 801, Jaromir Jagr on 766 and Brett Hull on 741.
He said he wanted to make the announcement before the Capitals’ first home game so he could thank the people around him, and that he planned to “enjoy every moment” of the season with his family, team-mates and fans. Washington host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena on Wednesday.
Several milestones remain within reach. Ovechkin has 1,688 career points for the Capitals, made up of 929 goals and 759 assists in 1,575 games, the 10th-highest points total in NHL history. He is 11 goals short of overtaking Gretzky for the most goals across the regular season and play-offs combined. He is also four assists away from passing Sweden’s Nicklas Backstrom, whose 762 assists are the Capitals’ franchise record.
The Capitals made Ovechkin the first overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, when he was already regarded as one of the brightest young players in Russian hockey. He left Dynamo Moscow for North America at 20 and scored twice on his debut against the Columbus Blue Jackets in October 2005. He led Washington to their only Stanley Cup in 2017-18 and has scored at least 40 goals in 14 of his 21 NHL seasons, a league record. His lively celebrations and relaxed approach to the strict diets of the modern game have made him one of the faces of the league’s marketing.
