Alexander Ovechkin is continuing his historic career after signing a one-year deal worth up to $9 million with the Washington Capitals.
The 40-year-old will carry a cap hit of $4.25 million under his new deal, but will earn an additional $4.75 million bonus if he appears in 10 games next season.
It will mark his 22nd NHL season.
Ovechkin, 40, surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record in 2024-25 and has 929 goals and 1,687 points in 1,573 games in his illustrious 21-season career.
He recorded 32 goals and 64 points in 82 games with the Capitals last season.
The 6-foot-3 winger is coming off a five-year, $47.5 million contract that carried an annual cap hit of $9.5 million.
Ovechkin was drafted first overall by the Capitals in 2004 and helped lead the team to 10 division titles, three Presidents’ Trophies, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2018.
The eight-time, first-team all-star won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2018 after recording 15 goals and 27 points in 24 games.
Ovechkin is a three-time Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner (2008, 2009, 2013) and has won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy nine times as the league’s leading goal scorer.
He also won the Art Ross Trophy to lead the league in scoring in 2008, the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2006 and recognized as the Mark Messier Leadership Award winner in 2025.
Ovechkin was also named as one of the NHL’s all-time top 100 players as part of the league’s centennial anniversary in 2017.
The Moscow, Russia native represented his country three times at the Winter Olympics, finishing fourth in 2006, sixth in 2010, and fifth in 2014. He also represented Russia 13 times at the World Championship, winning gold in 2008, 2012, and 2014, silver in 2010 and 2015, and bronze in 2005, 2007, 2015, and 2019.
