Alex Ovechkin lament on retirement from hockey after he finishes out current contract with Capitals.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has been relatively reserved in discussing retirement in his media interviews over the years, but as he nears two decades in the NHL, he has begun to open up more about it. At the start of this season, Ovechkin mentioned retirement unprompted when discussing what continues to drive him in his illustrious career.

“I still enjoy it,” Ovechkin stated in October. “As soon as I’m not going to enjoy it, it’s probably not right for me to stay here and play the game the way I want to play.”

The topic resurfaced recently during a Russian-language interview with Sport-Express’ Igor Rabiner. Rabiner directly asked Ovechkin if he believes he will retire from professional hockey after his current contract with the Capitals expires.

“I think so, yes,” Ovechkin replied, as translated via Google Translate.

Rabiner initiated this discussion after mentioning Ovechkin’s former teammate on the Russian national team and Capitals, Ilya Kovalchuk, who returned to the KHL with Spartak Moscow at the age of 40 after not playing professional hockey since the end of the 2020-21 season.

“I check the [KHL scores] periodically,” Ovechkin noted. “Ilya is great; we talked to him recently. Getting ready for the playoffs. I think this man, with his health and approach to business, can play until he is 50 years old. The most important thing is that he himself wants it.”

When asked by Rabiner if he thought he could play another 12 years to reach 50 years old, Ovechkin replied simply, “No.”

In the past, Ovechkin had hinted that he might conclude his career by signing a short-term deal with KHL’s Dynamo Moscow in his 40s, where he began his hockey journey and returned during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. However, it seems that Ovechkin is not currently planning such a return.

Another significant question looming over the sport is whether Ovechkin will surpass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. Ovechkin is just 58 goals away from tying Gretzky for the top spot on the all-time list.

Before this season, there was little discussion about Ovechkin not achieving this milestone before his current contract expires. However, with his struggles this season, where he was on pace to score under 20 goals for the first time until his recent hot streak, there are now murmurs about Ovechkin potentially needing to sign on for additional years with the Capitals to chase down the record.

When asked by Rabiner if he had any plans regarding this, Ovechkin responded, “I don’t like the word ‘if.’ We live today, we play, we move on.”