Alex Ovechkin Plans to Return to Capitals for 21st Season After 2025 NHL Playoffs Loss

One day after his head coach said they expected him back next season, Alex Ovechkin confirmed he will return to the Washington Capitals for the 2025-26 campaign.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Ovechkin joked he has "to make a roster at 40 years old" before explaining he will take some time off before getting back to work preparing for next season.

"I'm going to use those couple months (in the offseason) to rest, enjoy my life, then back to work," Ovechkin said. "Me and (trainer Pavel Burlachenko are) going do our job to get ready for the season and just do my best."

There hasn't really been a lot of suspense about Ovechkin potentially hanging up his skates after this season.

On the April 14 episode of The Pat McAfee Show (starts at 8:30 mark), Ovechkin said he has "one more year" on his current contract and he loves "being around the boys, and as long as I can, I will try to stick around and put my great body in the NHL."

Ovechkin will earn $9 million with a $9.5 million cap hit next season on his current contract, per Spotrac.

Despite being one of the oldest active players in the NHL, Ovechkin has not lost any of his scoring prowess. The 39-year-old finished tied for third with 44 goals in the regular season.

The biggest moment of Ovechkin's season came on April 6 when he surpassed Wayne Gretzky to become the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer in a game against the New York Rangers.

Even though Ovechkin remains a standout player and the Capitals finished the regular season with the second-best record in the league, playoff success has eluded them.

Since winning the Stanley Cup Final to cap off the 2017-18 season, the Capitals have just one playoff series win in six postseason appearances. The series win was this season before they were eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

Next season would be Ovechkin's 21st in the NHL, all with the Capitals. He is already the longest-tenured player in franchise history by both years and games played (1,491).