B/R's Great 8 Moments and Memories of Alex Ovechkin's NHL Career

Alex Ovechkin officially announced Monday that the 2026-27 NHL season will be his last.

Ovechkin signed a one-year contract this past summer and turned 41 last month -- it's not like this was unexpected. But the official announcement makes it easier for all of us to enjoy the farewell tour of the best goal scorer of all time.

So as we see if he has one more playoff run and a few more special moments up his sleeve this season, let's reflect on the eight greatest moments and memories of No. 8's career so far.

Ovi's Goal Against the Coyotes in 2006

Alex Ovechkin's rookie season remains one of the best in NHL history, with 52 goals in 81 games and a Calder Trophy to boot.

The biggest highlight-reeler of the bunch was goal No. 32, scored in January 2006 against the Phoenix Coyotes. To this day, this goal ranks among Ovechkin's wildest of all time.

After sliding and falling on his back, Ovechkin was able to remain in control of the puck and slide a backhander past Brian Boucher.

We all knew Ovechkin was going to have a special career from the moment he scored two goals in his NHL debut, but goal No. 32 really solidified that he could become one of the best goal-scorers of all time.

Ovechkin's Monster 2008 4-Trophy Win

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After finishing the 2007-08 season with 65 goals and 112 points, Ovechkin won the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, the Rocket Richard Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association. He became the first player in NHL history to sweep all four of these awards in one season.

As impressive as his goal-scoring will always be, the four-trophy sweep, including the Hart Trophy, showed that his career is about much more than just scoring goals.

The Rivalry With Crosby

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Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby at the 2011 Winter Classic in Pittsburgh

If the rivalry between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby isn't your favorite NHL rivalry of all time, you're lying to yourself if it isn't at least in your top three.

These two joined the league in the same year and ushered in a new era of skill and finesse in the NHL. Not only did both players dominate the league year after year in their primes, but they've continued to perform at an elite level long past their 20s.

They've met in four postseason series (2009, 2016, 2017 won by Pittsburgh; 2018 won by Washington), and every series winner eventually went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.

There are too many iconic moments from twenty years of Ovechkin and Crosby going at it, but the two going hat trick for hat trick in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals is tough to beat.

His Love of Subway Sandwiches, Cheetos and Mamma Lucia's

Most NHL players have their quirks, and Ovechkin's has been a shameless love for junk food. The best goal-scorer in NHL history is fueled by everything from mid-game soda (sugar is fast-burning fuel, after all) to gas station Subway to his pre-game meal from "Mamma Lucia" in the DC area.

What is "Mamma Lucia," you ask? According to Brooks Orpik, it's a chicken parm pasta concoction that Ovechkin will eat even at 9 a.m. if there's a 12 p.m. matinee ahead.

"It's a pasta dish that's like chicken parm with noodles, bread, cheese, the kind of thing you want to take a five-hour nap after eating," Orpik told the Players' Tribune. "He makes a big display of it too. There's no shame. It'll be eleven in the morning, way before anyone is really thinking about eating lunch, and Ovi will walk into the dining area yelling, 'Mamma Lucia! Mamma Lucia!'"

There's something genuinely endearing that in the era of players drinking green smoothies and eating chickpea pasta, one of the greatest to ever do it is still kickin' on a diet like this at 41 years young.

The Stanley Cup Win in 2018

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As Ovechkin's career reached the decade mark, his Capitals were right there, making the playoffs and advancing past the first round more often than not. Year after year, though, they fell short of the ultimate goal. Worse yet, they kept failing to beat their rival Penguins along the way. The pressure was at an all-time high leading up to Washington's 2018 championship run.

As agonizing as the buildup to that year had been, it's clear all of the disappointment along the way made Ovechkin's first and only Stanley Cup even sweeter.

The 2018 Stanley Cup was the first in Capitals franchise history; Ovechkin won the Conn Smythe Trophy after recording 27 points in 24 games, and yes, they defeated the Penguins in the second round along the way.

Ovechkin has had one of the most remarkable individual careers in NHL history, but his resume as one of the best hockey players of all time just wouldn't have felt complete without a Stanley Cup. 

The Stanley Cup Celebration in 2018

So, yeah, about that catharsis. When Ovechkin and the Capitals finally got that Stanley Cup monkey off their back, they partied accordingly.

In what still stands as one of the most epic Cup-celebration summers, Ovechkin was all over Washington, having the time of his life. He was jumping into fountains, drinking from the Cup in the stands at Nationals Park, and throwing the entire city into a multi-day public bender.

He earned every second of it, and even the biggest Capitals haters among us had to tip their hats.

Scoring From His Office

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When you think about Alex Ovechkin, what's the first thing that comes to mind? For us, it's the position on the ice where he has scored so many goals that it has become known as his office.

There's just nothing like Ovechkin's one-timer from the top left circle. The best players in the world can fully anticipate this shot coming and still remain utterly powerless to stop it.

It's not some rare, out-of-this-world maneuver; it's a standard and popular area to take a shot — especially on the power play. The power and skill behind Ovechkin's shot in his sweet spot are what set him apart and have turned a typical play into such an iconic facet of his career.

Beating Gretzky's Record

It was a feat that seemed almost impossible a decade ago, but as Ovechkin continued to consistently rake in the goals over the years, we thought he might break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.

Then, one fateful day on Long Island (April 6, 2025), the then-39-year-old Ovechkin shoveled a power-play goal past Ilya Sorokin from his trademark spot at the top of the left-wing circle. It was magic goal number 895, surpassing Gretzky's 894.

He's currently sitting at 929 goals as he starts his final season, so let's see how far he can take the record now that he owns it.