- Alex Ovechkin is an NHL free agent for the first time in his 21-year career
- The Capitals captain led Washington with 32 goals and 64 points last season at age 40
- Read below for what GM Chris Patrick said about a new deal and when Ovechkin will decide
Alex Ovechkin has never had to do this before.
The Capitals captain became an unrestricted free agent at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, the first time he has hit the open market in his 21-year career. That five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in July 2021 is officially finished.
Ovechkin has only ever put his name on three deals. He signed his entry-level contract in 2005, cashed in with a 13-year, $124 million package after winning his first MVP in 2008, then took the extension that just ran out. Every dollar came in Washington.
Here is Washington laying out the terms on that 2021 deal:
None of this means Ovechkin is actually shopping around. Washington already knows what his next contract looks like if he wants to keep playing, and general manager Chris Patrick has made that plenty clear.
Patrick does not expect a long wait either. He said last weekend that talks should not stretch deep into the summer, and Ovechkin has said he will make his decision sometime in July.
In April, Ovechkin was asked what would drive that call. His answer was simple: whether the Caps can seriously chase a Cup next season.
Take a look at what Washington would be re-signing:
The man is not fading like a normal 40-year-old. Ovechkin played all 82 games last season and led the team with 32 goals and 64 points.
He also became the first player in NHL history to reach 900 goals, and he now sits at 929 for his career. Nobody is catching that number.
Catch the moment he passed Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record last spring:
Everyone around the league expects Ovechkin back in a Capitals sweater once the ink dries. The only thing left to sort out is how many more goals he adds to a record that already belongs to him.
