- Ovechkin texted GM Chris Patrick from a Turkey vacation that Washington’s roster is a “Stanley Cup contender”
- The captain re-signed for one year at a $4.25 million cap hit that can climb near $9 million with bonuses
- Read below for Patrick’s take on the 10-minute talk and what sold Ovechkin on a 22nd season
Alex Ovechkin made up his mind about a 22nd season from a beach in Turkey.
While he was on vacation this offseason, the Capitals captain fired off a text to general manager Chris Patrick that told Washington everything it needed to know. “When you look at our roster, it’s—how I say it—it’s Stanley Cup contender,” Ovechkin wrote, per Barry Svrluga of The Athletic.
That message came after a summer of Washington adding pieces, and it lined up with Ovechkin passing on retirement to run it back at 40.
Patrick did not walk into that phone call feeling calm. Washington had just handed Alex Tuch $10.5 million per year, and the GM worried Ovechkin would want a number in the same neighborhood.
The GM opened up about the nerves heading into that negotiation.
“I was concerned if we go and pay a guy like Alex Tuch $10.5 million per year, does [Ovechkin] say, ‘Well, you’re paying him that, so you gotta pay me something like that?’ I was anxious about that call,” Patrick said.
He did not need to be. The whole thing took about 10 minutes.
Ovechkin signed a one-year deal that carries a $4.25 million cap hit but can pay him close to $9 million once performance bonuses factor in. The structure breaks down to roughly $1 million in salary, a $3.25 million signing bonus, and a $4.75 million games-played bonus. We covered the terms when the news broke in our Capitals re-signing story.
The captain turns 41 in September and will spend all 22 of his NHL seasons in Washington. His resume already sits at the top of the league’s record book.
A 10-minute call and a text from Turkey is all it took to keep the game’s greatest goal scorer chasing another Cup in D.C.
