- Agent Gleb Chistyakov says Alex Ovechkin will head to Washington in early September
- Capitals camp usually opens the third week of September, with the season starting Sept. 29
- Read below for what season 22 puts within reach for Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin signed off in July with a promise to Washington. His agent has now put a date on it.
Ovechkin will be back in the DC area early next month, agent Gleb Chistyakov told TASS. Chistyakov was asked when the Capitals captain would leave Russia and fly back to the United States.
“He is planning to set off to Washington in early September,” Chistyakov said.
Washington usually opens training camp in the third week of September, and the 2026-27 regular season starts Sept. 29. That leaves Ovechkin a couple of weeks in the DMV before camp opens.
None of that clashes with what he said the day he re-signed. Ovechkin closed his July 2 statement with a line Caps fans have been sitting on all summer:
“I’m excited to come back and join my teammates so we can fight for a playoff spot and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!”
Watch the video Washington posted the day the deal got done:
The one-year deal carries a $4.25 million cap hit. Ovechkin earns $1 million in salary and a $3.25 million signing bonus, plus a $4.75 million bonus once he plays his 10th game.
Owner Ted Leonsis marked the news that afternoon with a post of his own:
A very different room waits for him. General manager Chris Patrick spent the summer adding Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais, and Jenner said he had a sense Ovechkin was coming back before the contract ever got announced.
He earned that help. Ovechkin led the Capitals in scoring at 40 years old, putting up 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) while dressing for all 82 games.
Season 22 also drops him into rare company. He turns 41 on Sept. 17, and he and Sidney Crosby will join Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio, Stan Mikita and Steve Yzerman as the only players to suit up for 22 seasons with one franchise.
He passes a piece of local history too. Walter Johnson gave the Washington Senators 21 seasons from 1907 to 1927, and Ovechkin becomes the longest-tenured athlete in the history of DC pro sports.
The goal chase travels with him. Ovechkin sits on 929 in the regular season and 1,006 counting the playoffs, 10 short of the 1,016 Wayne Gretzky piled up across both, and he is not even the oldest skater in the league heading into the year.
DC gets him back in about three weeks.
