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Alex Ovechkin makes admission about how he wants to end career
Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin. John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Ovechkin makes big admission about how he wants to end his career

Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin still has plenty left in the tank, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t already started contemplating how — and where — he’d like to end his professional hockey career.

During a recent interview with Russian news outlet Rsport, the 38-year-old hinted that once he’s done in the NHL, he’d like to play one final game for OHK Dynamo Moskva in the Russian Kontinental Hockey league.

“I don’t look that far ahead,” Ovechkin said. “I still have two years left on my NHL contract. Of course, I want to play my last game for Dynamo, where I started my career. But there’s no point in raising this topic right now.”

Ovechkin is still under contract with the Capitals through the 2025-26 season, at which point he’ll be 40 and likely will have eclipsed Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record (he’s just 41 away.) It wouldn’t be completely crazy if Ovechkin decided that was the right time to go back to his homeland and finish out his career in the place it all started.

His first four professional seasons were spent in the Russian Superleague, which has since rebranded as the KHL, playing for Dynamo. He totaled 36 goals and 69 points in 152 games before joining the Capitals in 2005, the year after he was drafted No. 1 overall.

Ovechkin has played for his hometown team just once since becoming a full-time NHLer — a 31-game stint with Dynamo during the 2012-13 NHL lockout. He scored 19 goals and 40 points in his brief run with the team before heading back to the U.S.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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