What should the Capitals expect out of Alex Ovechkin this season?

Alex Ovechkin ended weeks of speculation on Thursday when he announced that he is returning for a 22nd NHL season, signing a one-year contract with the Washington Capitals. It continues what has been a busy and productive offseason for a Capitals team that not only has visions of getting back into the playoffs after missing them this past season, but also potentially competing for a Stanley Cup.

Now that Ovechkin is back, what exactly should the Capitals expect from their soon-to-be 41-year-old superstar?

Alex Ovechkin can still score goals, but will not do much else

At this stage of Ovechkin's career, he is pretty much limited to being an extremely one-dimensional player. 

He does not really drive his own line anymore, and he is almost never counted on to play in defensive situations. He went through the entirety of the 2025-26 regular season and started just one shift with a defensive zone face-off. That is a laughably small number and almost unheard of. Heck, it is almost impossible, and it speaks to how little the Capitals trust him defensively. 

The good news for the Capitals?

The one dimension that he still provides just so happens to be one of the most important dimensions in the sport.

He can still score goals, and he can still score them at a really productive rate. 

Not only for a player into his 40s, but for any player.

He is already the NHL's all-time leading goal-scorer (now up to 929 in the regular season) and will continue to add to that total during the 2026-27 season.

During the 2025-26 season he topped the 30-goal mark for the 20th time in 21 seasons. The only time he failed to top the 30-goal mark was during the shortened 56-game 2020-21 season (of which Ovechkin only appeared in 45 games) when he scored 24 goals. Even then, that was good enough for a 43-goal pace over a full 82-game season.

The question is whether or not Ovechkin can top the 30-goal mark again.

If he does, it would be nearly unheard of for a player his age.

In the history of the league, there has only ever been one instance of player age 41 or older score 30 goals in a season. Hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe did it when he scored 31 goals as a 41-year-old during the 1969-70 season.

Beyond him, the top goal-scoring seasons for a player age 41 or older include:

• Jaromir Jagr: 27 goals in 2015-16 at 43 years old
• Teemu Selanne: 26 goals in 2011-12 at 41 years old
• Jagr: 24 goals in 2013-14 at 41 years old
• Howe: 23 goals in 1970-71 at 42 years old
• Johnny Bucyk: 20 goals in 1976-77 at 41 years old

Beyond those four players, nobody else in NHL history has ever scored more than 18 goals in a season at age 41 or older.

Part of that is the fact most players do not play long enough in the NHL to still be playing at that age. Another part of it is the reality that even if a player is still in the league at that age they are going to inevitably be slowing down.

Ovechkin is clearly slowing down, not only based on his declining all-around game, but also the fact he is now mostly a 30-goal scorer instead of the 40-50 goal-scorer he was at his peak. 

Even so, if he gives the Capitals another 30-goal season in a complementary role, that is still going to be a huge addition. Especially at his reduced salary-cap number. 

All numbers via the Hockey-Reference StatHead Database.