In the lead-up to Washington's nationally broadcast Saturday matchup with Boston's Bruins, Alex Ovechkin sat for a conversation with TJ Oshie. Filmed at the MedStar Capitals Iceplex while the two stood on its ice, the segment ran prior to the opening faceoff.
Over the course of it, Ovechkin touched on the heavy influence his parents had on his style of play, his own experience as a hockey father, and — most strikingly — what will eventually signal that the moment has come to step away from the league.
He is in the closing year of his current deal, and with 18 contests still on Washington's 2025-26 slate, the club appears bound for a campaign that ends without a postseason berth.
Asked by Oshie what would factor into his eventual call to retire, Ovechkin pointed to how his body feels. He explained that the modern game is brutally demanding and lightning-quick, and that at 40 it has become tough to stay with the younger crowd. Above everything, he said, his health comes first: he has no desire to retire only to spend a year or two — indeed the remainder of his days — nursing a sore knee, elbow, or back, so he must approach the choice smartly. He added that his love for the sport endures, and that he still relishes heading into the dressing room to spend time around his teammates.
According to one observer on social media, Ovechkin won't take a single stride beyond what's necessary — a stance worth respecting, as Ben Fowlkes put it on March 7, 2026.
Earlier on, Ovechkin had indicated he intends to see the full 2025-26 season through before settling his future, and that he'd welcome capping his career back home, suiting up for the KHL's Dynamo Moscow — if only for a contest or so — before retiring for good.
Speaking back in November to Hockey Lifers Podcast hosts Bruce Boudreau and Jeff Marek, Ovechkin said nobody can predict what lies ahead, that for the moment he is in Washington and savoring his days there, and that the future will sort itself out.
The two also dug into what fatherhood looks like for a pro hockey player.
He described being fairly demanding with his two boys, Ilya and Sergei, any time they step onto the rink, telling them that skating, hard work, and scoring are required. He recalled facing identical expectations as a boy — back then he'd rather just have fun than practice, finding it dull whenever the puck wasn't involved — but he stressed that such is the reality and that committing to that sort of effort is mandatory from day one.
Asked where his toughness and tireless motor on the rink originate, he handed his parents the credit for planting that drive within him.
He said it springs from the heart, crediting his mother — a two-time Olympic champion and elite basketball player — for much of what he picked up. Working and competing hard, he said, ranks as the single biggest thing for any athlete, since loafing during a shift leaves you feeling lousy.
Oshie next brought up the Olympics of 2014, recalling how his future Washington captain flattened him with a thunderous check — Oshie described Ovechkin essentially soaring above him — and wondered where that taste for physical play came from.
Ovechkin once more traced it to his family, his father in particular. He recounted studying reels of goals, hits, and fights, and his dad telling him that an NHL hopeful must first be physically smart and learn both to absorb and to deliver a check. He noted that anyone recalling his debut game saw him fired up and amped, flattening an opponent and, by his memory, breaking the boards — and from there it grew into setting the tone and declaring who he was, a habit he embraced from the outset.
Whenever Ovechkin finally hangs them up, he'll retire as the NHL's leading goal scorer of all time. He also occupies third place on the league's career hits list, his total there sitting at 3,851.