WASHINGTON, April 9. /TASS/. Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said the NHL club would support any decision made by Russia’s Alexander Ovechkin regarding his future career plans.

"He is once in a life time and once in a generation player," Leonsis said. "Obviously, he has meant so much to Washington DC, to the NHL, to the Washington Capitals, to our fans."

"I think everyone is rooting for him to make a decision that he feels the best and whatever decision he reaches will be supported," Leonsis added.

"It’s just his presence. He can stroll into a locker room with his big smile and gives you a big hug and he still loves the game, he loves the team, he loves the community. It’s so hard to replicate. But all good things come to an end sometime," he noted.

Ovechkin's contract with the Washington Capitals expires at the end of the 2025/2026 season. In an interview with the Monumental Sports Network portal, Ovechkin stated that he would make a decision on about his future later this summer.

Prior to that, his mother, Tatiana Ovechkina, told TASS that her son would return to Moscow after the end of the NHL season. In March 2025, Ovechkin said in an interview with Russia’s Sport Express daily that he was pondering suiting up for Dinamo Moscow hockey club after his contract with Washington expired in 2026.

On April 6, 2025, Ovechkin scored his 895th career regular season goal in a game against the New York Islanders, passing legend Wayne Gretzky for most all-time (894 goals).

And now, the Russian player is within reach of Gretzky’s combined regular season and playoff goals record, once thought untouchable. He’s just 11 away from tying the Great One’s 1,016 goals (894 in regular season and 122 in playoffs).

US journalist Sammi Silber wrote on her X social network account on April 8 that Ovechkin had been nominated by his club for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy has been awarded annually since 1968 to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport of hockey. The trophy was named after Canadian-American player Bill Masterton, who is notably the only player in NHL history to die from injuries sustained during game play.

Each NHL club nominates a single player from its team for the Bill Masterton award. This year, the Washington Capitals nominated Ovechkin for the second year in a row. No Russian player has ever won the award in its 58-year history.

Last year, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy was awarded to Sean Monahan from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This NHL season, Ovechkin has appeared in all 79 of Washington's games, scoring 31 goals and dishing out 30 assists for the Capitals.

Ovechkin is signed with the Washington Capitals through 2026. The Russian forward has played his entire NHL career with the Washington Capitals, who selected him with the 1st overall pick in the 2004 draft. Ovechkin led the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in 2018, the only one of his career, and the only one in the club's history.

In 2008, 2012 and 2014, "Ovie," as he is called by his fans, won gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships to go along with his two silver and four bronze medals at the world championships.

Ovechkin has won a slew of NHL awards in his career, including the Calder Memorial Trophy (2006), Art Ross Trophy (2008), Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), Hart Memorial Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013), Lester B. Pearson Award/Ted Lindsay Award (2008, 2009, 2010), Conn Smythe Trophy (2018) and others.