Alex Ovechkin makes his feelings known on nearing yet another milestone in 2025-26 NHL season

Alex Ovechkin is closing in on completing his 1,500 NHL regular-season games. The Washington Capitals captain currently sits at 1,491 games. On a Match TV interview on Monday, Ovechkin said playing 1,500 games with one team means a lot to him. He also shared that it’s part of his life and career, and something he’s used to.

"No, it's part of my profession, my life," Ovechkin said. (translated by Google from Russian). "You just get used to it, you're ready for it. It's clear that playing 1,500 games for one team is worth a lot. Very few players in the entire league have played that many, so this figure will be very important for me."

Not many NHL players have reached this number, which makes it special. Ovechkin's longtime rival and now friend, Sidney Crosby, is far behind with 1352 NHL games. However, he can also reach that number in the 2026-27 season, if he stays healthy.

Alex Ovechkin turned 39 during the 2024-25 season, where he scored 44 goals in just 66 games. That brought his career total to 897, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s previous record of 894. He helped the Capitals finish first in the Eastern Conference and reach the second round of the playoffs, before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Ovi called the season a great experience. He believes the team will grow stronger from it.

"Obviously, it’s been a great year for myself, for the organization and for the team, ..." Ovechkin said, via NHL.com. "Obviously, it stinks when you lose in the playoffs, but the experience that we have this year is going to help us to grow and be better next year."

Ovechkin is entering the final year of his five-year contract. He hasn’t decided if it will be his last NHL season.

"I haven’t thought about retirement yet, but we’ll see what’s going to happen," Ovi said.

If he stays healthy, he could reach 50 goals again, at the age of 40.

Alex Ovechkin's take on breaking Gretzky's combined goal record

Alex Ovechkin is also close to breaking Wayne Gretzky’s total goal record, including playoffs. Gretzky holds the record with 1,016, and Ovi has 974 such goals. So he needs 42 more goals to pass Gretzky.

At the "Match of the Year" charity game in Moscow, he talked about it.

"I’m not looking that far ahead," Ovechkin said, via tass.ru.

Despite missing 17 games with an injury, Alex Ovechkin's numbers were strong.

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Edited by Alvin Amansec