Alex Ovechkin has already broken theoring record. Now, another milestone that once sounded ridiculous is beginning to feel possible.
The Washington Capitals captain officially signed a one-year extension to return for the 2026-27 season, which will be his 22nd year in the NHL. The deal carries a $4.25 million cap hit, although Ovechkin can earn up to $9 million through his salary, signing bonus and a games-played bonus. ther it will be his final season remains unclear.
Ovechkin, who will turn 41 on Sept. 17, said his family played a major role in his decision to continue. He also left open the possibility that he could play beyond the upcoming season, although he isn’t making any promises. For now, his focus is returning to Washington and proving he can still help the Capitals win. t decision could eventually put him in position to become the first player in NHL history to score 1,000 regular-season goals.
Ovechkin will begin the season with 929 goals, leaving him 71 short of the milestone. Reaching it during the upcoming campaign is essentially out of the question, but another two productive seasons would at least give him a chance. re is no guarantee that a player in his 40s can remain healthy or productive long enough to get there. Still, Ovechkin’s recent scoring numbers make the idea more than just wishful thinking.
He scored 31 goals in 79 games during the 2023-24 season, followed by 44 goals in only 65 games in 2024-25. He then played all 82 games last season and finished with 32 goals and 64 points, leading Washington in both categories. t gives him 107 goals in 226 games over the past three seasons, an average of roughly 0.47 goals per game. At that pace, Ovechkin would need about 150 games to score the remaining 71 goals.
In other words, he would need almost two full seasons while maintaining roughly the same production he has shown since 2023.
Using only last season’s pace makes the climb considerably tougher. Ovechkin averaged about 0.39 goals per game in 2025-26. Maintaining that rate would require approximately 182 games to reach 1,000, meaning he would likely need to play through most or all of the 2028-29 season.
That may be asking too much from someone who will be 41 when the upcoming season begins. But Ovechkin has spent his career making supposedly unreachable records look vulnerable.
Before he can seriously chase 1,000 regular-season goals, he has several other pieces of history directly in front of him.
Ovechkin is only 11 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most NHL goals when the regular season and playoffs are combined. Gretzky finished with 1,016 total goals—894 during the regular season and 122 in the playoffs. Ovechkin currently has 1,006, including 929 regular-season goals and 77 in the playoffs. also enters the season 27 games away from 1,600 and only 13 points away from 1,700. Ovechkin currently has 1,687 points in 1,573 regular-season games, all with the Capitals. performance last season suggests he still has enough left to reach those marks. Ovechkin became the first player to score 900 regular-season NHL goals, recorded his 20th season with at least 30 goals and finished with the third-most goals ever scored in a season by a player age 40 or older. Only Gordie Howe and Johnny Bucyk scored more at that age. chkin has also made it clear that individual records were not the only reason he returned.
Washington reshaped its roster during the offseason, and Ovechkin believes the Capitals have enough talent to get back into the playoff picture and compete for another Stanley Cup. That opportunity appears to have been a major part of his decision to keep playing. Capitals will not build their entire season around getting Ovechkin to 1,000 goals. He would need at least one more contract—and probably two—to have a realistic opportunity.
But the fact that 1,000 can even be discussed seriously says everything about his career.
Ovechkin has already passed Gretzky for the regular-season record. He is closing in on the combined regular-season and playoff mark, and he continues to score at a rate almost unheard of for a player his age.
The biggest question is no longer whether Ovechkin is capable of scoring 1,000 goals.
It is whether he wants to keep playing long enough to do it.