Alex Ovechkin

Rookie season

Ovechkin was selected by the Washington Capitals with the first overall pick of the 2004 NHL draft, but his rookie season was delayed a year by the labor lockout that led to the cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season. Once Ovechkin did get on the ice, he quickly established himself as one of the league’s premier goal scorers. He made his NHL debut in 2005 alongside an even more highly touted rookie, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Ovechkin’s 106 points in the 2005–06 season earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.

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“Alexander the Great”

During the 2006–07 season Ovechkin made his first NHL All-Star Game appearance, but his continued high level of play did not prevent the Capitals from finishing last in their division for the second time in his two years with the team. The following season, however, he led Washington to a surprising division title while scoring 65 goals, which was the first time since 1996 that an NHL player topped the lofty benchmark of 60 goals in one season. The Capitals lost their first-round playoff series, but Ovechkin (who also led the league with 112 points) still won his first Hart Memorial Trophy at season’s end.

The Capitals won another division crown in the 2008–09 season, as well as their first postseason series, before being eliminated by Crosby and the Penguins in a dramatic seven-game conference semifinal that featured three overtime contests. Ovechkin again led the NHL in goals scored that season (with 56) and won his second straight Hart Memorial Trophy. Ovechkin led the Capitals to two additional appearances in the conference semifinal round, in 2010–11 and 2011–12 (both losing efforts), but his own level of play fell off substantially, as he netted just 32 and 38 goals, respectively, in those seasons. After a similarly disappointing beginning to the 2012–13 season, he caught fire during the final half of the lockout-shortened 48-game campaign and ultimately led the NHL with 32 goals, which resulted in his third career Hart Trophy win.

Ovechkin again led the NHL in goals scored (51) during the 2013–14 season, but the Capitals’ playoff streak ended at six seasons during that campaign. In 2014–15 he scored a league-high 53 goals and led the Capitals to the postseason, where Washington lost a thrilling second-round series (despite having held a three-games-to-one lead) that saw each of the seven games decided by one goal. In November 2015 Ovechkin registered his 484th career goal to become the NHL’s top-scoring Russian-born player. He finished the 2015–16 season with 50 goals (once again most in the NHL) while leading the Capitals to a franchise-record 56 wins. However, Washington could not capitalize on its top seed in the playoffs and was again eliminated in the second round. Ovechkin posted career-worst numbers in 2016–17 with just 69 points (33 goals, 36 assists), the fewest he had ever tallied in a full NHL season. Despite his mediocre play, the Capitals again put up the best regular-season record in the league, only to once more lose to a lower-seeded team in the second round of the postseason.

Stanley Cup

In 2017–18 he again led the NHL in goals scored (49) as the Capitals won another division title. In the postseason, Washington finally broke through after years of playoff frustration, capturing the franchise’s first conference title in 20 years to give Ovechkin his first appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. Ovechkin shined in the finals, scoring his 15th goal of the playoffs in a game-five victory over the Vegas Golden Knights that won the Capitals their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Ovechkin thus became the first Russian player to captain a team to the NHL championship. His outstanding postseason performance earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player in the playoffs.

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Ovechkin had a league-leading 51 goals during the 2018–19 season, during which the Capitals won a fourth straight division title. However, in the following postseason the team again lost in the opening round. The next two seasons were shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and, although Ovechkin continued his strong play, the Capitals lost in the first round both times.

Scoring records

The Capitals did not make it past the first round of the playoffs in any season in the early 2020s and missed them entirely in 2022–23. Instead, as Ovechkin neared the end of his career, attention turned to his remarkable individual stats and his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of goals scored during the regular season (894).

Ovechkin passed that hallowed mark Sunday, April 6, 2025, with his 895th goal. He scored on a power play at 7:26 in the second period against the New York Islanders. After Ovechkin broke the record, a ceremony was held on the ice where Gretzky spoke. “I can tell you firsthand I know how hard it is to get to 894, 895 is pretty special,” Gretzky said. 

On March 22, 2026, Ovechkin reached another milestone, scoring his 1,000th career goal (regular season and playoffs). He became just the second player, after Gretzky, to accomplish that feat. Gretzky remained the overall leader, however, with 1,016 goals.