НХЛ-ийн түүхэн дэх хамгийн олон гоол оруулсан тоглогч Александр Овечкин 2026-27 оны улиралд Вашингтон Кэпиталз багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд эргэн ирэхээр боллоо.
Долдугаар сарын 2-ны өдөр албан ёсоор баталгаажсан энэхүү шийдвэр нь 41 нас хүрэх гэж буй Овечкиний хувьд НХЛ-д тоглох 22 дахь улирал нь болж байна. Вашингтон Кэпиталз багийн ерөнхий менежер Крис Патрик багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд шинээр хүчирхэг тоглогчид нэмэгдсэн ч энэ нь Овечкинийг орлох бус, харин багийг илүү хүчирхэгжүүлэх зорилготойг онцолсон юм. Өнгөрсөн улирлын туршид Овечкин мөсөн дээрх гүйцэтгэлээ хадгалсаар ирсэн бөгөөд шинэ улиралд багийнхаа амжилтын төлөө үргэлжлүүлэн зүтгэх хүсэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ.
Вашингтон Кэпиталз багийн хувьд энэ зун бүрэлдэхүүнээ шинэчлэх томоохон алхмуудыг хийлээ. Сент-Луис Блюз багаас Жордан Кайру, Буффало Сэйбрз багаас Алекс Так нарыг эгнээндээ нэгтгэснээр довтолгооны шугамаа эрс сайжруулсан байна. Мөн чөлөөт агентлагийн хүрээнд Боун Женнер, хамгаалагч Винсент Дешарне нарыг багтаа элсүүлж, бүрэлдэхүүний гүнээ нэмэгдүүллээ.
Дасгалжуулагч Спенсер Карберийн удирдлага дор Вашингтон Кэпиталз баг плэй-оффын төлөө өрсөлдөхүйц хүчирхэг бүрэлдэхүүнийг бүрдүүлээд байна. Хэдийгээр багийн шинэ гэрээ болон тоглогчдын насжилттай холбоотой эрсдэлүүд байгаа ч багийн удирдлага Овечкинийг багийн гол цөм хэвээр үлдээж, амжилт гаргах боломжийг эрэлхийлж байна. Овечкин өөрийн карьерын үлдсэн хугацааг багтаа зориулахаар шийдсэн нь Вашингтон Кэпиталз багийн хувьд шинэ улирлын хамгийн чухал үйл явдал боллоо.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
It took until July 2 for Alex Ovechkin to remove all doubt. The leading goal scorer in NHL history, soon to be 41 years old, will return to the Washington Capitals for the 2026-27 season, his 22nd in the NHL.
At some point in the not-too-distant past, that decision — for anyone paying close attention, at least — started to feel inevitable. It might’ve been last week, when Capitals general manager Chris Patrick told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that two high-profile additions to the team’s forward group didn’t signify that it had moved beyond the icon, in an on-ice sense.
It might’ve been one of the several times Patrick spoke of Ovechkin’s wait-and-see approach to Washington’s navigation of the offseason’s important bits, and of his single-minded desire to contribute to a lineup pushing in the right direction.
It might’ve been in mid-April, when Ovechkin spent what could’ve been the last two weeks of his NHL career refusing to acknowledge the elephant he’d invited into the room.
Or, it might’ve been a few days before that, when the theoretical farewell stretch kicked off without Ovechkin’s mother, Tatyana, along for the ride. She remained in Russia, as glaring a signal as any that her son had a few more goals left in his stick.
Of course, none of that matters now. The decision has been made, and the bonus-laced contract signed. If an Ovechkin retirement tour ever takes place, it’s likely been delayed another nine months or so. In the meantime, there are games to play and a fresh batch of questions to answer.
What’s become clear, though, is that both sides — the Capitals and their captain — are in a better spot to get what they want: a truly meaningful season that’ll act as an appropriate capstone for a singular player. Ovechkin is returning to what might be the deepest roster in the league and to a lineup that may have enough solid pieces, top to bottom, to counterbalance its lack of (current) franchise-caliber performers.
The Capitals’ offseason, even before Ovechkin’s decision was known, had been something of a logical endpoint for the on-the-fly rebuild they’ve spent the last few seasons undertaking. A new core of mid-career reclamation projects — top-pair defenseman Jakob Chychrun, two-way center Pierre-Luc Dubois, high-end goaltender Logan Thompson and productive first-liner Dylan Strome — spent enough time integrating themselves with Ovechkin and Tom Wilson. Younger players — forwards Aliaksei Protas and Ilya Protas, winger Ryan Leonard, and defenseman Cole Hutson — established themselves, to varying degrees.
And now, that on-the-fly rebuild is largely completed. At the start of this offseason, the Capitals had more than $30 million in projected cap space and well-stated plans to target high-end additions to their forward group. Now, with Ovechkin in the fold, they’re on track to exceed the upper limit.
The first major addition was Jordan Kyrou, a dynamic top-six offensive talent who scored 31 goals or more in three of his last four seasons with the St. Louis Blues. Kyrou, ironically, saw his production dip in his final season with the Blues as he rounded out his five-on-five game. The hope is that in Washington, Kyrou combines that newfound substance with the game-breaking speed and offensive sense that once gave him the look of a foundational piece for St. Louis. There might not be a current NHL head coach better equipped to make that happen than Spencer Carbery, who has spent three years maximizing the talents of players up and down the roster. (Ovechkin, of course, is at the top of that list; he led Washington in goals last season despite clearer-than-ever signs of atrophy as a skater and 200-foot player. For that, Carbery deserves every bit of credit he’s ever gotten.)
The second addition was former Buffalo Sabres winger Alex Tuch, a well-rounded five-on-five player who, had he reached the open market, almost certainly would’ve been the league’s highest-paid unrestricted free agent. Tuch is capable of scoring 30 goals without getting top power-play time — a major consideration for the Capitals, who, though they were sixth in five-on-five goals per 60 last season, scored fewer than expected.
Patrick’s work continued July 1, the first day of unrestricted free agency, when he signed quality third-liner Boone Jenner (four years, $5.75 million AAV) and defenseman Vincent Desharnais (four years, $4.2 million AAV), a physical right shot who does solid work in his own end.
That all comes with fairly significant risk. Where Ovechkin slots in is an open question, albeit one that Washington has certainly considered. Kyrou will carry an $8.125 million cap hit through 2031, and while there’s reason to believe he’ll hit his potential under Carbery, it didn’t happen under Jim Montgomery, another high-end coaching talent. Tuch signed an eight-year deal worth $10.5 million annually. He’s already 30 years old, and speed is a big part of what made him an effective player in Buffalo. Jenner is 33, with a physical style that has already aged a bit. Desharnais adds almost literally nothing to the picture offensively.
Most of all, issues at the top of the lineup loom. Most Cup-winning teams, based on Dom Luszczyszyn’s Net Rating, have a forward or two in the plus-15 range. The Caps have none — but they’ve also got nine with above-average projections relative to their spot in the lineup.
For another season, Ovechkin has chosen to be part of that group. In the release announcing his decision, he spoke of fighting for a playoff spot and “having a chance.” Patrick has given him that. Now, it’s time to see what Ovechkin has left to give in return.
