Latest news with #AlexOvechkin
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alex Ovechkin retirement email controversy, explained
Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering about a retracted Washington Capitals email announcing Alex Ovechkin's final season? And you're confused? We got you covered. Alex Ovechkin will turn 40 years old before the 2025-26 NHL season begins. Already a Stanley Cup Champion and the league's record-holder for all-time goals scored, it's been clear for awhile now the Great 8's career wouldn't last much longer. Advertisement On Thursday, hockey fans everywhere were told Ovechkin had one season left in him. The Washington icon would hang up his skates for good after the 2025-26 campaign. It felt like a trustworthy report, too, since the news was anticlimactically announced with a single line in an email to season ticket holders. But while the email was real, the contents were incorrect. Let us explain. Wait, what? The Capitals sent out an email that Ovechkin was retiring after next season and then immediately walked it back? Yep. That seems to be what happened here. An email went out to season ticket holders purporting October 2025 as the start of Ovechkin's final season. Many media outlets ran with the story, naturally, as the news came from the team itself. Advertisement However the announcement felt off. Full disclosure: this was going to be a post about how weird it was that the news was broken via email to season ticket holders as opposed to say, the a big splash from the NHL, a major insider like Darren Dreger, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis or, obviously, Ovechkin himself. We learned why shortly after. The email was apparently sent as a mistake. A mistake!? Hey, it happens! DC Backcheck's Sammi Silber got to the bottom of this all rather quickly. Silber confirmed with the team the email was incorrect. "An alleged marketing email went out to Capitals fans today saying this will be Alex Ovechkin's final NHL season. Got word from the team that this is NOT accurate and nothing was sent," Silber reported. Advertisement "Neither Washington nor Ovechkin has officially announced anything confirming this, though he intends to play out the final year of his contract. At breakdown day, president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan even said he wouldn't rule anything out when it came to No. 8 regarding a potential extension." Have the Capitals said anything publically? Yep. They quickly jumped online to confirm the email "mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin's final year". Give it to us straight: Is Ovi retiring in 2025-26 or what? Who knows!? At this point it truly seems no decision has been made. Advertisement "When he is ready to announce what's next, he will," Silber wrote. "He returned to Moscow, but that is routine for the 39-year-old every offseason. Still, as he pushes 40 and as the Capitals prepare for the next era without him, expect he and coach Spencer Carbery to discuss what exactly his role will be next year and if his minutes will start to cut back." What we can say is that Ovechkin's contract expires at the end of next season. And while it seems impossible to imagine Ovi playing anywhere other than in Washington, surely hockey fans felt the same before seeing Gordie Howe playing for the Whalers, Ray Bourque playing for the Avalanche or Martin Broduer playing for the Blues. Ovechkin has accomplished just about all he can on the ice throughout his career. He deserves to have the final say in how his time in the NHL ends. And when that time comes, fans should get to hear it from him — whether or not they have Caps season tickets. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Alex Ovechkin retirement email controversy, explained
Washington Post
12 hours ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Capitals say ‘no decision' on Alex Ovechkin's future after 2025-26
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has not made a decision on his NHL future beyond the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season, the team said in a statement Thursday, which came after an email suggested next season would be Ovechkin's last. The email, which was first reported by the Hockey News, included a sentence that read 'OCTOBER — the start of Capitals hockey and Alex Ovechkin's FINAL NHL SEASON.' Next season is the final year of Ovechkin's contract, a five-year deal worth $9.5 million per season that he signed in 2021.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Capitals spark retirement panic after wrongly declaring Alex Ovechkin's last season
Capitals spark retirement panic after wrongly declaring Alex Ovechkin's last season (Image Source: Getty Images) A surprise email was sent to Washington Capitals fans. It said that next season would be Alex Ovechkin's last in the NHL. This made fans shocked and confused. But soon after, the team said it was a mistake. The Capitals explained that no decision has been made about Ovechkin's future. The team blamed the email on a mix-up in the sales department. Ovechkin's career is not over yet, at least not officially. Capitals clarify Alex Ovechkin is not retiring despite email error The problem started when a message was sent to Capitals season-ticket holders. The email talked about 'Ovechkin's final season' in the NHL. This made people think he was retiring soon. It spread fast online. Fans started talking about Ovechkin's long career and what he means to hockey. Ovechkin has played his whole NHL career with Washington. He is one of the greatest goal-scorers in league history. He is chasing Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record. So news about him possibly retiring shocked many. But the team quickly responded. They posted a message on social media. It said the email was a mistake. It came from someone in corporate sales, not the team leadership. The post said that no decision has been made yet about Ovechkin's future. Also Read: 'We have fun': Alex Ovechkin on what he's learned about his team ... Alex Ovechkin still has time and goals left Alex Ovechkin is still under contract with the Capitals. He has two years left. He is not retiring yet. He has made it clear that he wants to break the all-time goal record. Right now, he is second on the list. He needs fewer than 50 goals to pass Gretzky. That's a big reason why people think he will keep playing. The Capitals also know how important Ovechkin is to their team. He has been the face of the franchise for nearly 20 years. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2018. He still scores goals and leads the team. Many fans were upset by the mistake. Some said the team should be more careful with information. Others were just glad that Ovechkin is not done yet. The Washington Capitals said that no final decision has been made about Alex Ovechkin's future. A team email had wrongly called next season his last. The team said it was a mistake from the sales office. Ovechkin still has two years left on his contract. He is also chasing the all-time goal record. For now, Ovechkin is still playing. And fans will be watching every goal he scores.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Capitals deny Alex Ovechkin retirement report, say email claiming it was his final season was a mistake
The Washington Capitals are in damage-control mode after an email suggested the 2025-26 season would be Alex Ovechkin's final year in the NHL. The Capitals quickly denied that report, saying Ovechkin has not made a decision on his future. Reports emerged Thursday claiming the Capitals sent out an email that referred to the 2025-26 season as "Alex Ovechkin's FINAL NHL SEASON." That entire statement was highlighted in red, with the final three words appearing in all-caps in the email. The Hockey News reached out to the team, which said those reports were not accurate. The team then issued a statement of its own, confirming an email was sent out, but saying Ovechkin's plans are undecided at this point in the offseason. No decision has been made on Alex Ovechkin's future following the 2025-26 NHL season. An email was sent from an individual with the corporate sales department that mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin's final year. — Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) May 29, 2025 The team said the email came from "an individual with the corporate sales department," but did not provide any additional details on why it was sent or how many people received it. An Ovechkin retirement announcement wouldn't come as a major surprise for a number of reasons. While he's still playing at a high level, Ovechkin is 39. He's already played 20 seasons in the NHL — all of which with the Capitals — and is nearing the end of his playing days. There's also a strong argument that retiring after the 2025-26 season is the right move. It will mark the final year of the five-year, $47.5 million extension Ovechkin signed with the Capitals in 2021. The completion of that contract could mark a natural stopping point for Ovechkin. While there are reasons to believe next year will be Ovechkin's final year in the NHL, he is apparently not ready to make that call just yet. Either that, or a Capitals employee ruined Ovechkin's announcement by sending out an email too soon. Whenever Ovechkin calls it a career, he'll leave the game as one of the greatest players of all time. Ovechkin is a 12-time All-Star, nine-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner, three-time Ted Lindsay Trophy winner, three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner and the 2017-18 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. He also led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup championship during the 2017-18 NHL season and surpassed Wayne Gretzky to set the NHL's all-time goal-scoring record last season. The Hockey Hall of Fame is undoubtedly in Ovechkin's future once he hangs up his skates. While he and the Capitals weren't ready to make an announcement on that front Thursday, it probably won't be long before Ovechkin is ready to call it a career.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alex Ovechkin retirement email controversy, explained
Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Are you wondering about a retracted Washington Capitals email announcing Alex Ovechkin's final season? And you're confused? We got you covered. Alex Ovechkin will turn 40 years old before the 2025-26 NHL season begins. Already a Stanley Cup Champion and the league's record-holder for all-time goals scored, it's been clear for awhile now the Great 8's career wouldn't last much longer. Advertisement On Thursday, hockey fans everywhere were told Ovechkin had one season left in him. The Washington icon would hang up his skates for good after the 2025-26 campaign. It felt like a trustworthy report, too, since the news was anticlimactically announced with a single line in an email to season ticket holders. But while the email was real, the contents were incorrect. Let us explain. Wait, what? The Capitals sent out an email that Ovechkin was retiring after next season and then immediately walked it back? Yep. That seems to be what happened here. An email went out to season ticket holders purporting October 2025 as the start of Ovechkin's final season. Many media outlets ran with the story, naturally, as the news came from the team itself. Advertisement However the announcement felt off. Full disclosure: this was going to be a post about how weird it was that the news was broken via email to season ticket holders as opposed to say, the a big splash from the NHL, a major insider like Darren Dreger, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis or, obviously, Ovechkin himself. We learned why shortly after. The email was apparently sent as a mistake. A mistake!? Hey, it happens! DC Backcheck's Sammi Silber got to the bottom of this all rather quickly. Silber confirmed with the team the email was incorrect. "An alleged marketing email went out to Capitals fans today saying this will be Alex Ovechkin's final NHL season. Got word from the team that this is NOT accurate and nothing was sent," Silber reported. Advertisement "Neither Washington nor Ovechkin has officially announced anything confirming this, though he intends to play out the final year of his contract. At breakdown day, president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan even said he wouldn't rule anything out when it came to No. 8 regarding a potential extension." Have the Capitals said anything publically? Yep. They quickly jumped online to confirm the email "mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin's final year". Give it to us straight: Is Ovi retiring in 2025-26 or what? Who knows!? At this point it truly seems no decision has been made. Advertisement "When he is ready to announce what's next, he will," Silber wrote. "He returned to Moscow, but that is routine for the 39-year-old every offseason. Still, as he pushes 40 and as the Capitals prepare for the next era without him, expect he and coach Spencer Carbery to discuss what exactly his role will be next year and if his minutes will start to cut back." What we can say is that Ovechkin's contract expires at the end of next season. And while it seems impossible to imagine Ovi playing anywhere other than in Washington, surely hockey fans felt the same before seeing Gordie Howe playing for the Whalers, Ray Bourque playing for the Avalanche or Martin Broduer playing for the Blues. Ovechkin has accomplished just about all he can on the ice throughout his career. He deserves to have the final say in how his time in the NHL ends. And when that time comes, fans should get to hear it from him — whether or not they have Caps season tickets. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Alex Ovechkin retirement email controversy, explained
