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Japan Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Capitals great Alex Ovechkin seeks ultimate prize to cap historic season
With record goalscorer Alex Ovechkin's name now underlined in the history books, the Washington Capitals will enter the postseason among the favorites to claim the NHL's ultimate prize when the Stanley Cup playoffs kick off on Saturday. The 39-year-old Russian's so-called "Gr8 Chase" for the league's hallowed all-time scoring record — which was formerly held by Wayne Gretzky and once considered unbeatable — ended this month as Ovechkin recorded his 895th career NHL goal. The race for the history books captivated fans and propelled the Capitals to the top of their division for the first time in five years, raising hopes that the king of D.C. hockey can add another jewel to his crown. While the No. 1 seed in the East has underperformed recently, including losing 7-0 against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the team that had the lion's share of the media spotlight this year can expect to hang on to the headlines a little longer. "I'm optimistic about them, obviously, just because I know they're well-coached," ESPN broadcaster and former defenseman P.K. Subban told reporters this week. "But it's also like, okay has this chase drawn too much out of them or has this raised their game to another level, and they're just kind of patiently waiting now to start (the) playoffs and ramp it back up again? "They've been a team that whenever it's been called upon them to kind of step up and get things back on track, they do." The Capitals closed out their regular season on the road with a 5-2 loss against Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, and will face the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-seven first-round series. Montreal is among five teams hoping to end the so-called "Canadian curse" this year and bring the Stanley Cup back to hockey's ancestral home for the first time since they last won it in 1993. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who play the Ottawa Senators in the first round, and the Winnipeg Jets, who face the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference first round, have the best odds, while the Edmonton Oilers are out for revenge after last year's bitter disappointment. The Oilers fought back from a 3-0 deficit against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final a year ago, forcing an improbable Game 7, but lost in heartbreaking fashion in the decider. The Oilers will play the Los Angeles Kings in the first round for the fourth year in a row. "Winnipeg is a really good team with the best goalie (Connor Hellebuyck), and one of these years Toronto is going to punch through," said ESPN broadcaster Ray Ferraro, who spent nearly two decades in the NHL. "I don't know if it's this year, but they play a heck of a lot different than they did in the past. Those are two teams I don't think we should sleep on." The Panthers begin their playoff campaign against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Reuters
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
With Ovechkin's 'Gr8 Chase' over, Capitals seek ultimate prize
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - With the Washington Capitals record goalscorer Alex Ovechkin's name underlined in the history books, they are among the favorites to claim the National Hockey League's ultimate prize this year as the Stanley Cup playoffs start off on Saturday. The 39-year-old Russian's so-called "Gr8 Chase" for the league's hallowed all-time scoring record of Wayne Gretzky that was once considered unbeatable ended this month as Ovechkin recorded his 895th career NHL goal on the road. The race for the history books captivated fans and propelled the Capitals to finish at the top of their division for the first time in five years, raising hopes that the king of D.C. hockey could add another jewel to his crown. While the number one seeds in the east have a few recent under-performances, including a 7-0 defeat by Columbus on Saturday, the team that had the lion's share of the media spotlight this year can expect to hang on to the headlines a little longer. "I'm optimistic about them, obviously, just because I know they're well-coached," ESPN broadcaster and former defenseman P.K. Subban told reporters this week. "But it's also like, okay has this chase drawn too much out of them or has this raised their game to another level and they're just kind of patiently waiting now to start playing playoffs and ramp it back up again? "They've been a team that whenever it's been called upon them to kind of step up and get things back on track, they do." The Capitals close out their regular season on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, having already clinched the Metropolitan Division, and face the Montreal Canadiens in the best-of-seven Round 1. Montreal are among five teams hoping to end the so-called Canadian curse this year and bring the trophy to hockey's ancestral home for the first time since they last won it in 1993. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who play the Ottawa Senators first, and the Winnipeg Jets, who face the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference first round, have the best odds, while the Edmonton Oilers are out for revenge after last year's bitter disappointment. The Oilers fought back from a 0-3 deficit against the Florida Panthers a year ago, forcing an improbable Game 7, but lost in heartbreaking fashion in the decider to extend the drought. The Oilers play the Los Angeles Kings in the first round for the fourth year in a row. "Winnipeg is a really good team with the best goalie (Connor Hellebuyck), and one of these years Toronto is going to punch through. I don't know if it's this year, but they play a heck of a lot different than they did in the past," said ESPN broadcaster Ray Ferraro, who spent nearly two decades in the NHL. "Those are two teams I don't think we should sleep on." Last year's champions the Panthers begin their playoff campaign against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Forbes
06-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Alex Ovechkin Is An NHL Record-Setter, With His Goals And With His Earnings
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin celebrates after scoring his 895th career goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against New York Islanders in Elmont, New York, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger) Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved With a power-play wrist shot in the second period of the Washington Capitals' game against the New York Islanders on Sunday, Alex Ovechkin completed his Gr8 Chase, scoring for the 895th time in his illustrious career to overtake Wayne Gretzky and set an NHL record for regular-season goals. When it comes to his pay, the Capitals' 39-year-old star winger is also at the top of hockey's leaderboard. Across his 20 NHL seasons, Ovechkin has piled up roughly $220 million in earnings before taxes and agents' fees, according to Forbes estimates, tying him with Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby for the most by a hockey player while still active in the sport (unadjusted for inflation). Ovechkin's total includes roughly $160 million in playing salary and bonuses—an all-time high in the NHL—and another $60 million off the ice from endorsements, licensing, memorabilia and other business ventures. This season, Ovechkin is tied for third on Forbes' annual list of the NHL's highest-paid players, with a total of $16 million ($11 million on the ice and an estimated $5 million off it). And although he has somewhat unbelievably never led the ranking in the 14 years Forbes has published it, he was the runner-up in 2012-13, 2022-23 and 2023-24, and he has made 13 appearances in the top 10. The only exception was in 2021-22, after Ovechkin signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract extension that featured a relatively meager $5 million in salary and bonuses in its first season. But that was actually a savvy move. Under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, a portion of on-ice pay is held in escrow to ensure a 50-50 league-wide revenue split between players and team owners, and Ovechkin knew that with the Covid-19 pandemic still driving down attendance, he could expect to fork over some, or all, of his income at the end of the season. By backloading his contract with the Capitals, he minimized his salary hit during the health crisis and gave himself his best shot to pocket the money he was owed on paper, after the league's business had returned to normal. On the ice, Ovechkin's list of accomplishments is nearly as long as his goal tally. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft, he won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2005-06 and has claimed three Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player, as well as nine Maurice Richard Trophies as the leading goal-scorer, plus the 2018 Stanley Cup. Ovechkin also owns quirkier NHL records, including the most points by a Russia-born player (1,619), the most 40-goal seasons after turning 30 years old (seven), the most empty-net goals (65) and the most goaltenders scored on (183). But his remarkable career crossed into new territory, and into the sports mainstream, as he approached Gretzky's mark, long thought to be untouchable. In recent weeks, the Capitals became mainstays of U.S. national television—no small feat in hockey, which gets fewer linear-TV opportunities than some other sports leagues—and in addition to the regular broadcasts, ESPN and TNT Sports aired an alternate 'OviCast,' with an isolated camera on Ovechkin. The NHL created a microsite to document his pursuit, and the Capitals unveiled several brand activations and fan initiatives, such as a throne made of pucks at their home Capital One Arena. Meanwhile, the broader Washington area has been flooded with lawn signs and goal counters, and Gretzky himself has been following the hunt in-person since Friday, 31 years after he set the record by passing Gordie Howe's 801 career goals. Ovechkin has been saving his sticks and pucks from the last four seasons to display them in a museum in Moscow, his hometown, and he was reportedly considering changing into a new jersey each period over the last few games to produce more game-used gear to be sold as memorabilia later on. The preparations for Ovechkin's run to the milestone goal began much earlier than that. In 2021, he filed to trademark 'the Gr8 Chase'—a reference to the No. 8 he has worn on his jersey his entire career—and he has licensed T-shirts, memorabilia and various other products with partners including Fanatics, 500 Level apparel, FOCO bobbleheads, Inglasco pucks and WinCraft collectibles. That is just an extension of the big business Ovechkin has long done. As Forbes has tracked his annual off-ice earnings over the last 13 years, he has never dropped below $2.5 million, and his stable of sponsors includes Nike, Hublot watches, Papa John's and Upper Deck trading cards, as well as Russian companies such as the sportsbook Fonbet. Ovechkin's nationality has occasionally worked against him, particularly since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with brands across the sports world approaching the country's athletes with trepidation. Ovechkin campaigned for President Vladimir Putin ahead of Russia's 2018 election, and although the most recent post on his official Instagram page is from 2023, his profile picture continues to feature him posing alongside Putin. But his biggest hindrance when it comes to endorsements—and to his pay in general—is the sport he plays. While Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid (an estimated $6 million this season), Crosby ($5.5 million) and Toronto Maple Leafs sharpshooter Auston Matthews ($5 million) can match Ovechkin off the ice, only a handful of other hockey players top even $1 million annually. Playing salaries have also lagged behind other sports' since the NHL implemented a strict salary cap in 2005. Put those two facts together, and hockey is a long way from the days when Gretzky ranked among the world's 10 top-earning athletes, with an estimated $13.5 million in 1994 and $14.5 million in 1995 (roughly $29 million and $31 million adjusted for inflation). Now, no hockey player has any shot at appearing on Forbes' list of the 50 highest-paid athletes, which had a cutoff of $45.2 million last year. That financial reality is at least starting to improve, however, with more marketing opportunities popping up and the salary cap climbing as the NHL posts revenue records. And in the meantime, as Ovechkin looks to pad his career goals lead, he can continue to light up the earnings scoreboard alongside Crosby, who signed a two-year, $17.4 million extension with the Penguins in September that runs through the 2026-27 season. (Relative to Ovechkin, Crosby has made a little less on the ice for his career—surpassing $150 million—and a tad more off it.) Ovechkin has one more season on his contract with the Capitals, for $9 million, and he recently indicated in an interview with Russia's Sport-Express that he was unlikely to sign another NHL deal. That doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to hang up his skates, though. Ovechkin also said he planned to return to the KHL's Dynamo Moscow—his first pro team, from 2001 to 2005—before heading into retirement, where he can occupy his time with the Papa John's franchises he owns and the hockey academy he is building in Moscow. For a forward like Ovechkin, the next big score is never too far away.
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Alex Ovechkin's Capitals teammates embrace record chase: ‘You want to pass it to him'
WASHINGTON — Perhaps even more than the awe, the gratitude, the fun, the can-you-really-believe-we-get-to-be-a-part-of-this sensation, it's the sound that's going to stick with Dylan Strome. The way the droning din of 18,000 people suddenly merges into a unison crescendo of audible anticipation a split second before anything even happens. Advertisement These days, nobody's looking at their phones when Alex Ovechkin is on the ice. Just about every fan in the building is locked in on the Washington Capitals' No. 8, involuntarily moving toward the edge of their seats every time the puck hits his stick. Or even if he just finds some open ice. Yes, sometimes, the sound even beats the pass. And not just at Capital One Center in Washington. At Madison Square Garden in New York. At TD Garden in Boston. At PNC Arena in Raleigh. Anywhere the traveling circus stops for the night. Long Island, look out, it's coming your way on Sunday, with Ovechkin just one goal from owning the NHL's career record. 'The juice, the life that comes alive in the rink when he gets the puck — it's pretty incredible,' Strome said. 'You can tell a lot of smart hockey fans have been watching, because when he gets the puck in the right spots, there's a little more of a buzz. It's been cool. Seems like every game is becoming more and more of a spectacle. The road rinks are incredible.' But there's still no place like home. After Ovechkin scored the 893rd goal of his career — one shy of Wayne Gretzky's record — on his second shift Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, the crowd reacted like it was a game-winner in the playoffs. And the buzz stayed at that level throughout the night. Late in his third shift, when he was ready to come off the ice, a chipped puck nearly got through to him in the offensive zone far from the net but was intercepted by a Blackhawks player. The crowd reacted with an exaggerated 'OHHHHH' that usually only accompanies shots off the post. They thought he tied the record with a power-play goal in the third period, but it actually went in off Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy. OVECHKIN AGAIN! GOAL 894!!! 😱 HE'S TIED THE ALL-TIME GOALS RECORD! #Gr8Chase 🇺🇸: @NHLNetwork🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ — NHL (@NHL) April 5, 2025 So when Ovechkin did get the puck across the line to tie the record early in the third period — in vintage Ovechkin fashion, on a power-play one-timer from his office in the right circle off a John Carlson feed — the ground shook in the District. And with each successive scoring chance — a breakaway in the third period, four shot attempts in the final 80 seconds — the crowd leapt and yelped and covered their heads in mock agony and laughed and clapped and cheered. Ovechkin didn't get the record to himself just yet, but nobody left Capital One Arena feeling short-changed. Advertisement 'When guys that are larger than life like him — anybody else going for anything else, probably wouldn't have happened,' Carlson said. 'But the greats of the greats of the greats just find a way to do it and do it in theater and in style.' Everyone in the building wants to witness history. That goes for Ovechkin's teammates, too. But they can do one better. They can be a part of history. And everyone wants to have their name on the scoresheet next to No. 895, to be the next Marty McSorley and set up the record-setting tally. 'If you have a chance to pass it to him, you want to pass it to him,' Capitals winger Tom Wilson said. 'There's a lot of intelligent players. If there's a play that's open, most guys will try and make the right play. But if he's open or there's a chance that you can get the puck to him, obviously you're going to try at this point to set up one of the best goal scorers. Once you get it into his hands, usually good things will happen.' So yes, Ovechkin's teammates have been sometimes forcing the puck to him these days. And no, they're not going to apologize for it. It's usually a pretty sound strategy, anyway. 'Oh, for sure,' said Strome, who has assisted on 20 of Ovechkin's 41 goals this season, and a team-high 46 since joining the Capitals in 2022-23. 'I think I've been doing that for the last three years, to be honest. But yeah, when he's open, you're trying to give it to him a little bit more. But at the same time, he's usually open. He wants the puck in those areas, and it's our job to get it to him.' Gretzky twice on Friday said that all the attention on his chase of Gordie Howe's record during the 1993-94 season was hard on his teammates, but the Capitals seem to be loving every second. The distinct smell of beer in the postgame locker room was proof of that. Ovechkin, while acknowledging the magnitude of the moment and calling the chase 'great for hockey' after the Caps' morning skate on Friday, repeatedly said his focus was on the game. Maybe his has been, but his teammates have been outright focusing on the record. They're not even pretending otherwise. Washington is all but locked into the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and Strome said Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's record has lent meaning to games that otherwise wouldn't mean a heck of a lot. Advertisement The record is, quite frankly, Washington's top priority right now. For the whole franchise, really. Each goal is announced over the public-address system as Ovechkin's '893rd goal…' or '894th goal…' as a giant triple-digit sign gives way to a higher number. It's a lot less stressful — and a lot more fun — than last season, when the Capitals were scratching and clawing just to get into the playoffs as the eighth seed. 'It would be totally different if it was like (last season),' Strome said. 'Obviously, we're trying to win the hockey game. We're trying to play (well), we're trying to win. The chances of him getting an empty-netter are pretty high if we're winning the game, too, so that's obviously good. But it's been so much fun. Every time he gets the puck, we all want him to score more than anything. It's been crazy, it's been fun, and it's been a lot easier because we've been winning.' Being on the other side of the ice can be just as energizing. The 31st-place Blackhawks suffered their 12th loss in 13 games Friday night, but Ovechkin's chase gave them something to play for, too. As much as the Capitals want to be a part of history, their opponents desperately want to avoid doing so. 'We're playing spoiler,' veteran winger Pat Maroon said before the game. 'And (besides that), it's going to be awesome. There's going to be a lot of people in the stands and it's going to be cool. We've got a lot of young guys in here that get to play in front of Wayne Gretzky, arguably the best player in the world. And a lot of people with stardom are going to be here to try to witness something special. Our job is to ruin it for them.' The Chicago roster is loaded with players approximately half Ovechkin's age, and there was a palpable sense of excitement to go up against him. That'll be the same for virtually any roster in the league, with the Islanders up next. 'He's a legend,' 19-year-old Artyom Levshunov said. 'It's incredible. When I was growing up, I was watching him a lot. Even now, still, he's my favorite player on the ice. It's unreal to play against him.' Advertisement That awe never seems to go away, whether you were born a few weeks into Ovechkin's NHL career, like Levshunov, or whether you've been his teammate for a dozen years, like Wilson. Seeing how casually Ovechkin has handled the chase has only elevated him in his teammates' eyes. 'The amount of pressure, it's bigger than hockey,' Wilson said. 'The entire game of hockey is on his shoulders right now. There's guys like me or my teammates that feel pressure on a nightly basis, (but) this is next level. To be able to handle that, and continue to perform and continue to lead this team to be a top team in the league, and just be such a fun teammate and such a fun guy — it's remarkable.' The ticking clock looming over the chase — the regular season ends in less than two weeks — has added some juice to the chase, not that it really needed it. It would be pretty anticlimactic if Ovechkin entered next season stuck on 894, with a full season ahead of him. But the Capitals don't seem terribly concerned about that happening. We're long past if; it's now when. One player after the game, without a hint of hyperbole in his voice, said that Ovechkin would be at 900 before the season ends in 11 days. More than 18,000 fans, a couple dozen teammates and Gretzky himself were all frankly a little surprised it didn't happen on Friday. Two goals for a 39-year-old player almost seemed like a disappointment. The record is simply inevitable at this point. 'Well, yeah, come on,' Strome said. 'I'd hope so. But even at the beginning of the season, it would be like is it gonna happen? And then he had such a good start and it was for sure gonna happen. Then he got hurt and it wasn't gonna happen. And now it's back on to 'gonna happen.' It's something that you can't really explain because none of us have ever been through something like this. We're enjoying every moment of it.' The chase now moves to Long Island for a Sunday matinee. Then the Capitals are off until Thursday's home game against Carolina. The last chance for Ovechkin to break the record at home would come next Sunday against Columbus. But whether it's in Washington or anywhere else, it might just sound the same. (Photo of Alex Ovechkin, Jakob Chychrun and Andrew Mangiapane: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Alex Ovechkin scored No. 894 ‘in theater and in style.' His next goal will be even grander
WASHINGTON — Sometime soon — Sunday maybe, perhaps Wednesday — Alex Ovechkin will reach the summit. In a career jammed with consequential goals, none will be remembered more than the next one. We'll talk about it then, and we'll do it in the grandest of terms, because that's how it all works. To say he's chasing immortality, whole cloth, would be incorrect; that's a fish he caught long ago. He is, though, still chasing something. The biggest record in his sport. The biggest name. The biggest number. Scoring one goal is hard. Scoring more of them than anyone else, ever, is something else, and Ovechkin is about to walk through that door. Advertisement On Friday night, he knocked. Ovechkin began the Washington Capitals' game against the Chicago Blackhawks with 892 goals, three away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL career record. He finished it with 894. He was inches away from 895. And 896. And 897. On a different night, in a different set of circumstances, that would qualify as some sort of disappointment. There are six games left on Washington's regular-season schedule — starting with Sunday's road game against the New York Islanders — which makes breaking the record a near-certainty. Just two of those games, though, are at Capital One Arena, in front of the fans who love him most. If you're shooting for the dream scenario, that bit of math isn't kind. Still, what Ovechkin got on Friday night — what he gave the people in attendance, and the way he gave it to them — was more than good enough. 'Everybody here saw it,' longtime teammate Tom Wilson said. 'Everybody in the building got to experience it. Everybody in this locker room got to be a part of it.' Wayne Gretzky – 894 goals in 1487 gamesAlex Ovechkin – 894 goals in 1486 games#Gr8Chase — NHL (@NHL) April 5, 2025 If you doubted that Ovechkin would make a run at the record on Friday night, you haven't paid attention. It's not just about his resume, either, remarkable as it is; it's about how he's played over the last few weeks. He had scored in each of his last three games. He hadn't gone more than two games without a goal since Jan. 1. For the season, somehow, he was clipping along at a 54-goal pace, waylaid only by a broken leg — and far more briefly than the standard-issue 39-year-old would be out. In hockey, nothing is truly inevitable. The margins are too slim. The game, by definition, is too chaotic. Ovechkin, though — scoring in bunches, and doing it early — is as close as you can get. Advertisement Dylan Strome realized that. Since joining the Capitals in 2022, he has assisted on more Ovechkin goals than anyone else: 44 and, at the start of the night, 19 this season. The crowd chanting Ovechkin's name louder and longer than ever before, until the moment the puck dropped, was a clue. 'We were kind of saying before the game if he gets one in the first, then look out because he seems to score in bunches,' Strome said. 'Everyone knew what was happening.' And it happened quickly. Ovechkin, 3 minutes, 52 seconds into the game, and on his second shift, went post-in on Blackhawks goalie Spencer Knight. Chicago, somehow, lost him at the bottom of the right circle. The feed, naturally, came from Strome. No. 893. If you asked the biggest Ovechkin fan to imagine one of his goals — to come up with the platonic ideal — it would've been No. 894. With 13:47 remaining and the Capitals on the power play, defenseman John Carlson shuffled the puck to Ovechkin, who was waiting in the left faceoff dot. He beat Knight more cleanly and in a tighter window than the first time. Only Nicklas Backstrom has set up more of Ovechkin's goals than Carlson. The two won the Stanley Cup together in 2018, with Ovechkin as the team's best player and Carlson as its best defenseman. Carlson, like Strome, was impressed. He wasn't surprised. 'It just seemed like one of those days that when guys that are larger than life like him — anybody else going for anything else probably wouldn't have happened,' Carlson said. 'But the greats of the greats of the greats just find a way to do it and do it in theater and in style, and tonight was no different.' The ovation Ovechkin received lasted, give or take, six minutes. The chants started, and they didn't stop. Ovechkin took time to celebrate with his teammates, who joined him on the ice. 'We kind of looked at each other (on the bench) and just said like, 'Screw it, I'm going,'' Wilson said. Advertisement He pointed to the sky in tribute to his brother Sergei, who died when he was 10. He celebrated with his wife, Nastya, and his son — also Sergei, of course — along the glass. He turned also toward the man whose company he'd just joined, and whose company he'll soon leave, and paid tribute. 'Just seeing him skate over and bow down to Wayne's box, it was just shivers,' Wilson said. 'It was just something that everyone dreams of being a part of, and to have a front-row seat and see him — I'm just so proud of him and so happy for him.' An hour or so after the game, Ovechkin and Gretzky were seated together at District E, an open-air theater across from the arena. With a 'Gr8 Chase' backdrop behind them, flanked a tub of Bud Light tall boys, the two legends answered questions about the moment and its meaning. Gretzky was gracious and funny; Ovechkin was relaxed and, he said, relieved. He had jokes, too. He ribbed Strome for bouncing a pass off Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and past Knight in the third period, rather than giving him a shot at a wide-open net. He gently corrected Gretzky, too, for assuming that Ryan Leonard's empty net goal came at Ovechkin's expense. It was his moment — maybe the biggest he'll have in front of Capitals fans — and he was in it. 'I'm still a little shaking and still can't believe it,' he said. 'I just talked to my family yesterday and my father-in-law asked, 'How do you keep your energy, your mind?' And I just said like, 'I just enjoy it,' because it's a huge opportunity. It's history.' He made it on Friday. And in due time, he'll make it again.
