{"id":3347,"date":"2026-07-03T14:37:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3347"},"modified":"2026-07-03T14:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:37:58","slug":"im-back-ovechkin-delays-retirement-signs-one-year-deal-with-capitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3347","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m back!\u2019 Ovechkin delays retirement, signs one-year deal with Capitals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Alex Ovechkin isn\u2019t done yet.<\/p>\n<p>The Washington Capitals signed the NHL\u2019s all-time leading goal scorer to a one-year contract on Thursday, ensuring that the 40-year-old would return for a 22nd NHL season.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3345\">Platner borrows from the Trump playbook in maverick left-wing run for U.S. Senate<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The franchise announced that Ovechkin\u2019s deal features a $1 million salary with a $3.25 million signing bonus and a $4.75 million performance bonus if he plays in at least 10 games.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m back!\u201d Ovechkin said in a statement. \u201cThank you to everyone for giving me and my family the time to make this decision. I\u2019m healthy. I love playing hockey and competing to win. I\u2019m excited to come back and join my teammates so we can fight for a playoff spot and have a chance to win. See you in September, DC!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ovechkin had openly entertained retirement at the end of last season. He turns 41 in September and mentioned that his health was the primary consideration surrounding his decision.<\/p>\n<p>The Capitals, who had already noted they would be willing to re-sign the three-time MVP, were glad to welcome him back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has defined excellence for this franchise and set a standard, and we are thrilled to have him continue writing this next chapter of his remarkable career,\u201d Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Last season, Ovechkin played in all 82 games and led the Capitals with 32 goals. Throughout the campaign, he added to his already historic resume. The Russian became the first player to score more than 900 regular-season goals and the first to notch 20 30-goal campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlex has proven year after year that he can produce offensively and that he is still the driving force of our team,\u201d said Capitals general manager Chris Patrick. \u201cIn addition, his presence in our locker room \u2014 especially with our young players \u2014 will continue to be an enormous boost for our organization and will help shape our team culture for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Capitals opened the offseason with a bevy of moves that would likely increase their Stanley Cup odds for next season. Winning, Patrick has said in the past, is a key factor in Ovechkin\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n<p>The Capitals traded for forwards Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou last week in deals with the Buffalo Sabres and St. Louis Blues, respectively. Washington continued its roster refresh on Wednesday by signing former Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner and ex-San Jose Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3343\">Trump urges Americans to check out American Revolution statue exhibit in the heart of Washington<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Jenner said Thursday that he signed with Washington hoping Ovechkin would return. The Capitals played the Blue Jackets in the season finale for both teams in April.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt seemed like he was going to come back. \u2026 \u00a0He\u2019s great for the group,\u201d Jenner told reporters. \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m really excited to play with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He wasn\u2019t the only one who had a gut sense that Ovechkin wasn\u2019t ready to hang up his yellow laces.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI just felt it. He didn\u2019t explicitly say it to me,\u201d former Capitals defenseman John Carlson told NHL.com on Thursday after signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, \u201cBut you can just tell. \u2026 He\u2019s been an amazing player for far too long in this league, and it\u2019s just incredible what he\u2019s been able to accomplish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Capitals\u2019 roster now features 11 players \u2014 including Ovechkin \u2014 who have recorded 20-goal seasons in their careers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are excited about the additions we made this offseason to bolster our lineup and make our group more competitive,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cWe believe that our roster is well balanced and will help create more opportunities for Alex to create offense and score goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Capitals have been perennial playoff contenders the past 20 years, but Ovechkin has lifted the Stanley Cup only once \u2014 in 2018. Washington\u2019s decision-makers said their offseason moves were tailor-made to help Ovechkin ride off into the sunset after the upcoming season.<\/p>\n<p>Leonsis said he has championship expectations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur fans expect nothing less, and our organization has made the investments and difficult decisions necessary to build a new and exciting team,\u201d he noted. \u201cHaving the greatest goal scorer in NHL history and the most important player in Capitals history return for another season means so much to our organization, our fans, and our city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3341\">Extreme heat bears down as America 250 celebrations ramp up. Trump heads to Mount Rushmore<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alex Ovechkin isn&#8217;t done yet. The Washington Capitals signed the NHL&#8217;s all-time leading goal scorer to a one-year contract on Thursday, ensuring that the 40-year-old would return for a 22nd NHL season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[142,1837],"tags":[1839,656,2001],"class_list":["post-3347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-washington-capitals","tag-alex-ovechkin","tag-nhl","tag-washington-capitals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018I\u2019m back!\u2019 Ovechkin delays retirement, signs one-year deal with Capitals - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3347\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018I\u2019m back!\u2019 Ovechkin delays retirement, signs one-year deal with Capitals - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alex Ovechkin isn&#039;t done yet. 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