Capitals' Alex Ovechkin plans to return for his 21st season - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Va. — Alex Ovechkin said Saturday he intends to return to the Washington Capitals for his 21st NHL season after breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goal-scoring record earlier this spring.

Ovechkin joked about joining the minor league Hershey Bears for their playoff run and indicated the question wasn't whether he'd be back but rather whether he had what it takes to earn a spot.

«First of all, [I have] to make a roster at 40 years old,» Ovechkin quipped on locker cleanout day, less than 48 hours after he and the Capitals were eliminated in the second round by Carolina.

Ovechkin, who turns 40 in September, has one season left on his five-year, $47.5 million contract he signed in 2021. He said he is approaching the summer like any other, planning to train the same way in the offseason and see where things go.

«I'm going to use those couple months [in the offseason] to rest, enjoy my life, then back to work,» Ovechkin said. «Me and [trainer Pavel Burlachenko are] going do our job to get ready for the season and just do my best.»

Ovechkin is coming off a whirlwind of a season in which he overcame a broken leg to score 44 goals — the third most in the league — and pass Gretzky's career mark of 894 that long seemed unapproachable. The Russian superstar has 897.

«For him to come back this year and play the way that he did, chase down this record, the start that he had, breaking his leg, coming back from that, and just continuing to not only do things he did individually, statistically, but lead our team — that's part of the story that will be a minor part of it, but it's a big part of it,» coach Spencer Carbery said after the Game 5 loss to the Hurricanes on Thursday night.

«He did what he came back this year to prove