Alex Ovechkin’s Future: John Carlson’s Departure May Have Sent a Message

Michaël Petit
Alex Ovechkin’s Future: John Carlson’s Departure May Have Sent a Message
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

Alex Ovechkin is truly in a league of his own.

We obviously know he's the all-time leading scorer with 923 career goals, but it goes beyond that.

Despite being 40 years old, he's still the Capitals' leading goal-scorer this season. Since joining the NHL in 2005-06, he's always been his team's top goal-scorer. Incredible.

However, we can see that he has slowed down quite a bit, and that's perfectly normal, even though he could still reach the 30-goal mark in a season.

Fans are all wondering: When will the Ovechkin era come to an end?

He has mentioned in the past that when he retires from the NHL, he would end his hockey career back home with the Moscow Dynamo. Will that be at the end of his current contract, which expires this summer?

That would be surprising, since nothing has been announced yet. He could very well sign on for just one more season to see how his health holds up and if he thinks he can still keep up.

However, during the last trade deadline, his good friend John Carlson was traded to the Anaheim Ducks, and according to Frank Seravalli, that might have sent a message to Ovi.

Indeed, the new generation is knocking on the door of the Washington Capitals, and more and more young players are making their way into the big leagues.

Do we really want to send a message to the franchise that maybe it's time to move on?

It would be surprising, but Carlson's departure could very well give Ovechkin (yet another?) reason to end his NHL career.

After all, he's already accomplished countless feats in the big leagues; it would be surprising if he extended his stay in the NHL just to reach the 1,000-goal mark in the regular season. That's pretty much the only milestone he could still achieve.

If Ovechkin's true wish is to end his hockey career in Russia, he won't want to risk getting injured and wearing himself out further, only to find himself unable to lace up his skates anymore.

Even though the situation is different (especially in terms of health), Carey Price retired mainly because he still wanted to be able to play hockey with his kids.

He didn't want to worsen his health (which was already compromised), and Ovi could very well make the same decision.

Is it time for the Russian to hang up his skates? Only time will tell.


In a nutshell

– That's very interesting.

– And this, despite the fact that the Senators are managing with only four defensemen…

– I can't wait to see what he can bring to the Blackhawks.

– Interesting.

– What a great pass.

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