Alex Ovechkin Undecided On Playing Future Beyond This Season
With this being the final season of Alex Ovechkin’s contract, there has been plenty of speculation as to whether the future Hall of Famer would be hanging up his skates, returning to play in Russia, or staying in the NHL. At various times, it has been speculated that this would be it for him in the NHL while at others, some have suggested that an extension could be coming.
Now several months into the 2025-26 campaign, it doesn’t seem as if Ovechkin is any closer to making a decision on what comes next. Speaking with NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti earlier this week, the 40-year-old indicated that he doesn’t know what comes next. He added that his family and the Capitals organization would be part of the decision-making process, with a final decision unlikely to come until after the season.
Ovechkin has spent his entire 21-year NHL career with Washington after the Caps drafted him first overall back in 2004. He has set multiple league records along the way. On top of taking over the all-time goal record last season (he’s up to 919), he’s also the record-holder for power play goals (330), game-winning goals (140), and shots on goal (7,028). Clearly, there’s nothing left to prove but he can certainly keep adding to his records.
While Ovechkin clearly isn’t the elite winger he was for many years, he’s still a very capable contributor. He has 22 goals and 26 assists this season in 59 games while still logging nearly 18 minutes per night of playing time. His 48 points are one behind Tom Wilson for the team lead. While a decline is likely to come given his age, Ovechkin could certainly contribute for another year.
If Ovechkin decides to re-sign with the Capitals, it’s fair to say that the AAV of the deal wouldn’t check in at the $9.5MM that it’s currently at. However, if he were to re-sign on a one-year pact, he’d become eligible for performance bonuses, which would give Washington some extra flexibility and also give Ovechkin a chance to maximize his earnings.
While the Capitals would undoubtedly like some certainty with Ovechkin’s situation heading into the trade deadline to know if this is his final run or not, it appears that they’ll have to wait a while yet to see what the captain plans to do.
Oilers Expected To Activate Adam Henrique, Kasperi Kapanen Injured Again
The Oilers will get a veteran center back in the lineup when their schedule resumes on Wednesday. Head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters today (video link) that Adam Henrique is “doing really well,” and it appears that he’ll be ready to play against Anaheim. However, the news isn’t all good, as winger Kasperi Kapanen has picked up a little ailment that could keep him out of the lineup for the first couple of games of their three-game California road trip.
Henrique has been out of the lineup for more than six weeks due to an undisclosed injury, missing the last 15 games as a result. He had a rough first half by his standards, as he has just two goals and eight assists in 43 games, putting him on pace for the worst offensive numbers of his career. However, he’s still winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs and playing an important role on Edmonton’s penalty kill so those areas should at least be bolstered by his return.
As for Kapanen, this has been a rough season for him on the injury front. He returned to Edmonton’s lineup last month after missing more than two months with a lower-body injury. Soon after, he missed three more games with another lower-body issue. This latest setback is not believed to be related to the first two. In between, the 29-year-old has been fairly productive, notching five goals and seven assists in just 19 games, giving the Oilers some decent secondary scoring.
Edmonton is only carrying the minimum of 20 players on its active roster following the recent demotion of Matthew Savoie so there won’t be any roster-related issues in order to activate Henrique. However, putting him back on the active roster would only give them 12 forwards, one of which is Kapanen, who isn’t going to play on Wednesday. Accordingly, the Oilers will have to either dress seven defensemen until Kapanen returns or they will need to call up a forward before Wednesday’s game.
Blue Jackets Not Planning To Trade For More Pending UFAs
Earlier this season, the Blue Jackets surprised many when they traded for pending unrestricted free agent winger Mason Marchment and made a coaching change, bringing in Rick Bowness. So far, those moves have worked out rather well. Marchment has nine goals and four assists in 14 games since being acquired, while Columbus has won 10 of 11 with Bowness behind the bench to get back within striking distance of a playoff spot.
However, don’t expect the Blue Jackets to add further rentals before the March 6th trade deadline. In an interview with Jeff Svoboda on the team’s website, GM Don Waddell indicated that the one thing he’s not looking to do is add more veteran rentals:
“Because you look at it, the one thing we probably won’t do is go out and try to add UFAs at the deadline. You might go around the edges a little bit, but having in particular three forwards that play good roles on our team, to add another (UFA) and give up assets probably doesn’t make sense.”
The three forwards that Bowness speaks of are Marchment, along with centers Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner. Bringing in another impactful piece of note with that much talent potentially set to go elsewhere in the summer would carry some risk. That said, Waddell spoke of being amenable to trading for an impactful piece that’s signed or under club control beyond this season, so it’s not as if he’s not looking to add to his group.
Meanwhile, Waddell noted that the biggest focus at the moment revolves around discussing contracts with their pending free agents. Not just the group of pending UFAs, either, but pending RFAs like Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger as well. Getting some extra certainty about their future costs would certainly help their decision-making process leading into the deadline so it stands to reason that some of those discussions will intensify over the next week or so. But in terms of pure rental players, the focus in Columbus is clear: they’re looking to keep the ones they have and not add to that group.
Blackhawks Sign, Reassign Olivier Rodrigue
2/22: Chicago has officially assigned Rodrigue to the AHL after he cleared NHL waivers.
2/21: The Blackhawks have added some extra goaltending depth for the stretch run. The team announced that they’ve signed goaltender Olivier Rodrigue to a one-year, two-way contract for the remainder of the season. The deal will carry a $775K cap charge at the NHL level while the two-way salary was not disclosed.
The 25-year-old was a second-round pick of Edmonton back in 2018, going 62nd overall. However, he wasn’t able to make much of a push for NHL playing time over his five seasons in their system. Aside from a two-game stint with the Oilers last season, Rodrigue played exclusively in their minor league system between AHL Bakersfield and ECHL Wichita. Last season, Rodrigue posted a 3.12 GAA with a .897 SV% in 42 games with the Condors and became a Group Six unrestricted free agent back in the summer.
It took until mid-August for Rodrigue to find a team as he wound up signing a one-year deal with Barys Astana of the KHL. However, he suffered an injury less than a month later, leading to his release before he had even played a game for them. Since then, Rodrigue hasn’t played but this contract suggests that he’s now cleared to return to game action.
Presumably, Rodrigue’s signing comes in response to prospect goalie Stanislav Berezhnoy, who received a 20-game suspension from the AHL earlier this week for violating the terms of the AHL/PHPA Performance Enhancing Substance Program. Chicago’s intent is likely to have Rodrigue serve as the backup to Drew Commesso for the stretch run while evaluating his possibility as a fit for next season as well. With 131 career AHL regular season appearances under his belt where he has a 2.92 GAA and a .905 SV%, Rodrigue should be well-suited to fill that role.
To do so, Chicago will first have to successfully run Rodrigue through waivers before he can be assigned to the IceHogs. While the NHL is in a trade freeze at the moment, waivers are still allowable during this period and PuckPedia reports that he is indeed on waivers. Assuming he clears, he’ll be sent down on Sunday and will be eligible to play then.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery
It has been a bit of a tough season for Canucks winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki. He dealt with an early-season injury and has bounced around between Vancouver and AHL Abbotsford. Now, his campaign is coming to a premature end as CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (Twitter link) that Lekkerimaki is set to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
The 21-year-old was the 15th overall selection by Vancouver back in 2022 but hasn’t been able to establish himself as a regular with them yet. He missed a little more than a month to start the season with that injury and has had three stints with AHL Abbotsford and two others with Vancouver since mid-November.
One of those NHL opportunities came in the weeks leading up to the Olympics as Lekkerimaki got into Vancouver’s last five games before the break. On the season, he has a pair of goals along with an assist in 13 outings while averaging 11:41 per night. That production was in line with how he fared last season when he notched three goals and three helpers in his first 24 career NHL contests.
Lekkerimaki had fared much better in the minors. He’s tied for fourth in team scoring despite only playing in 21 of 52 games with 13 goals and seven assists. Four of those points came in five games after being sent down to get some more game action in during the Olympic break.
While it was expected that Lekkerimaki would return to Vancouver following the break or soon after depending on trade deadline activity, that’s clearly no longer an option with this news. Now, his sophomore year has come to a premature end and he’ll head into training camp in the fall looking to grab a hold of a full-time NHL spot for the first time.
Mammoth Recall Scott Perunovich And Kevin Connauton
With Olli Maatta still taking part in the Olympics, the Mammoth have brought up some extra defensive depth for practice. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defensemen Scott Perunovich and Kevin Connauton from AHL Tucson.
Perunovich is in his first season with Utah after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them back in free agency. A veteran of 108 career NHL appearances, he has yet to make one this season as he has played exclusively with the Roadrunners, his first extended AHL run since 2022-23. The 27-year-old has been quite productive in Tucson, notching three goals and 27 assists in 43 games to lead all team blueliners in scoring.
As for Connauton, he has 360 career NHL outings under his belt but none since the 2021-22 campaign. The 35-year-old is in the second and final season of his two-way deal and has suited up in 23 games with the Roadrunners this season where he has two assists. At this point, it seems likely that both he and Perunovich’s time with the big club will be short-lived with Utah’s back end fully healthy coming out of the break.
With the recalls, Utah’s active roster now sits at 22 players, one shy of the maximum. It’s worth noting that the team has moved Maatta and winger Clayton Keller to non-roster status, so it’s possible that another player will be brought up for practice purposes over the next couple of days.
Atlantic Notes: Tuch, Kulikov, Nosek, Zacha
While Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen called extending pending UFA winger Alex Tuch a top priority after being named to the position, it doesn’t appear progress is being made on that front. In a recent appearance on DFO Live (video link), The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported that while the sides remain communicative, they aren’t getting any closer to getting a deal in place. The 29-year-old is in the middle of another strong season, as he has posted 22 goals and 26 assists in 56 games so far. At this point, it’s likely that he’ll more than double his current $4.75MM AAV based on comparable wingers to sign extensions in recent months. But even if Kekalainen isn’t willing to pay that price tag just yet, it’s unlikely that he’d turn around and move Tuch before the March 6th trade deadline with Buffalo in the playoff picture as they look to reach the postseason for the first time since 2011.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- The Panthers welcomed a pair of veterans back to practice today. Team reporter Jameson Olive noted (Twitter links) that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and center Tomas Nosek both took part in today’s skate in non-contact jerseys. Kulikov suffered an upper-body injury in the second game of the season and has been out since then. The initial recovery period was expected to be between five and six months so Kulikov may be a little while yet before returning. As for Nosek, he has yet to play this season due to a knee injury. Both players are currently on LTIR and would give the Panthers some depth upgrades for the stretch run once they’re able to return.
- Bruins center Pavel Zacha took part in practice today in a regular (contact) jersey, relays Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been working his way back from a concussion and was initially expected to be able to play for the Czechs at the Olympics. Instead, recovery has been slower than expected, causing him to withdraw, and he was in a non-contact sweater as practices resumed this week but this is a step in the right direction. Zacha had 11 points last month before being injured and sits fourth in Boston scoring with 37 points in 54 games this season.
Mikko Rantanen To Miss Bronze Medal Game Due To Injury
A handful of key NHL players have been sidelined with an injury at the 2026 Olympics. Another player has been added to that list as Lejionat’s Jaakko Pertilla reported that Finnish winger Mikko Rantanen was scratched for the Bronze Medal Game against Slovakia due to a lower-body injury.
Rantanen was a full participant in Saturday’s semi-final matchup against Canada. He scored the opening goal of the game and logged 16:09 of ice time in 25 shifts. The 29-year-old came into today’s game as Finland’s leading scorer with two goals and four assists in five games with an ATOI of 18:14.
Of course, this is significant news for Rantanen’s NHL team as well as the veteran is the leading scorer for the Stars this season. In 54 games, he has 20 goals and 49 assists while averaging more than 20 minutes a night of playing time. Any absence from NHL games would be significant.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the injury occurred in the third period on Saturday and is not considered to be season-ending. He’s expected to be evaluated when he returns to Dallas to determine the exact severity and how much time he could miss.
Taking Rantanen’s spot on Finland’s top line is Oliver Kapanen, who has been scratched for three games and dressed as the 13th forward without seeing the ice in the other two. Meanwhile, Eeli Tolvanen will return to the lineup after being healthy-scratched versus Canada.
Flames Activate Blake Coleman And John Beecher Off IR
The Flames will welcome back a pair of forwards when their schedule resumes on Thursday against San Jose. Per the NHL’s Media Site, Calgary has activated Blake Coleman and John Beecher off injured reserve.
Coleman has been out of the lineup since early January when he suffered an upper-body injury against Boston. The 34-year-old has played in 44 games this season, picking up 13 goals and eight assists while averaging 17 minutes per night of playing time.
Of course, Coleman is known more for his physicality and two-way game. He’s averaging 2.5 hits per game, his highest mark since the 2019-20 season while he’s averaging more than two minutes per night of shorthanded playing time, second among Calgary forwards.
As a result, Coleman has been a highly speculated trade candidate in recent months, especially since he’s not a pure rental. He has one season left after this one on a contract that carries a cap hit of $4.9MM. Being able to get back in the lineup and show that he’s healthy will only bolster his value before the March 6th trade deadline.
Beecher, meanwhile, is also returning from an upper-body injury from more than a month ago, sustained against Nashville. Claimed off waivers from Boston back in mid-November, the 24-year-old has two assists in 19 games with the Flames in 9:38 per contest of playing time. He’ll likely return to his fourth-line spot coming out of the break.
For the time being, Calgary is now at the maximum of 23 players on its active roster. However, winger Jonathan Huberdeau is currently on that active roster but won’t return this season due to hip surgery. Accordingly, he’s a safe bet to move to injured reserve whenever the Flames need to open up a roster spot.
Snapshots: McMann, Chytil, Jets
Maple Leafs winger Bobby McMann is the middle of a career year and appears to be poised to cash in on his next contract. While Toronto would like to re-sign him, talks don’t appear to be going well as The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported on a Leafs Morning Take appearance (video link) that there has been no progression in those discussions. The 29-year-old is on a very affordable $1.35MM price tag which could fit in on most contender’s cap structures which is part of the reason Toronto is believed to be seeking a first-round pick for his services. If the two sides can’t work out an extension over the next couple of weeks, we’ll find out if his contract is valuable enough to net the Maple Leafs the return they seek.
More from around the NHL:
- Filip Chytil’s tough luck this season continues. After missing time before the break with more migraine headaches, he returned to practice on Tuesday. However, Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province notes that the center took a puck to the face in a mini-game at practice on Wednesday, causing him to exit early and go for imaging. Chytil has been limited to just a dozen games this season and has a long, documented history with concussions (or concussion-like symptoms). Now, it looks like he could be out of the Canucks’ lineup for a while once again.
- Jets defenseman Neal Pionk could return to the lineup on their upcoming three-game road trip, relays Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The veteran has missed a little more than a month with a lower-body injury. Pionk has had at least 32 points in six straight years but will be hard-pressed to get there this season as he has just eight in 40 outings. Meanwhile, it appears blueliner Haydn Fleury is a little further away from returning. Head coach Scott Arniel noted that while Fleury is progressing in his recovery from an upper-body injury, he still needs time to build his conditioning back up.