Afternoon Notes: Thompson, Reichel, Ovechkin
It has been an up-and-down year for Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson. He was excluded from Team USA’s roster at the Four Nations Face-Off in February, prompting a monster run through the rest of his games last season. He scored 33 goals in 57 games following the mid-year break, then added nine points in 10 games at the summer’s World Championship, including the decisive goal to earn the United States their first Gold Medal in recent history. As part of an extended interview, Thompson told Michael Russo of The Athletic that he’s hoping that goal can advance his spot on the watchlist as the USA prepares for the Olympics. He said:
I would hope scoring that goal would make a difference, but it’s also one play. It doesn’t define me as a player or mean that I had a great tournament or anything by that means… I want to be an Olympian, but getting the Sabres back into the playoffs is always at the forefront.
Thompson is undoubtedly one of America’s biggest scoring threats. His 120 goals in 225 games is the second-most from any American in the NHL since 2022, behind only Auston Matthews (142 goals in 222 games). Thompson has managed that feat despite playing for the only team to score more than 800 goals, and still get outscored, in the same timeframe. He’s the standing pillar of a struggling team, a point made literal by Thompson’s 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame. The United States tied Canada for the most goals (10) during their three games at the 4-Nations Face-Off. Adding a player of Thompson’s caliber to the lineup could be enough to will the Americans over their rival on the biggest stage next February.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Chicago Blackhawks winger Lukas Reichel told Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times that he hasn’t been able to dodge trade rumors – even hearing them on the streets of his native Germany. Despite that, Reichel emphasized that his focus is squarely on carving out a big role with the Blackhawks next season. He scored a career-high eight goals and 22 points in 70 games last season, but still seems well capable of achieving more. The Blackhawks will have plenty of new faces challenging Reichel for minutes next year, including newcomer Andre Burakovsky and rookies Oliver Moore and Landon Slaggert. That competition will push Reichel to a breaking point. If he can show his might in the NHL, he’ll earn a strong role in the middle-six. If not, he could soon find a path away from the Blackhawks organization.
- NHL legend Alex Ovechkin has departed from his native Russia to return to the United States for the 2025-26 season, shares Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. Ovechkin will kick off his 21st season in the NHL when he lands back in Washington D.C. That mark will make him one of just 42 NHL players to appear in at least 21 seasons. The future Hall-of-Famer broke the league’s record for all-time goals last season, en route to an incredibly 44 goals and 73 points in just 65 games. It will be hard to relieve those numbers as he inches as he prepares to play in his age-40 season. Even then, managing even half of that scoring pace would put Ovechkin on pace for the highest-scoring age-40 season since Teemu Selanne posted 80 points in 2010-11.
Metro Notes: Ovechkin, Flyers Goaltending, Wotherspoon
While Alex Ovechkin broke arguably the NHL’s most iconic record last season by scoring his 895th career goal, the Russian sharpshooter still has more milestones to chase in the coming year, Sports Illustrated’s Nick Horwat outlines.
In what could be his final season, Ovechkin will easily become the first player in NHL history to hit the 900-goal plateau. Just three goals away, a fast start should put that record in the rear-view mirror and could kick-start another pursuit in Ovechkin’s age-40 season. Currently, Gordie Howe holds the record for most goals by a 40-year-old player with the 44 he put up during the 1968-69 season with the Detroit Red Wings. It’s a lofty mark that remains unmatched 50-plus years later for a reason, but it’s a reasonable expectation for Ovechkin, who is coming off a 44-goal season while playing just 65 games.
Ovechkin is also just 18 points shy of cracking the NHL’s top 10 all-time scoring list, three goals away from entering the top 10 in playoff goals, and 192 hits short of becoming second all-time in that category.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division:
- The Philadelphia Flyers have been on a bit of a goaltending carousel over the years, due to a variety of circumstances. As Haley Taylor Simon of Philly Sports Network details, the situation may have hit rock bottom during the 2018-19 season when the team utilized an NHL-record eight goaltenders. Still, the Flyers haven’t exactly fortified the position since. However, Simon wonders if recently signed Dan Vladar could be the answer between the pipes. Still just 27, Vladar is coming off a solid showing with the Calgary Flames last season, appearing in 30 games and securing a .898 save percentage, a 2.80 GAA, and a career-high .586 quality start percentage. On the opening day of free agency, Vladar signed a to a two-year, $6.7MM deal and is expected to compete with Samuel Ersson, who appeared in 47 games for the Flyers last season and finished with a .883 save percentage and 3.14 GAA.
- Penguins GM Kyle Dubas expressed a desire to improve both the depth and overall performance of his left-side defensemen, which led to a series of free-agent signings aimed at finding the right fit. Among the players he signed, physical defenseman Parker Wotherspoon — who inked a two-year, $2 million deal with Pittsburgh — may have the inside track on a roster spot. Wotherspoon, 27, has appeared in 108 regular-season games in the NHL across three seasons, including a career-high 55 games for the Boston Bruins last season. On the year, he averaged 18:02 of ice time per night and registered seven points, 75 hits, and 66 blocked shots. He joins recently signed Caleb Jones and Alexander Alexeyev, as well as veteran Ryan Graves, and promising youngster Owen Pickering in Pittsburgh’s depth chart. Per Justin Guerriero of Triblive.com, Wotherspoon believes Pittsburgh gives him the best opportunity to play. “They seemed interested, we seemed interested and we thought it’d be a good fit with some opportunity to play. … An opportunity to get back in the playoffs is all I wanted to do. Everything just kind of lined up really well,” he said.
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals Haven’t Had Extension Talks
While not surprising news in the slightest, Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin confirmed to reporters in Russia today that he hasn’t had extension talks as he gears up for the final season of the five-year, $47.5MM contract he signed back in 2021 (via Andrey Senchenko of RIA Novosti).
Ovechkin, who turns 40 in September, also seemed to imply that any talks on a new deal would wait until after the 2025-26 season ended. “A year will pass and we will think about it,” Ovechkin said (translated from Russian).
That’s in line with the wait-and-see approach that Ovechkin had said he’ll take ever since last season ended. The Capitals aggressively walked back an erroneous email that got sent out in late May claiming that 2025-26 would be his final NHL season, and he told Russian media last week that reports of his retirement were “pure nonsense.”
It’s an extremely familiar situation to the last time that Ovechkin’s deal was set to expire. He didn’t sign that five-year extension until the last day before free agency opened in 2021, so the two sides are obviously comfortable taking things down to the wire. There’s been no indication that Ovechkin would consider playing for any other NHL team than Washington; it’s long been speculated that he’d head to the KHL for 2026-27 if he doesn’t sign another contract with the Caps.
Delaying extension talks also doesn’t have nearly as much bearing on Washington’s team-building process as it did five years ago. Any subsequent contract for Ovechkin would only be for one year, allowing them to load up his deal with performance bonuses to keep his cap hit low if they end up making other moves that take up most of their space. The Caps also need to consider the future of defense cornerstone John Carlson, also now a pending UFA, as well as a new deal for promising center Connor McMichael, who’s a restricted free agent next summer.
Even with those names in play, the Caps are still extremely well set up for the 2026 offseason with $36.5MM available to fill seven roster spots, according to PuckPedia. That’s right around the median in terms of projected cap space next summer, but only six teams have more roster spots already accounted for.
Likely influencing Ovechkin’s desire to return to Washington will be his desire to chase 1,000 NHL goals, and whether that’s even achievable based on what he produces this year. Injuries limited him to 65 games in 2024-25, but he still managed 44 goals, remarkably his highest goal-per-game pace in five years and enough to make him the league’s all-time leader. He’s now at 897 in 1,491 games over his 20-year career.
Alex Ovechkin Could Play Beyond 2025-26
All-time leading goal scorer Alexander Ovechkin dismissed reports of a possible retirement next season as ‘nonsense,’ and previously noted that he plans to continue playing as long as his love for the game remains strong, reports Sammi Silber of DC Backcheck.
He told reporters during locker clean-out day that he fully intended to honor the final year of his contract but was unsure of his future beyond that, saying he hadn’t given any thought to whether or not he’d be open to extension talks with the Caps as soon as he becomes eligible to sign one on July 1. However, as Silber notes, speculation about Ovechkin’s potential retirement following next season was actually sparked by the Capitals themselves, when a social media post mistakenly referred to next season as the captain’s last. With one year left on his current deal and the goal-scoring record secured, the puzzle pieces were in place to assume next year would be Ovechkin’s last.
However, speaking with Russian-based Sport-Express, Ovechkin dismissed any retirement rumors as ‘pure nonsense.’ He also hinted that anything could happen regarding his career, including a potential return to Russia to finish his playing days. That echoes comments Ovechkin made to Silber back in February, where he expressed his interest in playing for as long as his love for the game remains intact, which could include extending his NHL career.
Ovechkin, 39, proved last season that he isn’t slowing down. Not only did he break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring mark, but he also scored 44 goals and 73 points in just 65 games. He added five goals in 10 playoff games this last season. Over the last four seasons (age 36-39), he has produced 167 goals and is just three away from 900 for his career.
Although Ovechkin has nothing left to prove in the NHL, he could reach the 1,000-goal milestone if he stays in the league. Remarkably, he continues to perform at a high level despite playing a physically demanding style throughout his career. Not only does Ovechkin have the most goals in league history, but is also third all-time in hits, trailing leader Cal Clutterbuck by less than 300.
Capitals Walk Back Message Regarding Alex Ovechkin’s Retirement
11:44 a.m.: Silber clarified for DC Backcheck that the team alleges no email was sent at all, not just that Ovechkin’s decision was unconfirmed. “An email was sent from an individual with the corporate sales department that mistakenly alluded to next year being Alex Ovechkin’s final year,” the team later said in a statement.
11:03 a.m.: The Capitals indicated in an email to season ticket holders that the upcoming 2025-26 season will be Alex Ovechkin‘s last in the NHL, relays Tony Wolak of The Hockey Writers. The organization relayed to Sammi Silber of The Hockey News that no official decision has been made on his future, but Washington appears to at least be operating under a strong assumption that Ovechkin will announce his plans to retire from the NHL next offseason.
Next year is Ovechkin’s last one under the five-year, $47.5MM extension he signed in 2021. He told reporters during locker clean-out day earlier this month that he fully intended to honor the final year of his contract but was unsure of his future beyond that, saying he hadn’t given any thought to whether or not he’d be open to extension talks with the Caps as soon as he becomes eligible to sign one on July 1.
There’s not much left for the 39-year-old to accomplish in his career. He’ll walk away as the greatest left-winger of all time and one of the most impactful players in the league’s history, breaking Wayne Gretzky‘s goal-scoring record in the regular season’s final weeks. He now sits at 897 career tallies entering what should be his 21st and final NHL campaign, all spent with the Capitals.
Russia To Be Barred From 2026 Winter Olympics
Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relays that the International Olympic Committee will officially bar the Russian Federation from participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics. It’ll mark the second consecutive Winter Olympic Games that Russia has been barred from due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Silber included a few quotes from IIHF President Luc Tardif regarding the decision. Tardif said, “The IOC is the organizer – we only deal with the competition (the hockey tournaments) itself. We have been pressuring them to make a decision, one way or another, because we’re getting closer to the Olympics and we need to know. Recently, they asked us to send them a schedule without Russia, so that’s where we are. The official statement is pending but the IOC has told us that they are informing the Russian Olympic Committee that they are not participating in the Olympics.”
It will be interesting to see how concrete the announcement will be and whether the United States and European Union’s ongoing peace efforts will impact Russia’s participation. There has been plenty of conjecture from all parties involved about the peace efforts, and there doesn’t seem to be an agreement on the horizon. Still, that could change before the Olympic torch is lit in Milan.
The news impacts the NHL and its players quite heavily. The 2026 Olympic Games were likely the last time NHL legends such as Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin would have participated as active players.
Each player’s last time participating in the illustrious international competition came more than a decade ago, in their home country. Still, Russia didn’t make it past the quarterfinals of the playoff round, losing to Team Finland. Ovechkin scored one goal and one assists in five games, while Malkin scored one goal and two assists in five games.
There’s a small chance that each player could still participate in the 2030 Winter Olympics after their NHL careers have concluded. Regardless, two of the game’s best players of all-time won’t participate in the next one.
Metropolitan Notes: Ovechkin, Chatfield, Blue Jackets, Laperriere
Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin is the winner of this year’s Mark Messier Leadership Award, the league announced. First awarded in 2007, the award goes to “the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.” Ovechkin helped lead Washington to an improbable top spot in the Eastern Conference while breaking the all-time goal-scoring record on the heels of a 44-goal, 73-point campaign. Ovechkin has captained the Caps for the last 16 years and this is his first time winning the award; there has yet to be a repeat winner league-wide thus far.
More from the Metropolitan:
- It appears that Hurricanes defenseman Jalen Chatfield will miss another game as Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner is out for tonight’s third game against Florida. This will be the fourth straight game that the 29-year-old will miss due to an undisclosed injury sustained last round against Washington. Chatfield has a goal in nine games so far in the playoffs while averaging over 20 minutes a night. Scott Morrow is expected to once again take his place in the lineup.
- The Blue Jackets have a pair of prospects that they will lose the rights to if not signed by June 1st, wingers Tyler Peddle and Martin Rysavy. It appears they’ll be letting both go as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Columbus won’t sign them before the deadline. Peddle was a seventh-round pick in 2023, going 224th overall and had just 29 points in 54 games with QMJHL Saint John this season. Meanwhile, Rysavy was a seventh-rounder two years earlier, going 197th overall. He spent this season in the Czech Extraliga, posting five goals and four assists in 52 games with Liberec.
- While Ian Laperriere will no longer be coaching the Flyers’ AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, his days with the organization aren’t numbered. Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period relays (Twitter link) that the former NHLer will remain in the organization in a different capacity. Laperriere has been with Philadelphia since 2012, spending time in player development while also coaching at the NHL and AHL levels.
Capitals Notes: Ovechkin, Eller, Protas, Free Agents
It was locker clean-out day for the Capitals today after they were eliminated by Carolina earlier this week. At his end-of-season scrum (video link), winger Alex Ovechkin tried to brush aside any speculation about him not returning next season, indicating that he’s going to do his best to play. Ovechkin, of course, broke the all-time goal record this year which has led some to wonder if he might prefer to leave the NHL and perhaps return to finish his career at home. His comment about playing next season should tone that down.
However, with Ovechkin set to enter the final year of his contract in July, he’ll become eligible for a contract extension at that time. He noted that he hasn’t given any thought yet as to whether this would be his last one in the NHL or if he might be open to extending his stay. Considering that it’s quite unlikely that the 39-year-old would entertain NHL offers elsewhere next summer, this is a situation where it makes a lot of sense for both sides to wait and see how things are looking closer to this time a year from now before seriously assessing future plans.
More from Washington:
- Pending unrestricted free agent Lars Eller said in his scrum (video link) that he wants to keep playing next season, especially with his native Denmark qualifying for the upcoming Olympics. The 36-year-old was acquired from Pittsburgh early in the season and played in 80 games overall but managed just 10 goals and 12 assists; his 22 points were his lowest since his rookie year back in 2010-11. Eller might be best utilized as more of a fourth liner moving forward after playing on the third line for most of his career. Accordingly, he’s likely looking at a cut from the $2.45MM price tag he had the last two years.
- In his scrum earlier today (video link), center Aliaksei Protas indicated that he’ll have some testing done on his injured foot to see if any surgery will be required. The 24-year-old suffered the injury late in the regular season and missed the first four games of the Montreal series. This was a breakout year for Protas as he had 30 goals and 36 assists in 76 regular season games while chipping in with a goal and an assist in six playoff outings.
- Pending UFA wingers Anthony Beauvillier and Andrew Mangiapane haven’t had any extension talks yet with management, relays Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network (Twitter link). Beauvillier had 25 points in 81 games during the regular season and notched six more in their ten playoff contests, turning into a solid trade deadline pickup overall. Meanwhile, Mangiapane saw his output drop to 14 goals and 14 assists in 81 games after notching at least 40 points in the previous three seasons.
Alex Ovechkin Breaks All-Time Goals Record
With his 895th career goal today against the New York Islanders, Alex Ovechkin has surpassed Wayne Gretzky and is now the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer. It was Ovechkin’s first goal against Islanders star goalie Ilya Sorokin, coming on Ovechkin’s first shot of Washington’s first power-play. In classic fashion, he beat Sorokin with a hard wrist-shot from the tops of the circles.
So ends ‘The Gr8 Chase,’ a storyline most thought would never come to fruition after Gretzky retired 26 years ago. Many of his records are still considered and will likely stand as unbreakable. Still, Ovechkin’s excellence as a pure goal-scorer has him passing The Great One for one of the league’s most prestigious stat-based records.
While Ovechkin’s chances of breaking the record truly became realistic a couple of years ago after a resurgent 50-goal campaign in 2021-22, it’s his performance this season that will stand out. Now 39 years old, Ovechkin’s scoring goals at his highest rate per game this season since 2019-20. He’s managed to do so despite missing over a month with a fractured left fibula earlier in the year – by far the most extended injury-related absence of his incredibly durable 20-year career.
Of course, his success has done more than serve as a nice story for Washington this season. He’s helped the Caps’ team offense along to a league-best 3.60 goals per game, positioning them to finish atop the Eastern Conference after barely squeaking into the postseason picture last year with the league’s 28th-ranked offense.
Ovechkin’s career resume needs no introduction. He holds the record for most 30-goal (19) and 40-goal (13) seasons and is tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy with nine 50-goal campaigns, a record his injury will prevent him from taking outright. He’s won the Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal-scorer nine times and the Hart Trophy on three occasions. The 12-time All-Star won his only Stanley Cup championship (to date) with Washington in 2018 and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after scoring a league-leading 15 goals in 24 games.
The all-time goals record is now the fourth offensive record Ovechkin holds. He’s also the all-time leader in power-play goals (323), game-winning goals (135), and shots on goal (6,844). It’s also not the only notable Gretzky record to fall this season. Penguins captain and longtime rival Sidney Crosby has clinched a 20th straight point-per-game season in 2024-25, breaking Gretzky’s record of 19.
Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.
Eastern Notes: Senators, Capitals, Tarasov
The Ottawa Senators are making strides toward building a new arena, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. As Garrioch explains, Cyril Leeder, the National Hockey League club’s chief operating officer and president, told Senator season-ticket holders during a virtual chat that talks with the National Capital Commission were progressing.
The new proposed arena will be constructed in the LeBreton Flats section of Ottawa. Leeder noted many key steps remain, including the completion of the purchase, zoning and approvals, design of the building, financing, construction and, finally, the opening. While Leeder appeared optimistic about the project, he also didn’t want to commit to a completion date.
The Sens have played at the Canadian Tire Centre since 1996.
More in the Eastern Conference:
- While goalie Elvis Merzlikins received the start tonight in Pittsburgh, the backup needed a change. With Daniil Tarasov out sick, Jet Greaves is backing up Merzlikins, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda. The lefty-catching Tarasov has struggled on the season, posting a .882 save percentage to go along with his 7-8-2 record. Through parts of four seasons in Columbus, the team’s third round selection in the 2017 draft has a .899 career save percentage. In limited action this season at the NHL-level, Greaves has fared better than Tarasov, posting a .905 save percentage and 2.83 GAA. He has added a .915 save percentage in 34 games in the AHL. With Tarasov set for restricted free agency this summer, it will be interesting to see what Columbus decides to do with their backup position moving forward.
- Last night, the Washington Capitals became the first NHL team to officially qualified for the playoffs. What’s more, they became the first club to since 1979-80 to be the first to clinch after being the last to get in the previous season, per AP’s Stephen Whyno. Their turnaround this season has been aided by usual suspects like Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, and John Carlson, but have also been sparked by career-years from players like Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael. As Ovechkin nears the all-time goal mark, he’ll also set his sights on making a run at his second Stanley Cup.