Ovechkin, Alex

Alex Ovechkin, in full Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Ovechkin, (born September 17, 1985, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.), Russian ice hockey player who won the Hart Memorial Trophy three times (2008, 2009, and 2013) as the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He led the Washington Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship (2018).

Ovechkin’s mother was a two-time Olympic gold medalist (1976, 1980) as a member of the Soviet women’s national basketball team, and his father was a professional football (soccer) player. Ovechkin’s impressive athletic lineage was evident early in his life, as he played at the highest level of Russian professional hockey at age 16 and was the standout forward for the national junior hockey team by age 17. Ovechkin was selected by the Washington Capitals with the first overall pick of the 2004 NHL draft, but his rookie season was delayed a year by the labour lockout that led to the cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season. He made his NHL debut in 2005 alongside an even more highly touted rookie, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but Ovechkin’s 106 points in the 2005–06 season earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.

Alex Ovechkin

During the 2006–07 season Ovechkin made his first NHL All-Star Game appearance, but his continued high level of play did not prevent the Capitals from finishing last in their division for the second time in his two years with the team. The following season, however, he led Washington to a surprising division title while scoring 65 goals, which was the first time since 1996 that an NHL player topped the lofty benchmark of 60 goals in one season. The Capitals lost their first-round playoff series, but Ovechkin (who also led the league with 112 points) still won his first Hart Memorial Trophy at season’s end. The Capitals won another division crown in the 2008–09 season, as well as their first postseason series, before being eliminated by Crosby and the Penguins in a dramatic seven-game conference semifinal that featured three overtime contests. Ovechkin again led the NHL in goals scored that season (with 56) and won his second straight Hart Memorial Trophy. Ovechkin led the Capitals to two additional appearances in the conference semifinal round, in 2010–11 and 2011–12 (both losing efforts), but his own level of play fell off substantially, as he netted just 32 and 38 goals, respectively, in those seasons. After a similarly disappointing beginning to the 2012–13 season, he caught fire during the final half of the lockout-shortened 48-game campaign and ultimately led the NHL with 32 goals, which resulted in his third career Hart Trophy win.

Ovechkin again led the NHL in goals scored (51) during the 2013–14 season, but the Capitals’ playoff streak ended at six seasons during that campaign. In 2014–15 he scored a league-high 53 goals and led the Capitals to the postseason, where Washington lost a thrilling second-round series (despite having held a three-games-to-one lead) that saw each of the seven games decided by one goal. In November 2015 Ovechkin registered his 484th career goal to become the NHL’s top-scoring Russian-born player. He finished the 2015–16 season with 50 goals (once again most in the NHL) while leading the Capitals to a franchise-record 56 wins. However, Washington could not capitalize on its top seed in the playoffs and was again eliminated in the second round. Ovechkin posted career-worst numbers in 2016–17 with just 69 points (33 goals, 36 assists), the fewest he had ever tallied in a full NHL season. Despite his mediocre play, the Capitals again put up the best regular-season record in the league, only to once more lose to a lower-seeded team in the second round of the postseason.

In 2017–18 he again led the NHL in goals scored (49) as the Capitals won another division title. In the postseason, Washington finally broke through after years of playoff frustration, capturing the franchise’s first conference title in 20 years to give Ovechkin his first appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. Ovechkin shined in the finals, scoring his 15th goal of the playoffs in a game-five victory over the Vegas Golden Knights that won the Capitals their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Ovechkin thus became the first Russian player to captain a team to the NHL championship. His outstanding postseason performance earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player in the playoffs. Ovechkin had a league-leading 51 goals during the 2018–19 season, during which the Capitals won a fourth straight division title. However, in the following postseason the team again lost in the opening round. The next two seasons were shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and, although Ovechkin continued his strong play, the Capitals lost in the first round both times.

During the 2021–22 season, Ovechkin scored 50 goals. It was the ninth time in his career that he had reached that mark. For the fourth season in a row, however, Washington lost in the first round of the playoffs. The following season Ovechkin scored his 802nd career goal to surpass Gordie Howe for second most goals in the history of the NHL; Wayne Gretzy was first with 894.