Last night, the Canadiens lost to the Washington Capitals. He did, however, manage to stop Alex Ovechkin, who was on a six-game goal-scoring streak.
The Russian, who has 14 goals this season, is still 58 away from Wayne Gretzky and the NHL all-time record.
Time is running out, however, for the Czar. His NHL contract ($9.5 million) expires in July 2026, and according to what he told Russian media outlet sportexpress.ru, he won’t be signing another one. At least, he doesn’t think so.
Alex Ovechkin believes he will retire from hockey after he finishes out current contract with Capitals https://t.co/41CALhIa48
– RMNB (@rmnb) February 17, 2024
Until then, anything can happen, and the question is: if the Russian captain hasn’t surpassed Gretzky by the end of the 2025-2026 season, will he sign one-year contracts until he beats him for good? I think so. After all, he’s so close (literally), and Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has assured us that as long as Ovi is in the U.S. capital, he’ll do everything in his power to surround him and help him score 895 goals, maybe even 900.
Last night, during the Habs game broadcast on TVA Sports, the network presented a chart predicting the month and year when the Russian captain will surpass Wayne Gretzky. Before the start of the 2024-2025 season, this prediction indicated February 2025, but his poor start to the campaign delayed the process by almost eight months, putting it back to October 2026.
And in October 2026, Ovi wouldn’t have a contract. I imagine that if he’s a dozen goals (max) out of first at the end of the 2025-2026 season, the Caps would be more than happy to sign him to a one-year contract (probably at minimum salary).
There’s a lot of conditional, and Ovechkin is the first to say so: “I don’t like the word ‘if’. We live in the moment, play and move on.”
At 38, the Great 8 is clearly exhausted. He’s having an ordinary season at the moment, not scoring a point a game (38 points in 50 games). He still has some good hockey to offer, but he clearly won’t be able to play until he’s 50.
One forward who could play until he’s 50 is his Russian compatriot Ilya Kovalchuk. This is what Ovi confessed in the same interview with a journalist in his country.
The former Canadian is currently in the KHL playoffs with Spartak Moscow. In 20 regular-season games, Kovi collected eight points, including four goals. Not bad for a 40-year-old…
In brief
– We hope Kloten finishes 12th.
Are you wondering when #GoHabsGo prospect David Reinbacher will arrive in Laval?
There are different scenarios to consider, most of them delaying his arrival. But there’s also a scenario that involves Reinbacher avoiding the NL playout entirely.
Details
https://t.co/MfBt1vHMIn
– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 18, 2024
– Toronto needs defensemen.
NHL: Maple Leafs recall Quebecer
https://t.co/K3JgWORcf3
– RDS (@RDSca) February 18, 2024
– Ah bin oui.
Ryan Reaves rag dolling Gudas
pic.twitter.com/6MeH6G8zWH
– SIMON “LUKE SCHENN” BENOIT (@LeafsSeason) February 18, 2024
– He’s playing well.
With 13 goals, Jan Mysak ranks 2nd on the Rocket after Gignac. I was explaining last summer why we shouldn’t quit on him. https://t.co/uOMO3VNxaA
– Nicolas Cloutier (@NCloutierTVA) February 18, 2024
– The advantage would have gone to the Marlins, in my opinion.
Lucky for Royals fans this deal didn’t materialize. https://t.co/gb0KYSWYgW
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) February 18, 2024
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