Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin has yet to confirm whether or not the 2026-27 season will be the final campaign of his NHL career.

Returning to the Capitals wasn't an easy decision for the 40-year-old in the first place, but he has seemingly explored the opportunity of playing beyond his one-year, $4.25-million contract, which opens the door to becoming the first player in NHL history to score 1,000 regular-season goals.

"I was talking to my family, my wife first of all, she's like, 'OK, let's play one more year,' or 'maybe two years,' " Ovechkin said with a smirk during a virtual press conference on Monday.

"I called (Capitals GM Chris Patrick) and said, 'OK, let’s talk about a contract,' because I know I still can play and bring energy to the locker room and on the ice."

For an athlete his age, it's difficult to predict where Ovechkin's level of play will be within two weeks, let alone two years.

When asked to elaborate on his interest in suiting up beyond the 2026-27 season, Ovechkin made it clear that his focus is on the present.

"I don't know; we will see," Ovechkin said. "Right now I'm focused on coming back to D.C. and showing that I'm still a good player and still can help the team to win."

Ovechkin will enter the 2026-27 season 27 games shy of 1,600 and 13 points shy of 1,700.

He also needs just 11 goals to break Wayne Gretzky's record for the most career goals in the regular season and playoffs combined. Gretzky's at 1,016 goals, and Ovechkin's at 1,006.

If Ovechkin can maintain his standard of excellence and prove valuable to the Capitals beyond this season, an additional year will create opportunities for other major milestones.

That includes the chance of hitting 1,000 regular-season goals, which he is 71 away from reaching.

Ovechkin scored 32 goals in 82 games this past season, as well as 44 in 2024-25 and 31 in 2023-24. Across three seasons, he's averaged about 0.47 goals per game. At that rate, it would take about 152 games, nearly two seasons, to reach 1,000 career goals.

But if Ovechkin averaged about 0.39 goals per game like he did this past season, it would take 182 games to score the final 71 goals needed for the milestone. That would be more than two seasons.

Considering the improvements made around the roster and Ovechkin's model of consistency, it's hard to argue against the possibility of it happening if he were to stay on for an additional year.

Welcoming Ovechkin back into the Capitals' dressing room was a decision that came with immense excitement for owner Ted Leonsis, but it also came with a measured approach that kept the team's future as the top priority.

"I wanted to make sure Alex was coming back for the right reasons," Leonsis said. "I thought it was really really important that Alex be focused on: let's make for a great team again, let's have the pursuit of a Stanley Cup, let's try to be a playoff team again.

"What I was feeling so positive about was the way he worked with the people in our front office to make sure that we would build a team that was set up for the next generation of greatness."

While the past few seasons have been littered with celebrations for Ovechkin's individual accomplishments, the NHL's all-time leader in regular-season goals made it clear his decision to return was made largely due to his interest in returning to Stanley Cup contention.

"Last season was hard emotionally with all the trades and all the situations that happened with the team," Ovechkin said. "When you can see we have the type of team we have, to win one more time, the Stanley Cup, it was one of the big reasons."

Patrick has put together a roster that will look drastically different than last year.

Acquiring Jordan Kyrou, Alex Tuch and Boone Jenner has rounded out the team's middle six and provided more flexibility for Ovechkin to be useful.

"It's been built to be a very balanced team," Patrick said. "Four lines that can all be threatening to score, four lines that can defend. Alex coming back just gives (coach Spencer Carbery) another weapon now for building out a lineup."

Wherever he slots into the Capitals’ lineup, Ovechkin is entering the season motivated to realize the potential that the team has built throughout the summer.

"I'm very excited for the team and for the fans as well, because you see on paper, you can see our team is one of the best teams," Ovechkin said.

"But now we have to work for a Stanley Cup."

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.