Alex Ovechkin said that before signing his one-year extension to return to the Washington Capitals, he was worried there may not be enough cap space for him.
Ovechkin said on the FONtour show that after the 2025-26 season came to an end, he and general manager Chris Patrick decided to hold off on contract talks, allowing Ovechkin to take time to make a decision. They'd then reconvene after July 1, when free agency opened.
As the offseason went on, Washington made a splash with a couple of big moves. First, the Capitals for Jordan Kyrou, then added Alex Tuch in a sign-and-trade as he inked an eight-year, $84 million contract.
At first, it made Ovechkin a bit nervous regarding his future.
"I was worried. 'What if they didn't offer me (a contract)?'" Ovechkin recalled. "I was worried there wouldn't be enough cap space to sign me."
When July 1 rolled around, Washington made a couple more signings, bringing Boone Jenner and Vincent Desharnais on board, along with Justin Holl and some more depth pieces.
Then, Patrick circled back with Ovechkin, setting up a video call the next day. After 10 minutes, Ovechkin signed a one-year extension to return for the upcoming campaign.
Ovechkin said the negotiations were quick, and consisted of Patrick asking him to name his price for another year and then putting pen to paper for a one-year, $4.25 million contract with bonuses.
The 40-year-old is coming off his 21st NHL season, where he led D.C. with 32 goals and 32 assists for 64 points while appearing in all 82 games this past season.
Coming into this season, Ovechkin is excited to see what the group can do as a whole following a productive summer and several new acquisitions joining the mix.
"I'm very excited for our team, for fans as well, because on the paper you can see our team is one of the best teams," Ovechkin said in his July 6 press conference. "Now we have to work for Stanley Cup. For playoffs, first of all, and then the Stanley Cup, and we all gonna do our best to prove that the moves and all the signings, what we did, it's going to work."
