Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will be back on the ice sooner rather than later, as he's set to play once again in an All-Star Game between top Russian hockey players in mid-July. Utah Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev told MatchTV [https://matchtv.ru/hockey/matchtvnews_NI2211924_Sergachev_soobshhil_chto_Ovechkin_primet_uchastije_v_blagotvoritelnom_matche_s_uchastijem_zvezd_NKhL_i_KKhL] in a new interview that Ovechkin is among those set to play in the second annual "Match of the Year" in Russia between Russian KHL and NHL All-Stars. Ovechkin played last year, scoring the game-opening goal and earning MVP honors in a game that ultimately ended up tied 8-8. The Capitals star also had an assist while skating on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. The 39-year-old is back overseas for the offseason, having flew back to Russia at the end of May. After visiting the Federation Council and presenting chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko with a Washington jersey, he travelled to Turkey for vacation, where he'll be for the next few weeks before returning home to begin training for the upcoming season with Pavel Burlachenko. Ovechkin is going into his 21st NHL campaign and the final year of the five-year extension he signed back in 2021. He is coming off a historic season where he overcame a broken leg and scored 44 goals — the third most in the league — to overtake Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's new all-time leading goals scorer. While there has been speculation surrounding Ovechkin's future after his contract expires next summer, he has not made any decision regarding where he will play in 2026-27. The Russian ended the season three goals away from 900 in his NHL career and also struck five times in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before the Capitals were eliminated in the second round.
