Ovechkin Exit Day ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will be back in the fall for his 20th season with a lot at stake: he not only sits 42 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record, but he also wants to build on a year where he and his team snuck into the Stanley Cup Playoffs against all odds. That being said, he plans to make some tweaks to his regimen this offseason as he prepares for what will be his 20th season in the NHL. "I already talk to my trainer, and we're going to do something different," Ovechkin said. Ovechkin appears set to continue working with longtime trainer Pavel Burlachenko out of Russia. The 38-year-old navigated his shares of ups and downs over the course of 2023-24, which he called one of the most challenging campaigns of his career to date. After managing just eight goals through the first 43 games of the season, he hit reset with a trip to Dubai over the All-Star break and returned to rack up 22 goals in the final 39 games of the season to help D.C. back into the playoffs. However, in four postseason games against the New York Rangers, he went scoreless in a playoff series for the first time in his career as Washington was swept in the first round. Ovechkin hopes that he can carry over his success and momentum from the second half of the season as he continues his pursuit of Gretzky, and he also added that Gretzky's record isn't out of the realm of possibility. "I'm always saying the same thing: If I make it, it's good, but it's still 42 goals. It's kind of a long way," he said. "But it's possible. If you're going to be healthy, yeah."
