Alex Ovechkin Gave Washington Star Credit Over Years Long Faith After NHL Record Break

The 2023-24 season was a slow one for Alex Ovechkin: 31 goals and 34 assists in 79 regular-season games. But more importantly, the doubts had started to creep in within the hockey community. Maybe the Capitals captain will run out of gas before he reaches the 895 mark. The NHL world doesn’t need any introduction to that magic figure. But they all wanted to see how things unraveled.

But TJ Oshie had no doubt about the outcome. There was only one way things were going to turn out. After all, it’s Alex Ovechkin, the man of the Washington Capitals. The guy with whom Oshie shared the forward line. And as clockwork, the iconic moment came. But do you know what the American winger didn’t anticipate? That the Russian would end up making him a part of that iconic history-making moment.

TJ Oshie said it before. He said it again when he appeared as the guest on the Spittin’ Chiclets episode No. 580. A snippet of it was shared by the podcast’s X handle on September 3, where the US right-winger was asked about what it was like sharing the locker room with the Capitals captain and what the relationship was like. Well, as TJ Oshie said, Ovechkin was a teammate he always had respect for, with whom he battled, and with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2018.

But it was admiration from the first moment on for Oshie. “When I first met him (Ovechkin)… it was like 10 minutes. You’re like, ‘Oh, my God, this guy’s phenomenal.’” And it only grew, not only for the Russian’s ability on the ice but also for the way Ovechkin was as a person, as a leader in the locker room. And even when people doubted Alex Ovechkin, TJ Oshie knew the doubters would be proved wrong.

“Everyone’s like, ‘What is he going to do?’ A year and a half (back), maybe two years, like he can’t do it or he’s going to slow down and all this other stuff,” TJ Oshie shared on the podcast. “I just kept telling people, I’m like, ‘I don’t count Ovi out of anything.’ Whatever he says, like he’s going to do or if he wants to do it, he’s going to do it. He’s one of a kind.”

And the Capitals captain returned the favor on April 6. Against the New York Islanders, Alex Ovechkin scored the 895th goal, going past Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894 NHL regular-season goals. Now, Ovechkin is number 1. But he didn’t do it alone. And that’s why he mentioned his teammates and his coaches. And he singled out his old line partners Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie.

TJ Oshie really didn’t expect Ovechkin to give him a shoutout. “The shout-out for Backy (Backstrom)—everyone knew that’s coming, right? And for him to, like, throw my name in there,” Oshie was really surprised and humbled. “You don’t know, kind of, the imprint you have on other people, right? … for him to show that respect back.” It was a moment Alex Ovechkin will have to his name forever. But TJ Oshie is honored that the Capitals legend made it special for him, too.

This is exactly what makes Ovechkin such a great leader, the right man on the ice as the Capitals chase Stanley Cup glory.

Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals legacy is still being written

A season that the Capitals will remember forever. But they wished they had gotten more out of it. The 2nd round playoff defeat to the Hurricanes came as a shock. Ovechkin’s team had won the Metropolitan division and looked so dominant until the Hurricanes series came. But it is the past. And the 2025-26 season comes with new hopes and aspirations.

Alex Ovechkin has 1 year left on his contract. He will turn 40 this September. If it is his last season, he will try to go out with a bang. With Spencer Carbery, the Capitals are obviously dreaming. The 43-year-old won the Jack Adams Award in 2025 for being adjudged the best coach of the regular season.

But when Ovechkin is just 103 goals away from the historic 1000-mark, would it be easy to walk away from the game in 2026? Just this year, he was commemorated with the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, as he not only became a leader in the NHL goals chart but also tied with Phil Esposito and Gordie Howe in other scoring accomplishments. Add to that overtaking Jaromir Jagr’s tally of most game-winning goals.

It seems the Russian still has so many plans and dreams to come true. That’s why he got so upset when the Capitals exited the playoffs in 2025. He is hoping his 2026 Winter Olympics fate will be resolved soon. Alex Ovechkin is not done, not even close.