The Olympics has definitely hyped a lot of players who want to make a name on the big stage – let alone at the international level. For Alex Ovechkin, however, it does seem that this is a chance for him to prove that he can actually dominate on the big stage and show that he can still make history for his country as well.

The current captain of the Washington Capitals and a decorated hockey player, Ovechkin is clearly chasing history in the twilight of his career. It is clear that he is already chasing down Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record for NHL goals, but it seems that he is also interested in playing some hockey games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Of course, that is not up to him. Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it does seem that Ovechkin’s country will not be able to participate in the Winter Olympics due to the IIHF’s suspension of all Russian national teams across all competitions. This means that Ovechkin’s hopes of a promising finish on the international stage might just be out of the equation.

Hopes on the International Stage

Ovechkin has been one of the most decorated players in the NHL, not just in the league, but even on the international stage as well. Ovechkin has played on multiple fronts in the Olympics, going for big games in 2006 in Turin, 2010 in Vancouver, and 2014 in Sochi. His first taste of international action at the senior level was back in 2004 when he represented Russia in the IIHF World Championship at the time.

At the age of 38, it does seem that Ovechkin still has a lot to offer in his game. That explains the confidence that he has in aiming for a return to the Winter Olympics. After all, he does have what it takes to put up impressive games on the big stage, and that is one of the reasons why he is still even the captain for the Capitals – who are seen as one of the competitive teams in the Eastern Conference.

"I don't know what's even going to happen there," Ovechkin said. "Yes, we want to play in the Olympics, but if they won't let us, what do we do? We'll see. It's not like I'm in the leadership of the NHL. The NHL Players' Association and the NHL are different things.”

Planning His Career Finish

Aside from the Olympics, which is in two years’ time for the Winter edition, Ovechkin has also expressed his interest in getting back to the Russian version of the NHL, which is the Kontinental Hockey League. He did spend some time in the league before he went on to bring his talents overseas and join the NHL.

“I still have two years left on my NHL contract,” Ovechkin said of his post-NHL plans. “Of course, I want to play my last game for Dynamo, where I started my career. But there's no point in raising this topic right now.”

In those four seasons before he played in the NHL, Ovechkin tallied a total of 36 goals and 33 assists. He even returned for a short stint during the NHL’s partial lockout in 2012 where he notched 19 goals and 21 assists.

For now, the focus for Ovechkin is to cement his place in the NHL. The task at hand for him is to score 41 more goals to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record, which sits at 894 goals. That’s just one of his few plans that can come to fruition before the end of his career.