Chris Patrick and Brian MacLellan answer questions about how they plan to handle Alex Ovechkin’s impending retirement decision
Washington Capitals general manager Chris Patrick and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan met with the media for their annual year-end availability on Monday.
As expected, the primary topic that the two decision-makers were questioned about was the future of Alex Ovechkin. The 40-year-old, future Hockey Hall of Famer, recently indicated that he doesn’t believe he has played his last game in the NHL, but he has not yet spoken with Patrick about specific plans. Those talks, which would typically have already happened in a regular year, have been put off out of respect for Ovechkin’s decision-making process.
In the final year of Ovechkin’s contract, the Capitals missed the playoffs for just the fifth time during his 21-year stint with the club. The NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer spoke about needing assurances that the Caps intend to return to the postseason and compete for a Stanley Cup if he is to be back for the 2026-27 campaign.
Patrick and MacLellan discussed those plans and more, including Ovechkin’s potential role with the team next year, owner Ted Leonsis’ role in talks, and the flexibility the club has with its large amount of cap space this summer.
Transcript
Q: Alex Ovechkin seems to have indicated he may not have played his last game. What is the team’s position on this? Do you have separate offseason plans for with Ovi and without Ovi?
Chris Patrick: “Yeah, the team’s position is we’re giving him some time here to get away from the season a little bit and think things through and talk to his family. And then he’ll meet with both Mac and I, and we’ll continue to support him in however his decision process plays out. I think we’ll be able to have a plan with or without him. It’s no different than really any offseason where you have some players that are expiring, and you can go down different paths depending on what happens with them. So, same thing with him, even though he’s the greatest goal scorer of all time. If he decides to stay, we’ll go one way. If he decides that he wants to retire, we’ll go a different way.”
Q: He made it pretty clear that wanting to play on a Cup contender is something that really matters to him. What are you going to tell him about that, and how do you do that?
Chris Patrick: “For me, we’re in a window where we’re trying to win. We have a good team here, and we’re hoping to add pieces to help it be a competitive team and a Stanley Cup-contending team. That’s always our goal. It will continue to be our goal.”
Q: Do you have a timeline? I know you don’t want to put pressure on him, but do you need to know by the draft or for free agency?
Chris Patrick: “Ideally, we would know going into the draft, but again, I think he’s earned the right to do the process how he wants to, and so we’ll just work with whatever we get from him information-wise.”
Q: Is there a conversation that has to be had about what his role is going to be next year? If he does decide to come back, what will it look like?
Brian MacLellan: “I think a lot of that happens between the coach. I think for us it’s, what do you want to do? How do you want to proceed? What are the factors in your decision? What’s most important to you? Ask him those types of questions, see what kind of comfort level he has with everything. And then the coach and him, and the team, will figure out what his role is going forward.”
Q: How would either of you evaluate his play this year? I mean, he led the team in goals, but there are other aspects to hockey.
Brian MacLellan: “I think his presence is huge, and I think when he decides to leave, it’s going to be a big hole. Personality-wise, leadership-wise. You see he brings it to team plane, to team bus, to dressing room, to pregame warmup. He’s got a big presence, and I think that’s the main contributing factor for him now.”
Q: If he does decide to come back from a salary cap standpoint, are there any concerns that you’d be able to resign Ovi and then also be able to get the other pieces you need?
Chris Patrick: “It feels like you’re walking me into a tough spot here, one way or the other. We’re in a good spot cap-wise going into this offseason to have flexibility to do different things depending on what we want to do.”
Q: Did you intentionally put off your meeting with him just because you wanted to give him space after this season? Would you have normally met with him by now?
Chris Patrick: “I mean, if it’s normal, yeah. It just felt like we could have met with him the day after the season ended, but I don’t think he was ready at that point to have that conversation. I think he needs to take some time and just get away from it, right? He just played 82 games in a really hard season. Just have a few days with his family and just kind of veg out a little bit, and then he can start thinking about what the future holds.”
Q: Would Ted Leonsis be involved in talking to him?
Brian MacLellan: “Yes. We’ve had conversations not just at the end of the season, leading up to the end of the season. Ownership’s talked to him. I’ve talked to him just to get a sense of what he was feeling.”
Q: Is this something where the NHL is also kind of curious and asking you guys what’s going on? If he does come back, that’d be a big deal for them, too, in terms of planning.
Brian MacLellan: “Yeah, I think so. I mean, TV games, you know. We were on national TV quite a bit this year because of Ovi, basically.”
Q: There was a sense that maybe he wasn’t announcing because he didn’t want some big farewell tour. Has that been discussed at all? Does he care about that or not?
Brian MacLellan: “I don’t know. I think he’s probably mixed on it. Just my personal opinion, I think it’s a difficult way for any player to end their career, let alone a player of his stature. How do you go out? How do you feel about it? I mean, it’s got to be a hard thing to go through.”
Questions are edited for brevity and clarity.
