BRAMPTON, Ontario — Will this be the final season of Alex Ovechkin‘s illustrious NHL career?

Washington Capitals teammate Dylan Strome doesn’t necessarily think so, despite hearing plenty of noise to the contrary.

“Look, we don’t know if it’s going to be his final year,” the forward told NHL.com earlier this week at the 11th annual Smilezone Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lionhead Golf Club. “You kind of see what he said a couple of days ago, that it’s preposterous that people would talk about that this will be his last year.

“I mean, obviously it’s the final year of his contract, so anything can happen.”

So you’re saying there’s a chance?

“It’s his decision, obviously, but I wouldn’t rule anything out. I certainly hope so,” Strome said, bursting into laughter.

Look no further than the stats page to see Strome’s motivation for wanting Ovechkin to stick around for a while. It was no coincidence the 28-year-old set NHL career highs in goals (29), assists (53) and points (82) in 2024-25 while primarily playing center on Ovechkin’s line.

Of all those impressive numbers, the most special was the secondary assist on Ovechkin’s historic 895th NHL goal on April 6, which allowed him to surpass Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky as the League’s all-time leader. The memory of that special afternoon against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena is a moment Strome said he’ll always treasure.

Ovechkin finished the season with 897 career goals. How much further he pushes that record is the question, considering Ovechkin, who will turn 40 on Sept. 17, is entering the final season of the five-year, $47.5 million contract ($9.5 million average annual value) he signed with Washington on July 27, 2021.

So there has been no shortage of speculation this will be the closing chapter of his NHL story.

Except, as Strome referenced, Ovechkin himself hasn’t made that claim and was quoted recently in a report by Russia-based news agency RIA Novosti that “a year will pass, and we will think about it. We will live and see.” He added that no negotiations about a contract with the Capitals have taken place and told Russian reporters that suggestions he’s already decided to retire from the NHL after this season are “pure nonsense.”

“Who knows what he’s going to do?” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said, echoing Strome’s sentiments. “I mean, if it’s his last year, I don’t know. You can never doubt the guy. He could play two, three more years. He’s a guy who loves to score. He loves the game of hockey.

“We’ll see what happens. He’s going to knock down 900 [goals] and then start chipping away at the next milestone.”

One Strome hopes to be a part of, no matter how long Ovechkin opts to continue playing.

“To be on his line the majority of my three seasons in Washington, it’s been an honor to play with him and still is,” Strome said. “He’s obviously had a storybook career, and he’s obviously had a positive effect on mine.”

It took a decade for Strome to play his best hockey, after being selected by the Arizona Coyotes with the No. 3 pick at the 2015 NHL Draft, behind Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel.

“Everyone has a different path to the NHL,” he said. “I’d be lying to you if I said there weren’t times along the way where I wondered if I could produce or get to where I wanted to be. And now, 10 years after I got drafted, to have my best year personally and team wise, with us finishing second in the overall standings, it just shows how you can keep growing and learning.

“I hope to continue doing that. And I look forward to ‘Ovi’ hopefully being a part of it.”