The season is more than half over, and amid a sluggish stretch, the Washington Capitals are still hoping to make a playoff push. The bigger question \u2014 will Alex Ovechkin be back next season?<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) \u2014 The season is more than half over, and amid a sluggish stretch, the Washington Capitals are still hoping to make a successful push for the postseason.<\/p>\n
The bigger question \u2014 will Alex Ovechkin be back next season? \u2014 still looms in the background.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe seems very focused on kind of the short term here, and this team trying to get into the playoffs and having another shot at winning the Stanley Cup,\u201d general manager Chris Patrick said. \u201cSo yeah, you guys are going to continue to have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ovechkin is in the final year of his contract, and at age 40, he\u2019s managed to reach 20 goals again \u2014 just as he did in each of his previous 20 NHL seasons. Whether he\u2019s ready to wrap up his career with the Capitals remains just as unclear as it was back at the beginning of the season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Patrick spoke with reporters Friday and said when he has talked to Ovechkin, it hasn\u2019t really been about the Russian star\u2019s plans beyond 2025-26.<\/p>\n \u201cHaven\u2019t really had that conversation,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cWe talked a little bit just about where the team is and what he feels we need and what I feel we need. But it didn\u2019t really get too much into his future outside of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n The Capitals have managed to stay competitive as Ovechkin has aged, missing the playoffs just once in the last 11 seasons and avoiding a full rebuild. That\u2019s in part because Ovechkin himself has remained a productive goal scorer, tallying 44 last season while breaking Wayne Gretzky\u2019s career record.<\/p>\n Ovechkin is now up to 917 for his career, but after a strong start, the Capitals haven\u2019t won back-to-back games since the first few days of December. They\u2019re very much on the playoff bubble right now, and Patrick made it clear Washington is looking for help before the March 6 trade deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely actively pursuing an addition,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cWith as many teams in the mix right now playoff-wise as there are, I think teams are very much trying to figure out their timing and what they need to do and when they want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n