{"id":539022,"date":"2026-03-22T18:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T18:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/539022\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T18:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T18:18:13","slug":"alex-ovechkin-says-he-would-agree-to-be-an-assistant-coach-if-evgeni-malkin-were-hired-as-a-head-coach-someday-for-sure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/539022\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Ovechkin says he would agree to be an assistant coach if Evgeni Malkin were hired as a head coach someday: \u2018For sure\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Ovechkin<\/a>\u2018s future is a much-discussed topic this year, with the 2025-26 campaign being the last on his contract with the Washington Capitals. The major question is whether Ovechkin will sign on for another year in the NHL or move back to Russia to wrap up his playing days with Dynamo Moscow in the KHL.<\/p>\n

However, Ovechkin was recently asked if he\u2019s given any thought to what will come after he hangs up his skates, specifically in a management or coaching role. The Great 8 was posed the question by former NHLer Nikita Filatov and retired pro soccer player Andrey Arshavin when the two recently interviewed him for Fonbet\u2019s \u2018FONtour NHL.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know the situation when you\u2019re still playing, and they ask you what you think about coaching, it\u2019s the same here,\u201d Ovechkin said<\/a>, as translated via Google Translate. \u201cYou ask such questions \u2013 how can I say all this, especially looking ahead four years? I haven\u2019t\u00a0even thought about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filatov, who played 53 career NHL games for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators, then mentioned a previous chat he had with Pittsburgh Penguins legend Evgeni Malkin<\/a> about the same topic. X user @Uggg_uggg provided an English translation of the conversation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Filatov: Malkin actually thought about it and said he\u2019d definitely never make it as a coach.<\/p>\n

Ovechkin: Well, actually, I can see Malkin as a coach.<\/p>\n

Filatov: As a coach? You think?<\/p>\n

Arshavin: Yeah, the players would definitely lose their minds then\u2026<\/p>\n

Ovechkin: No, why? The atmosphere in the locker room would definitely be awesome. That\u2019s why I\u2019d even go be his assistant.<\/p>\n

Arshavin: Malkin\u2019s assistant?<\/p>\n

Ovechkin: For sure. If he were a coach, I\u2019d go be his assistant.<\/p>\n

Ovechkin and Malkin have grown close as they\u2019ve gotten older, after a tumultuous relationship earlier in their careers. Ovechkin\u00a0reportedly punched Malkin\u2019s agent, Gennady Ushakov, in the face in 2007<\/a>, and it was thought their contentious on-ice behavior in Capitals-Penguins games around that time stemmed from that incident.<\/p>\n

The Russian superstars first showcased that they had resolved their differences at the 2009 All-Star Skills Competition, where Malkin assisted Ovechkin\u2019s game-winning attempt in the Breakaway Challenge. Ilya Kovalchuk, a star countryman a few years older than both players, reportedly served as a mediator between the two<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since then, the duo\u2019s friendship has been very public, as Malkin\u00a0attended the Capitals\u2019 captain\u2019s birthday party<\/a>, called Ovechkin his best friend<\/a>, and congratulated him for becoming the NHL\u2019s all-time goal leader<\/a>. Ovechkin has also sent congratulations when Malkin has achieved milestones in his career<\/a> and swapped jerseys with him earlier this season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whether or not the duo would be a successful coaching tandem is another story. First, Ovechkin and Malkin would have to decide which team they\u2019d coach. Ovechkin is still listed as a \u201cSenior Advisor\u201d for the KHL\u2019s Dynamo Moscow and has deep ties to the club, while Malkin rose through the ranks at Metallurg Magnitogorsk.<\/p>\n

Malkin is also set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, with many before the season reporting that it will be his last with the Penguins<\/a>. He has since posted 52 points (15g, 37a) in 49 games for a Penguins team that appears destined to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alex Ovechkin\u2018s future is a much-discussed topic this year, with the 2025-26 campaign being the last on his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-539022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}