At press time, the Washington Capitals still have a postseason pulse. By the time you read this, they may not. A win by Philadelphia (or an overtime loss) Monday night against Carolina puts the Flyers in the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
The Capitals haven’t made it easy for them. The Caps have won three straight and four of their last five, although an 8-1 loss to the New York Rangers on April 5 will probably wind up being the final nail in the coffin for 2026. Now for the big question:
Will Alex Ovechkin really retire?
It sure seems like he will. Ovi thanked the Capital One Arena crowd for the 21 years of support after Sunday’s 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the last home game of the season.
But he responded to the crowd’s chant of “One more year” with a “We’ll see.” And there is a compelling case to make for Ovi coming back for a final farewell tour.
All of a sudden, the Caps have become a young team that will start the 2026-27 season with a lot of buzz about how far these youngsters can take the franchise into the postseason.
Even if the Flyers ultimately eliminate Washington, the team will most likely enter the year with a young core that includes Ilya and Aliaksei Protas (19 and 21 years old), Ryan Leonard (21), Ivan Miroshnichenko (21), Cole Hutson (19), Hendrix Lapierre (24), Connor McMichael (25), Rasmus Sandin (25), and Justin Sourdif (23).
Since the John Carlson trade on March 6, this group has helped the Capitals go 11-5-2. Rookies on this roster have accounted for 91 total points — that’s fourth-best in the league.
Leonard crossed the 20-goal mark over the weekend, Sourdif has tallied 15, and the elder Protas has rebounded from a midseason slump to score 25.
“It’s cool,” Leonard said. “I mean, they’re contributing a lot more than I did last year. So yeah, they’re exciting players, and it’s exciting for the future.”
“Them providing what they are for this team right now is invaluable,” head coach Spencer Carbery said after Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh. “I mean, they’re making huge plays in huge games that are helping us win hockey games. So it’s great experience for them individually, but also a huge help to our team right now.”
Simply put, the rebuild is over, and this roster will be expected to make a deep run in 2026-27. That might be enticing enough for Ovechkin to make one last ride. For his part, Ovi was still playing it coy after the game.
“No. How I said, I was focusing on the game, and we’ll see.”
If you are trying to read tea leaves, he sent the Penguins off the ice after the game when players were trying to shake his hand, as if to say goodbye. Ovi wasn’t into it. Perhaps because he doesn’t like that kind of spotlight, perhaps because he was still locked in on a possible playoff berth, or perhaps because he knows he’s not done yet.
Bob Matthews is a 33 year veteran broadcast journalist, spending the last 29 years of his career in Virginia. Bob has covered both news and sports stories and for the last three seasons, the Washington Commanders. He looks forward to continuing to provide coverage to Sportsjourney.com both on the website and through his podcast, The Bob Matthews Show.
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