The Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins are set to face off on Thursday evening, pitting two of the NHL's all-time greats––Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin––against one another for what could potentially be the last matchup of their careers.
Ahead of Thursday's game, Ovechkin was asked about the significance of matching up against Crosby and the Penguins one last time, but he made clear that he thinks there will be more games to be played between himself and his longtime rival.
"I'm not retiring," said Ovechkin, via Wes Crosby of NHL.com.
Ovi made it clear this won’t be the last Crosby-Ovechkin matchup 👀 pic.twitter.com/652aTaKVYu
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 17, 2025
Thursday's game is the regular-season finale for the Capitals, and thus marks the conclusion of Ovechkin's 20th campaign in the NHL. It's been a historic season for him, too, as he overtook Wayne Gretzky for sole ownership of the all-time goals record, despite having suffered a fractured fibula earlier in the season. Of course, the postseason still looms for Ovechkin and the Caps, who finished as the No. 1 seed in the East, but the 39-year-old has already declared that he won't be hanging up the skates after this season.
Despite his age and having played in 1,490 regular-season games in his career, Ovechkin doesn't intend to call it a career after the 2024-25 season. He's still playing at an incredibly high level, having registered 72 points, including 43 goals, in 64 games.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alex Ovechkin Addresses NHL Future Before Potential Final Matchup vs. Sidney Crosby.
