Capitals Not Rebuilding While Ovechkin Is Under Contract

Even though it has been a struggle this season for the Washington Capitals due to a mass number of key injuries, they will not be rebuilding while Alex Ovechkin is still on the team. According to Greg Wyshynski, Ovechkin told management that he doesn't want a rebuild while he chases the goal record.

Ovechkin has every right to tell management this since he has been one of the best players in the league for the last 18 seasons, all with the Capitals, and even brought them their first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The Capitals captain is at 797 career goals and is regarded by many as the best goal-scorer all-time. He is four goals away from tying Gordie Howe for second all-time and 98 goals away from breaking the all-time record that seemed to be unreachable by any player after Wayne Gretzky set it.

Ovechkin has been a consistent pure goal-scorer for his entire career and he hasn't really slowed down at age 37. He has 17 goals in 30 games this season. That puts him on pace for 46 goals this season and at 826 in his career. At the pace he is going, Ovechkin will break the goal-scoring record in 2024-25 with one full season remaining on his contract.

Lately the Capitals have been storming back into playoff contention with four wins in a row and seven in their past 10 games. They sit just two points out of a playoff spot and are starting to get a bit healthier. It will still be a struggle this season for the team to qualify for playoffs and may have to sell a few pieces. But they will be back next season once again competing rather than rebuilding if management respects the wishes of their captain.