News broke on July 2 that legendary hockey star Alex Ovechkin has signed a one-year, $4.25 million contract to return to the Washington Capitals for what will be his 22nd NHL season.
This comes after Ovechkin (who will be 41 years old next season) had been weighing whether he’d like to return for another year or whether he’d retire.
It was clear that one big factor in his potential decision to return would be that he could spend more time with his family, which includes his wife, Anastasia Shubskaya, and the two sons they have together.
While Ovechkin’s return to the Capitals means less time spent with his family this upcoming season, they were by his side when he signed his Capitals contract on Thursday, which the team’s Instagram account conveyed with a July 2 post that showed Ovechkin signing his contract with his family standing around him.
Shubskaya is turning heads with the black outfit she’s wearing in the post’s photo, which is captioned, family first”.
Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals ever in April of 2025, when he put No. 895 in the back of the net. This is arguably the most prestigious record in all of hockey. However, while making individual history is great, there’s no doubt that Ovechkin’s return is largely because he’s seeking another Stanley Cup, as he has won just one in his career to this point.
Ovechkin currently has 929 career goals in regular-season games and 77 goals in postseason games, which puts him over 1,000 career all-time. And he’ll be adding to that tally next season.
