Alex the great 8

Forever young

Ovechkin was surrounded by young talent in his early years in Washington. Center Nicklas Backstrom, defenseman Mike Green and winger Alexander Semin joined, and made hockey in the United States' capital must-see entertainment. They were also having plenty of fun off the ice.

In a sport that defines players for winning championships, some worried that Ovechkin would be known only for his individual accomplishments, because the playoff success wasn't coming. The Capitals went through a series of changes from the front office, to the coaching staff and the roster, culminating with Ovechkin leading them to the Stanley Cup in 2018 as playoff MVP.

Even though Ovechkin was 32, he and the Capitals celebrated like few teams in recent history. They famously swam in the Georgetown fountains — a plaque now marks the spot — and the entire run showed the best of Ovechkin.

"A big heart, like a big kid," longtime teammate John Carlson said. "He loves coming to the rink and he loves scoring goals and playing like we did when we were kids."

Ovechkin and Anastasia Shubskaya married in 2016, and the couple had even more reason to celebrate the summer of 2018 when she gave birth their first son, Sergei, that August. Ilya was born in the spring of 2020, and the boys have been right there with their dad for many of his big moments since.

When Ovechkin scored his 801st and 802nd goals just before Christmas 2022, to pass Gordie Howe for second on the all-time list, he walked into the locker room hand-in-hand with Sergei and Ilya and put them on his lap to take photos.

Tom Wilson, a teammate since 2013, now a father, and likely to succeed Ovechkin as captain, has witnessed the growth firsthand — joining them for family vacations and seeing him as a family man, playing Dance Dance Revolution with his nephews and nieces.

"You don't think about hockey," Ovechkin said of his home life. "You don't think about the training or practice. You just enjoy your life, enjoy your time with the kids, with family, with friends and you can basically do whatever you want."