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Agent: Ovechkin To Return From Russia, Join Capitals In Next Few Days

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Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin

After spending the summer in Russia, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is packing his bags to return to the District.

Gleb Christyakov, Ovechkin’s agent, told sports.ru that the 36-year-old will return to the DMV on Wednesday.  The Capitals have been taking part in informal skates ahead of rookie and training camp. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him join by the end of the week.

“Ovechkin plans to leave Russia on Sept. 7,” Christyakov said. “He will fly to America to prepare for the season with Washington.”

Earlier on Saturday, Ovechkin and his son, Sergei, dropped the puck at the KHL Championship match between Dynamo and Ak Bars. Dynamo prevailed with the win in front of the team’s long-time legend.

The Moscow native went back home for the offseason to reunite with his wife and children and spend time with family. While overseas, he participated in several charity matches and gave back to the community. He also suited up for an exhibition game with FC Dyanmo in the Russian Premier League and a goal for his hometown club and wearing his father’s No. 3. Ovechkin also trained and spent time with Dmitry Orlov, who recently returned from Russia. Orlov is back at informal skates.

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There had been some concern surrounding Russian players returning to North America for the upcoming season following Ivan Fedotov‘s detainment and deployment in July and reports of Kirill Kaprizov being wanted for purchasing a fake military ID. However, Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan wasn’t concerned about Ovechkin or Orlov being able to return.

Other Russians on the roster, including Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Alexeyev, remained in the U.S.

This will be Ovechkin’s 18th NHL season, and he turns 37 on Sept. 17. In 2021-22, he moved up from sixth on the NHL’s all-time goals list to third and passed Jaromir Jagr as the highest-scoring European of all time, and he also broke the all-time PPG record. He is currently at 780 goals. Ovechkin sits 20 away from 800, 22 from passing Gordie Howe and 115 from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record. He must average 29 goals per season over the next four years to break the all-time record within the terms of the extension he signed in July 2021.