Ovechkin retirement speculation looms large as Capitals chase playoffs

This weekend’s home-and-home set against the Pittsburgh Penguins means more to Washington Capitals fans than typical rivalry games, and not just because of the playoff implications.

Sunday’s game could be Alex Ovechkin’s last in the District.

To make matters more dire, the Capitals are desperately clinging to their postseason hopes.

Wednesday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs gave Washington 89 points this season. But the club trails the Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators by three points for the Eastern Conference’s final wild-card spots.

MoneyPuck simulations gave the Capitals just a 4.5% chance of completing an unlikely late-season run to scrape into the playoffs.

Without a guaranteed postseason appearance, the home game against Pittsburgh may be Ovechkin’s curtain call in the District after 21 seasons. The Capitals end the campaign on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Nobody in the building for either of those games will know for sure whether they just witnessed the end of Ovechkin’s career for at least a few months.

The NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer has insisted that he has not decided on his retirement. But the 40-year-old’s contract expires at the end of June.

Ovechkin said Wednesday he’d like to make a decision “on the first day of summer.”

“Healthwise. Talk to my family,” Ovechkin said of the most important factors in his decision. “We’ll see. If I was 25 or 35, that’s one thing. But when you’re 40, you have to think for the future.”

Those within the Capitals organization — players, coaches and executives — have avoided speculating on Ovechkin’s future. They have a preference, though.

“Everyone in the room obviously wants him to come back. He’s been a special player in this league for so long. Now he’s just a good friend,” Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson said. “It’s sad that his time is maybe coming to an end soon; we don’t know. Everyone in the room knows he can still play if he wants.”

Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 31 goals and 61 points. He’s one of three skaters on Washington’s roster who haven’t missed a game this season. The production was enough to convince one member of the Ovechkin family to weigh in.

“Let him play,” the goal scorer’s mother, Tatyana Ovechkina, told the Russian outlet TASS. “If he has the desire, the health and the ability, then why not continue playing?”

Ovechkin still appears to enjoy coming to the rink every day. He flashes his gap-toothed grin during practices and trades barbs with the beat reporters and his teammates. But he’s running out of goals to chase.

The Capitals’ captain passed Wayne Gretzky for the regular-season goals record more than a year ago. However, Ovechkin still trails the Great One by 11 for the combined regular-season and postseason goals mark.

“There aren’t many pros [to keep playing], aside from the record,” Sergei Fedorov, Ovechkin’s former teammate in Washington, told Match TV. “But I think [Ovechkin] is doing well in terms of family. His family supports him, especially his mom. And if he has the strength, he needs to finish this thing, because we’re talking about a record for the ages.”

Their sentiment isn’t unanimous, though. Ovechkin’s scoring hasn’t slowed much, but his defense has. The three-time MVP is a significantly less dynamic skater these days, often spending his shifts camped out in the offensive zone, waiting for the right pass.

Ovechkin has hit 20 mph on the ice just 12 times this season. Rookie Cole Hutson, who debuted last month, has already hit that marker eight times.

Ovechkin has said in interviews that he wants to retire before his body starts breaking down. But his post-retirement plans may complicate that timing. The Moscow native has previously said he’d want to spend a season with his hometown club, Dynamo Moscow, after he ends his NHL career.

“I don’t see him playing another year after this,” Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios, who played until he was 48, told RG.org. “I think Russia really wants to sign him in the KHL, but they want him while he could still play. I think that’s an issue with Alexander, because I believe he will go back there when he’s done playing.”

Until Ovechkin makes his decision, the goal for his teammates is simple: Win as many games as possible.

The Capitals must win each of their final three games to have a chance at the playoffs. They’d also need the teams ahead of them on the playoff bubble — the Senators, Flyers, Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders — to stumble down the stretch.

“We know we need help and we need to win out. … We’re not focused on both Pittsburgh games,” coach Spencer Carbery said on Wednesday night. “One game on Saturday. Just trying to get two points and stay in this fight. If this ends up being the end for [Ovechkin], to have these two games, national television against Pittsburgh, will be special moments.”