Capitals announce the end of Ovechkin's NHL career

The Washington Capitals sent an email to its season ticket holders today announcing that next season will be captain Alex Ovechkin's final season in the NHL.

With Ovechkin turning 40, with him surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer this past season and with next season being the final year of his contract, this is not terribly surprising. The Capitals, it seems, have only confirmed the speculation.

The email to season ticket holders reads: “OCTOBER – the start of Capitals hockey and Alex Ovechkin’s FINAL NHL SEASON”

If this indeed marks the end of Ovechkin's career he'll go down in history as the greatest goal scorer to ever play the game. He's also the greatest Capital in franchise history and the greatest Russian in hockey history.

He's truly one of the game's all-time greats.