Pavel Datsyuk sends a warning to Alex Ovechkin.

Over the course of the past several weeks there have been a ton of rumors floating around the National Hockey League as it pertains to the future of Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin did the impossible this season when he broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal scoring record and many believe that the veteran forward will seek to move on when his contract expires at the end of next season.

Ovechkin however may have outside factors he now has to consider when it comes to decisions about his playing career.

During a recent interview, Russian NHL legend Pavel Datsyuk offered his thoughts on Ovechkin's future and he made it clear that he himself was not ready to see Ovechkin retire just yet. Instead, Datsyuk argued that Ovechkin had another milestone to reach before he could hang up his skates, the 1000 goal plateau.

Datsyuk even went so far as to suggest that he and his fellow Russians would bar Ovechkin from returning to his home country until he accomplished the once thought to be impossible milestone of 1000 goals.

"Well, how would I know? But I think everyone is waiting for Ovechkin to score his 1,000th goal in the NHL championships," said Datsyuk as per MatchTV. "Until then, we won’t let him into Russia."

When the interviewer pointed out that Ovechkin had already beaten the all-time record once held by Wayne Gretzky himself, Datsyuk's answer basically amounted to 'that's nice' while still suggesting Ovechkin should go for 1000.

"And we noted all of that," said Datsyuk. "And now - a new goal, the thousandth goal. This is good motivation."

I have no doubt that Datsyuk was being humorous as he made these comments and is likely just as proud of Ovechkin as anyone else, but there may also be a part of Datsyuk that is genuinely hoping to see his countryman do what was once thought impossible.