Sources indicate that Alex Ovechkin is retiring from NHL this offseason

Is this the end of the road for the NHL's all time greatest goal scorer?

With Alex Ovechkin's contract expiring the upcoming offseason there's been a lot of speculation on his NHL future. After all, he's 40 years old, he's got a Stanley Cup and he has surpassed The Great One Wayne Gretzky as the game's all time leading scorer. He's also the greatest player in Washington Capitals history and the greatest Russian born player in NHL history.

All of this is to say... there's nothing left for Ovi to prove.

He has had an outstanding, Hall of Fame worth career that cements him as one of the game's all time greats. It makes sense then that he would be considering retirement at this juncture.

There's been speculation all season long that this would be Ovechkin's final season, but Ovi himself has refused to confirm either way. He has gone on record though stating that he does not want a "retirement tour" to close out his career and that he doesn't want any fuss surrounding his decision.

Yesterday Ovechkin told the media that he'd wait until this summer to make a decision on his future, but again there's speculation that he's just stringing folks along so that he can avoid all the pomp and circumstance.

Last night, prior to taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs Ovechkin did take a couple pucks from warmup and gave them to a Capitals trainer for safe-keeping.

Ovechkin has reportedly been doing this at just about every visiting arena this season...

That's... interesting, to say the least.

So, I ask again... is this the end of the road for the NHL's all-time greatest goal scorer?