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The six-foot, two-inch, 233-pound Russian has racked up some impressive numbers (219 goals, 201 assists) in his first four professional seasons, making him a virtual shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame. His best season came during the 2007–2008 season, when he scored 65 goals—the most by any NHL player in 11 years.
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Despite his success on the ice the 24-year-old Ovechkin—who is single—lives in a modest three-bedroom house in Arlington, Virginia. Ovechkin, whose English is growing more fluent every year, has a real fondness for Washington, D.C, but he still maintains ties to Russia. He spends most of the off-season at his house in Moscow and one he owns in a suburb of that city.
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What's Up?: How long were you back in Moscow this summer?
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Alex Ovechkin: Probably three months. It’s every off-season.
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WU: Have you thought back to last season, when you went through a long scoring drought? If not for the slump, you probably could have scored 60 or 70 goals and won a coveted scoring title.
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AO: I didn’t make a point in like 10 or 12 games. If you look at the end of last season, I was three points behind [Pittsburgh’s Evgeni] Malkin [for the scoring title]. Of course if I make some more points maybe I win it. But it’s okay. It happens. I am glad I played well last year. I don’t want to stop. I want to be the best. This year I want to be better. And next year I want to be even better.
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WU: How important was it to you to win your second consecutive MVP, this past June?
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AO: It means a lot. It’s good when you win something. I win MVP two times, but it’s not me. It’s all my buddies and this organization. They give me an opportunity and chance to win it. I hope it’s not the last one.
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WU: Where do you see the Capitals this year compared to the rest of the teams in the league?
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AO: On top. On top of everybody. Right now Pittsburgh is the Stanley Cup champion. They have a great team, but I don’t think we lost anyone. We have the same guys, maybe better. It’s our time. It doesn’t matter who wins last year. It matters who wins this year.
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WU: Is the team closer to winning a Stanley Cup after coming within one win of the Eastern Conference finals last season?
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AO: It’s time for us. The organization has done well and the guys understand if we [just] make the playoffs it’s not good. We have to move it forward and keep it going. We play for the Stanley Cup.
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WU: Are you excited about playing in the Olympics in Vancouver in Fe uary?
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AO: I am really looking forward to it. I will be representing my country and it will be a great time for everybody. The best players are going to play over there from all the different countries. Everybody wants to play over there, and me too. When you have a chance to win the Olympics and the Stanley Cup it is really cool.
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WU: The Capitals expect to sell out every game this year after a club-record 29 sellouts last season. Are you excited about that?
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AO: Yeah. Nobody can get tickets for the games. It’s like Canada. This is a hockey town right now. Everywhere we go we see people wearing Caps hats and Caps jerseys. They recognize us. They are so excited like we are.
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WU: You are the big reason for all the sellouts. You know that?
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AO: I don’t think it’s me. I think it’s our team and our organization. We have great players, but we have a great organization, too. You can see it.
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WU: This is your fifth season in Washington. You appear to have acquired a passion for D.C.
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AO: I love this place. It’s a great place to live and a great place to play hockey. You move forward. You grow up as a player and person here.
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WU: Would you like to one day eak Wayne Gretzky’s single-season record of 92 goals?
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AO: Why not? It’s going to be hard, but I have one goal: win the Stanley Cup.
