Ovechkin announces this will be his final NHL season
Alex Ovechkin told his Capitals teammates Monday morning that the 2026-27 season is his last, choosing the anniversary of his debut to make the news public before Washington's first home game Wednesday against Pittsburgh.
In brief
Ovechkin announces this will be his final NHL season
Monday morning, before most of Washington had finished its coffee, Alex Ovechkin walked into the Capitals' locker room and told his teammates he was done after this year. Then the team posted a statement online, and 21 years of one of the great runs in D.C. sports history suddenly had an end date.
Fox 5 DC reported that Ovechkin announced Monday that he will retire from the NHL at the end of the 2026-27 season, with the 41-year-old saying he and his family decided over the summer that this would be his final year.
The timing was deliberate. Ovechkin made the announcement on October 5, 2026, the same date he made his NHL debut, 21 years earlier on October 5, 2005. The Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Capital One Arena on Wednesday, October 7, and the timing of the announcement is no accident, given the long history between Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
In his own words, posted to the Capitals' account on X: "My family and I decided this summer that this will be my final year in the NHL," Ovechkin wrote. "I love this game so much, but I know in my heart it's the right decision. It was important for me to make this announcement before our first home game, so I have the chance to thank all the people around the game."
Nobody who has watched this franchise closely is completely surprised. When an email sent by the Washington Capitals' PR department seemed to announce he was retiring last season, the team frantically said no decision had been made. Some thought he might slip out without any fanfare, but instead he signed for one final year. Now there is no ambiguity.
Ovechkin has scored more NHL goals than any other player in history, with a running total of 929 goals. He currently sits 10th all-time in points with 1,688, putting him within striking distance of Mario Lemieux (1,723) and Steve Yzerman (1,755) in this, his final season. Those chases give the year's remaining 82 games a secondary layer of drama on top of the farewell itself.
He will retire as the undisputed greatest player in the history of the Washington Capitals, having brought them the first Stanley Cup victory in franchise history back in 2018. He has scored more 40-goal seasons than any other player in NHL history (9), more 30-goal seasons than anyone (20), and the most 20-goal seasons in history (21).
For Capital One Arena, the calendar now carries real weight. The last home game of Ovechkin's career will take place on Sunday, April 4, 2027. Every remaining home date between now and then is, in a sense, a countdown. Fans who have been putting off getting to a game have a concrete deadline.
While it's unknown when Ovechkin's final game will actually be, he could end the season hoisting the Stanley Cup for the second time, or an unforeseen circumstance could push the timeline forward, what is clear is that by the time Capitals training camp rolls around next fall, the franchise's most consistent face of the past two decades will not be hitting the ice.
The announcement also lands against a complicated backdrop for D.C. sports right now. The Commanders are 1-3, down to a seventh-round rookie quarterback after Marcus Mariota suffered his second MCL sprain of the 2026 season during Week 4 in London. The Nationals missed the playoffs again. There is no shortage of reasons for DMV fans to feel unsettled heading into October. Ovechkin's farewell tour is, at minimum, a reason to look forward.
Wednesday's home opener against Pittsburgh will be the first of many ceremonial moments this season, none of them scripted but all of them inevitable now. Ovechkin was previously reported to be considering retirement this past summer but elected to return to Washington. Now there is no more mystery about when he will bring his career at the highest level to an end.
He turns 42 in September. His first game in Washington, per The Hockey Writers, came when George W. Bush was in his second term and MySpace was the dominant social network. Twenty-two seasons later, he is the all-time goals leader and the only player who ever made wearing number 8 at Capital One Arena feel like something close to permanent. Wednesday night, when the home crowd gets its first look at him since the announcement, the building on F Street NW will know exactly what it is watching slip away.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
