Ovechkin retires: The NHL record-breaker who never turned his back on Russia (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

The legendary NHL superstar is calling time on a career that made him one of the world’s most recognizable athletes One of the world’s most recognizable and beloved athletes, Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin, has announced he will retire at the end of the current NHL season, closing out a record-breaking career spanning more than two decades. The 41-year-old Russian legend, who is entering his 22nd and final NHL season, broke the news to his teammates on Monday, saying it was hard to tell them he would be leaving after this season, but “it is what it is. ” He urged the team to “enjoy the moment” and “do some special things this year. ” The timing was poignant: Monday marked exactly 21 years since Ovechkin made his NHL debut with the Capitals.

For more than two decades, the man known as ‘the Great Eight’ (he has worn the number 8 throughout his NHL career) has been far more than a celebrated athlete. Known affectionately as Ovi, he became the face of a franchise, an icon in both Russia and the US, and the most prolific goalscorer in NHL history. Through it all, he remained proudly Russian, even as political pressure on Russian athletes reached a boiling point. So who is the man behind the records? How Ovi came to hockey Ovechkin was born into a sports family in Moscow. His mother, Tatyana, was a two-time Olympic basketball champion, and his father, Mikhail, played professional football. But it was hockey that captured their son’s imagination. Alexander Ovechkin poses for a portrait at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, September 14, 2006. © Getty Images / Albert Dickson/Sporting News He came through the famed Dynamo Moscow system and made his professional debut in the Russian Superleague at just 16. Powerful, fast, and relentlessly physical, Ovechkin…