Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals superstar winger Alexander Ovechkin made history Tuesday night, breaking the NHL record for most career goals scored on the road.

According to ESPN, Ovechkin scored twice in a 5-1 road win against the Vancouver Canucks, giving him the 402nd and 403rd road goals of his career and surpassing the record previously held by legendary Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.

Regarding the new mark, Ovechkin said: "It's always nice when you beat The Great One. It doesn't matter what kind of milestone it is. It's history."

The 37-year-old Ovechkin moved into third place on the NHL's all-time goals list last season, and he continues to inch closer to Gordie Howe for second.

Ovechkin's two goals Tuesday gave him 793, putting him just eight behind Howe.

On Nov. 5, Ovechkin set a record at Howe's expense, scoring his 787th career goal with the same team. Howe previously held the record with 786 goals scored as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

The two goals against Vancouver also inched Ovechkin ever closer to Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record of 894, which was set during a historic 20-year NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

While Gretzky's goal record once seemed unbreakable, it is appearing more and more likely that Ovechkin will pass him and perhaps reach the 900-goal mark.

Despite closing in on age 40 and having been an NHL player for 18 seasons, the Russian star is showing no signs of slowing down.

Just last season, Ovechkin recorded the ninth 50-goal season of his career, and his 90 points were the most he had since the 2009-10 season.

In 24 games this season, Ovechkin is producing at nearly a point-per-game pace with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points.

At that rate, Ovechkin is slated to finish with over 40 goals this season, which would put him well over 800 for his career and within striking distance of Gretzky in the next couple of years.

The all-time goals mark is likely the primary focus for the future Hall of Famer as far as records go, but the fact that Ovechkin is routinely surpassing Gretzky and Howe in the record books speaks to how special his career has been already.

On Thursday night, Alex Ovechkin tied Gordie Howe for the most goals scored with one NHL franchise (786), and on Saturday night, the Washington Capitals star set the record with his 787th goal.

During Saturday's game against the Arizona Coyotes, Ovechkin netted his record-setting goal on the power play in the second period to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

"It's pretty cool," Ovechkin told reporters after tying Howe on Thursday. "It's a great accomplishment."

Howe scored 786 goals with the Detroit Red Wings from 1946-1971. The Hall of Famer finished his career with the Hartford Whalers, bringing his total number of goals scored to 801.

Only Ovechkin and Howe have scored at least 700 goals with one NHL franchise:

1. Alex Ovechkin (Capitals): 787 goals
2. Gordie Howe (Red Wings): 786 goals
3. Steve Yzerman (Red Wings): 692 goals
4. Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins): 690 goals
5. Joe Sakic (Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques): 625 goals
6. Bobby Hull (Chicago Blackhawks): 604 goals

Howe once set the record for most goals scored, but Wayne Gretzky rewrote the history books when he tallied 894 goals in his 20-year career with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

Ovechkin has spent his entire 18-year career with the Capitals after being selected first overall in the 2004 NHL draft.

The 37-year-old is a Stanley Cup champion, 12-time All-Star, three-time Hart trophy winner and a nine-time Rocket Richard trophy winner. He'll undoubtedly be selected for the Hall of Fame when eligible.

Ovechkin's best season came in 2007-08 when he notched 65 goals and 47 assists for 112 points in 82 games. He earned the Rocket Richard, Hart, Ted Lindsay and Art Ross trophies that year.

Ovechkin, who put together a 50-goal 2021-22 season, entered Saturday's game having tallied six goals and four assists for 10 points in 12 games for the 5-5-2 Capitals. He'll likely be a contender for the Rocket Richard trophy later this season.

Zdeno Chara's 25-year NHL career will come to an end Tuesday.

Chara announced on Instagram he will sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins to officially retire with the team he spent the bulk of his career playing for.

Amid speculation about his future early in the offseason, Chara's agent, Matt Keator, told Matt Porter of the Boston Globe in June the 45-year-old was "going to take the summer with his family and assess where he's at physically, where his family's at, and make a decision in September."

A third-round draft pick by the New York Islanders in 1996, Chara made his NHL debut in 1997. He played for four different teams: the Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Bruins and Washington Capitals.

Chara was one of the best defensemen of his era. He made six All-Star appearances from 2003 to 2012, won the Norris Trophy in 2009 and won a Stanley Cup title with the Bruins in 2011.

After he spent 14 seasons in Boston from 2006 to 2020, the team informed him in his last year that he would not be re-signed. Chara decided to continue his playing career by signing a one-year contract with the Capitals.

However, he wasn't much of a factor with 10 points in 55 games. It was his lowest-scoring season since putting up nine points in 2000-01 with the Islanders.

The Isles brought Chara back on a one-year deal for the 2021-22 season.

Chara was named to the NHL's All-Decade second team for the 2010s. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic wrote this about the Slovakian star when he was named to the outlet's All-Decade squad:

"His career high of 52 points did come in 2011-12, but that's not what puts Chara in this elite company. It was his innate ability to completely shut down opponents using his long stick, smart positioning and knowing how to toe the line. He was a problem other teams had to solve, and it led to the Bruins scoring 57 percent of the 5-on-5 goals while he was on the ice in the 2010's, a mark unmatched by any of the other five defenders listed here."

Chara's history as a defenseman who is capable of scoring made him an intimidating presence on the ice for more than two decades. He will almost certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.

The Washington Capitals announced Wednesday they signed Darcy Kuemper to a five-year, $26.25 million contract.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun provided the annual breakdown:

Kuemper had a .921 save percentage, a 2.54 goals-against average and five shutouts in 57 starts for the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22.

"Darcy is an established starting netminder who proved that he can win on the game's biggest stage, and we are excited to welcome him to Washington," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "We feel this signing will provide our team confidence and stability in net."

The Avs telegraphed Kuemper's departure when they acquired restricted free agent Alexandar Georgiev and handed him a three-year extension with a $3.4 million AAV.

The Capitals were 12th in goals-against average (2.95) but 23rd in save percentage (.898) this past season. Change between the pipes wasn't totally unexpected in the nation's capital.

This wasn't a great offseason to go shopping for a new goaltender, though. The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn ranked Kuemper as the best free agent at the position, while ESPN's Greg Wyshynski listed him in the boom-or-bust category:

"Kuemper is a difficult one to predict. There are those in the hockey analytics community who feel he's been living off the reputation he forged as the best thing on some bad Coyotes teams. The second half of his season was extraordinary -- .934 save percentage and a 2.16 GAA at even strength -- but not all that far off from what Pavel Francouz did metrically in the same span. Again, he's a solid starter and an improvement in goal for 80% of the league. But 'buyer beware,' as the playoffs have indicated."

The 32-year-old played well for Colorado, and the team's Stanley Cup triumph bolstered his leverage at the negotiating table. Washington wasn't afraid to pay up in order to upgrade at goalie.

This deal nevertheless presents a level of risk. A $5.25 million AAV is a steep price to pay, and five years is a longer term for a netminder as old as Kuemper.

One thing is clear: Losing in the first round for four straight seasons isn't enough for MacLellan to consider a rebuild. Washington is looking to not only remain competitive but raise its postseason ceiling.

The Washington Capitals struggled to get elite goaltending play from the duo of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek during the 2021-22 season. Then, the Caps got eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, marking their fourth consecutive first-round exit.

There's one way Washington could help fix both of those issues: sign a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender. And there just so happens to be one on the market.

Darcy Kuemper helped the Colorado Avalanche win the franchise's first Cup in 21 years last month, as he provided solid play throughout their playoff run. Kuemper started all six games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he had one of his best performances in the title-clinching Game 6, in which he allowed only one goal and recorded 22 saves.

But Kuemper, now an unrestricted free agent, isn't going back to Colorado. On Sunday, the Avs inked a three-year extension with restricted free agent Alexandar Georgiev, whose negotiating rights they acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers last week. Georgiev is set to be Colorado's starting goaltender, ahead of backup Pavel Francouz.

According to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, Kuemper was "too expensive for the Avs to retain," which led to their decision to replace him with Georgiev.

The Caps should be willing to spend big to improve their goaltending situation, though. On Friday, they traded Vanecek to the New Jersey Devils for a pair of draft picks, leaving Samsonov as the only NHL-caliber netminder on their roster.

Even before Georgiev had agreed to terms with Colorado, there had already been rumors linking Kuemper to Washington. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Capitals have been interested in Kuemper for "quite a long time now."

"I’m not going to say Washington is going to get him," Friedman recently said on his 32 Thoughts podcast (h/t Ian Oland of Russian Machine Never Breaks). "But I do know Washington’s very interested in him and have been motivated by Kuemper for quite some time now."

Kuemper has played for four teams during his 10-year career, but he spent only one season with the Avalanche. It was a successful one, though, as he had a 2.54 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in 57 games. He had a 2.57 GAA and a .902 save percentage in 16 postseason contests.

Samsonov flashed his potential in 45 games through his first two NHL seasons, so the Capitals were hoping he could carry that over into his first opportunity to play more than 26 games in a campaign. Instead, he had a 3.02 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage in 44 games last season.

So Kuemper should provide an upgrade over Samsonov and be more reliable, considering he has much more experience. Samsonov is only 25, so there's still time for him to improve. But letting him be the backup to the 32-year-old Kuemper for a year or two could prove beneficial in the long run.

If Washington misses out on Kuemper, there are other goaltenders it could target. Jack Campbell is an unrestricted free agent, as is Braden Holtby, who played for the Capitals from 2010-20.

But Kuemper likely has the highest ceiling among that group, and he's coming off a Stanley Cup-winning campaign. He would be a great fit for Washington as it tries to win a second Cup in six seasons.

The Washington Capitals announced Thursday they've promoted Emily Engel-Natzke to the role of video coordinator, making her the first woman to serve as a full-time member of an NHL coaching staff.

Engel-Natzke previously filled the same role with the Hershey Bears, the Caps' AHL affiliate. She discussed her place in hockey history with Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press:

"It's kind of surreal. I've never kind of really looked at myself in that lens, and I think if you may have asked me a week ago, I wouldn't have wanted it to be a big deal. But with everything that's going on kind of geopolitically, I think I'm more so just honored to be, I guess, the first. Hopefully that just opens the door even further for people who want to get into this job and this profession."

Engel-Natzke played hockey at Adrian College and started her coaching career at the University of Wisconsin in 2015, working for the Badgers' men's and women's hockey teams as a video coordinator. She's also worked for U.S. Hockey's youth national teams and the senior women's team at the 2019 World Championships.

She joined the Capitals organization with the Bears ahead of the 2020-21 season. Her performance with the minor league affiliate, which posted the AHL's best record in her first year, gave the front office confidence she was ready to join the NHL staff.

"We are extremely pleased to name Emily as our new video coordinator," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "Emily's work ethic, skill set, and passion were displayed in her tenure with the Hershey Bears, and we feel she is ready and deserving of this opportunity. She will be a tremendous asset to our coaching staff."

The 31-year-old Colorado native also received praise from Caps head coach Peter Laviolette, per Whyno:

"This was earned and deserved. We feel like we hired really a qualified person that we brought into the organization two years ago and came in and did an outstanding job, and that's what development is all about. For me, we got the best person and that's the most important thing."

Engel-Natzke joins Chicago Blackhawks assistant GM Meghan Hunter and New Jersey Devils director of player development Meghan Duggan as women who've recently been promoted to high-profile roles within NHL organizations.

Engel-Natzke told Whyno:

"It's been really encouraging that you're seeing women in different roles, whether it's in coaching, whether it's in management, athletic training and equipment management. Hopefully the door just keeps opening a little bit more and I hope in a couple years it's not as big of a deal—it's kind of just another hire."

Washington, led by superstar winger Alex Ovechkin, has reached the playoffs in eight straight seasons, highlighted by winning the 2018 Stanley Cup title.

The 2022-23 NHL season is scheduled to get underway Oct. 11.