Ovechkin's Greatness, Love For D.C. On Display As He Scores Another Historic NHL Award Win
The Capitals captain's first Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award win speaks volumes to his impact on and off the ice.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For the Washington Capitals and the rest of the NHL, Alex Ovechkin isn’t just synonymous with greatness; he’s greatness himself.
That became even more evident on Friday, as the NHL announced that Ovechkin won the 2024-25 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award.
Messier alone decides on the winner, though he gets suggestions from team and league personnel. It is presented “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.”
Ovechkin is coming off an impressive 20th NHL season and 16th as the Capitals captain, the third-longest tenure among captains in league history. Despite missing nearly six weeks with a broken leg, Ovechkin dominated and scored 44 goals — the third-most in the league — to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record. All the while, he helped Washington finish first in the Eastern Conference and make the playoffs as top contenders after just sneaking in last season, while continuing to maintain a positive locker room culture.
The 39-year-old wasn’t done there, though. He also passed Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals in NHL history and added to his record for the most 40-goal seasons, 30-goal seasons, power-play goals and overtime winners, while also moving to 11th place on the NHL’s all-time points list and tying Phil Esposito for the fifth-most hat tricks in league history.
This award isn’t just to celebrate his on-ice accomplishments; it speaks to who Ovechkin is as a persona nd highlights his philanthropic efforts off the ice and throughout the D.C., Maryland and Virginia communities.
The “Ovechkin Effect” has been prominent since his arrival in 2005, with several youth and adult players taking up the sport for the first time because of him; over the last 20 years, hockey players in the Potomac Valley have increased by 71 percent, with a 43 percent rise in under-18 players. Multiple rinks around the area even honor him with an “8” painted in the left face-off circle, a tribute to his “office,” and 14 outdoor inline/ball hockey rinks have been renovated over the last two decades amid increased demand in the sport.
All the while, he’s worked with the American Special Hockey Association, and during his “GR8 CHASE,” teamed up with Hockey Fights Cancer and the V Foundation For Cancer Research to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer. He donated for every goal he scored in the chase, with Monumental Sports & Entertainment matching his contributions, and will continue to donate for every goal until the end of his NHL career.
This is the eighth different NHL Award he’s won; he has won three Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies, three Hart Memorial Trophies, three Ted Lindsay Awards, one Art Ross Trophy, one Calder Memorial Trophy, one Conn Smythe Trophy and one Stanley Cup. He was also nominated for the Bill Masteron Trophy this year by the PHWA Washington chapter, but was not a finalist.
For Ovechkin, his work on and off the ice is a testament to his passion and dedication for the city he’s spent his entire career with.
"If I love, I love, you know? It's only one love. I love Dynamo, and I love Capitals,” Ovechkin said after breaking the record, adding D.C. is his “second home.”
