Ovechkin: I'll consider retirement as soon as I don't 'love this game'

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is beginning to enter the tail end of his career, but he's still not exactly sure when he'll call it quits for good.

"We'll see, I have one more year after this season and we'll see," Ovechkin said in an interview with NBC Sports' Kathryn Tappen and Wayne Gretzky Tuesday. "I'm healthy, thank God, and I still love this game. As soon as I'm not going to love this game, I'm not going to cheat on it. I respect it a lot, and I don't want to put my name on the caliber players who just play out there and take somebody's spots. I don't want to do that."

Ovechkin, 34, is set to enter unknown territory as he approaches free agency. He has one more season left on the 13-year extension he signed with the Capitals in 2008 - the only contract he's signed following his rookie deal. The veteran will be 36 years old at the start of his next contract if he chooses to sign one.

The perennial goal-scorer has shown no signs of slowing down yet. He was tied for the league lead in goals with 48 when the season paused on March 12. He's also shown incredible durability throughout his career, only missing a handful of games over the years due to injury.

When asked about his thoughts on what he's accomplished and what he still has to get done, Ovechkin showed he understands the significance of his work on the ice so far.

"Obviously right now I have lots of time to think about and you know it's great, it's great for (the) game, it's great for me, for my teammates, it's great for Washington area, D.C. area to be able to see that," Ovechkin said of his personal feats to date. "Right now, I can't even realize what I did throughout all my career because you know my career is not ending, but to be eighth all time (on the all-time goals list), it's special."

Copyright (C) 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.