The NHL’s new all-time leader in regular-season goals, Alex Ovechkin, is the Washington Capitals’ nominee for the 2025 Bill Masterton Trophy, presented to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Each chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) nominates a player for the award. While the Russian superstar has many trophies in his collection, it would be a new honor for the 20-year veteran.
Ovechkin’s Worthy Nomination
Despite missing a month of the season due to a fractured fibula, Ovechkin has shown incredible perseverance in establishing the new NHL scoring record of 895 goals. The captain has been exceptional, with 42 goals over 61 games, including his most-recent goal celebration, which crowned him the new all-time scoring champion. At the time of his injury, Ovechkin was the league leader in goals with 15 in 18 games, a 0.83 goals-per-game (GPG) pace. Since his return after missing just 16 games, he has added 27 goals in 43 games for a 0.63 GPG average in his pursuit of the record.
Ovechkin is firmly on the road to becoming the NHL’s first 900-goal scorer in league history. With another consistent point-producing season, he could become only the 10th player to record 1,700 NHL points. Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby, a nominee for the Masterton Trophy last season, has the inside track to becoming the ninth player to break that milestone, with 1,683 points through 1,349 games.
The 39-year-old winger has sportsmanship covered following the March 28 contest against the Minnesota Wild. In what was expected to be his final regular-season contest against his longtime division foe, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ovechkin called his team back onto the ice to show respect to the elite goalie with a center-ice handshake following a road loss. Fleury is also nominated for the 2025 Bill Masterton Award.
In his quest to break the record this season, Ovechkin has been a worthy NHL ambassador among all the media attention. He has attempted to focus some of the attention on a good cause and his campaign to raise money for pediatric cancer research.
On April 9, he made an appearance on Good Morning America, speaking to a wide audience that was bigger than hockey. “For all this attention, for all this [excitement] of breaking that record, we decided to do The V Foundation and raise as much money as we can to help kids and to help bring a smile on their face, energy, and I hope we’re going to do it more and more,” Ovechkin said during a four-minute interview.
Ovechkin has pledged to support The V Foundation for the remainder of his career, donating the dollar amount of his goal total for every goal he scores. The Capitals’ parent company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, will match his donations to provide additional funds for cancer research. Individuals interested in contributing to the cause are encouraged to donate at v.org/GR8chase.
Jose Theodore Only Capital to Claim Masterton Award
Only one Capital has ever won the Bill Masterton Trophy in their 50-year history. Goaltender Jose Theodore claimed the award in 2009-10 after earning a 30-7-7 record, a 3.81 goals-against average, and a .911 save percentage. The Theodore family entered that season with heavy hearts after their infant son, Chase, passed away from complications stemming from a premature birth.
During the season, Theodore regained the starting job and finished on a red-hot winning streak over the last three months with a 20-0-3 record. Following his Masterton-winning season, he played three more seasons away from Washington before retiring in 2012-13. Over a 16-year NHL career, the Canadian netminder finished with a 286-254-69 record in 648 games.
Theodore’s stay in Washington overlapped two of Ovechkin’s best-scoring years in the NHL. During the goalie’s first season in 2007-08, Ovechkin scored a career-high 65 goals for the Capitals. The winger also led the league with 56 goals the following season in 2008-09, the second and final year of Theodore’s tenure in Washington. If Ovechkin wins the 2025 Masterton Trophy following the season, he will join his teammate as the only two Washington players to be honored with the prestigious title from the league.
