Alex Ovechkin confirms his retirement plan: he will be leaving North America
Alex Ovechkin was asked by reporters about his retirement, and although he said he has no immediate plans to retire, he would eventually leave North America.
Ovechkin said that if he was not enjoying playing hockey, he would have already retired, regardless of how close he would be to the all-time goal record held by Wayne Gretzky.
«As long as I enjoy [playing], as long as I get a thrill out of it, there's no point in finishing,» Ovechkin said per a transcription by sports.ru and a translation by Google Translate. «The hardest period is after vacation. You've played volleyball, gone to the gym for fun, and when you come out [from vacation], you need to run cross-country, lift heavy weights, go on a diet. And then you think: ‘Why do I need this, I have everything, I have enough of everything.' But after three to four days of suffering like that, you get into a routine and realize that you still love this business. If I didn't love it, I would have finished already.»
Must read on Markerzone
Ovechkin revealed in his interview that when he does eventually retire, he will be moving to back to Russia and has no plans to remain in North America.
«In Russia, all my friends, relatives, Nastya's relatives are here too,» Ovechkin said. «I feel more comfortable in Russia at the moment than there. [When] our season is ending, and we want to fly home right away because we miss home, our family, our friends.»
In the meantime, fans can sit back and watch Ovi attempt to beat the all-time goal record. He is only 41 goals shy of tying it. Ovechkin did say that when he does retire and leave the continent, he will greatly miss everyone in Washington and around the game.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 27 | 476 ANSWERS Alex Ovechkin confirms his retirement plan: he will be leaving North America Will Alex Ovechkin break the all-time NHL goal record? | ||
| Yes | 270 | 56.7 % |
| No | 206 | 43.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
Top 10 latest hockey stories
