Qu’en pensez-vous ? Je suis encore relativement nouveau dans le hockey. Y a-t-il une limite d’âge ou est-ce vraiment 40 ans lorsque les gars prennent leur retraite de la LNH ?
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Emergency-Pepper3537
@Capitals de Washington
38 Comments
I mean, it ain’t young for a sport like hockey
Honestly it’s more like 35 when people start feeling old and losing a step in the NHL
Ovi in offseason: I will have that second kebab.
Jagr in any season: I have rink keys in my pocket.
There is a reason after 40 hits. Fatty me will have that kebab.
40+ is pushing it for most ,very few go beyond that and can still have even a portion of the value they did 10 years before if that makes sense. And hockey is an extremely physical and fast sport
There’s no hard-and-fast age at which players retire. I’d guess most retire in their 30s, if they last that long to start with.
I’d bet most hockey players have been at it in terms of competitive play for 10-15 years before they even get into the NHL. That’s also a lot of time to get injured and a lot of injuries mean cumulative damage.
I don’t have stats, but I’d suspect the majority of players retire before age 40.
Most players lose a step in their young 30’s and if they aren’t elite at something / multiple things they’re out of the league by 33-35.
It’s usually well earlier than that. Like 35-36 or so. Ovie is like the 3 or 4th oldest guy in the league. The only other guy left in the league from Ovechkin’s draft year is Evgeni Malkin.
Very very very few players make it it 40
I love Ovi to death. But get him the fuck off the team
Just depends on the player. I feel like hockey is the sport with the largest variance between great players and retirement.
It’s very dependent on how they play. Some great players may wash out early because of their physicality and their lack of speed due to injuries. Others, can last for ages.
It’s the sport where if you do it right, you can play for over a decade even if you’re not a star. But it can be taken away at any time from freak stuff. Eye injuries, Blood clots, even stuff like Hossa’s skin condition.
Most players retire way before 40. If you can play past 35 you are a pretty tough player with a lot of luck and dedication. Once you fall a step behind you are pretty much done.
He plays a very physical, punishing brand of hockey. Skilled yes but not afraid to be a wrecking ball, especially earlier in his career. He broke his leg last year. The season before the Cup run he played through some fairly serious knee and hamstring issues. I think being 40 in hockey is more about the implication of how much a strain the increasing speed and physicality of the game take on you more so than a blanket “all 40 year olds are ancient” statement
I thought he was still 37
Depending on skill level but generally 35 and up puts you in year to year territory
This is the first year Ovie is taking hooking and slashing penalties regularly. That’s a big change. Off rink it’s probably really hard for him to train as much as he did for his record push, too.
I played in college and then in a competitive men’s league after that. I hung the skates up at 33
Also to give an idea the NHL has been around for over 100 years and only about 90 players have played after 40 years old.
This is readily searchable information. Having more than 10 players aged 38+ play a single game in the 32-team League in a given 82-game season is unusual.
Average age is 28. Median age is lower, because of those old superstar outliers. Standard deviation exercises are left to the inquirer.
There are only 3 players in the league who are 40+. Ovi is the 3rd oldest. Anytime now would be a « normal » time to retire, in fact most players retire way before that.
I’m 46, and there is shit that I could do in my 20s that I absolutely cannot do now.
Age catches up to all of us. Even elite athletes are not immune to Father Time. In professional sports, 40 is definitely a bit long in the tooth and Ovi still playing in the NHL is definitely more of the exception than the rule.
It’s time….we were very fortunate to have Alex Ovechkin and I’m going to miss that and so will a lot of people in the DMV and hockey fans everywhere.
He’s only 40. He’ll remain for a few more years
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Source for this quote?
I think it depends on what role he sees for himself next season.
He’s not a top liner anymore, and probably doesn’t belong on the power play.
If he’s prepared to play 3/4th line wing, and signs for the appropriate dollars, I’m fine with him returning.
I suspect the team will offer him a favorable deal if he decides to return either way.
That said, he’s more than earned a farewell lap around the NHL.
Jagr announced this season that he’s retiring from hockey at age 54
1 more season ovi your only 19 goals from breaking 1016
At 39 my body just decided to fall apart- all the old injuries and wear and tear from sports and the military hit at once. All of a sudden I’d get an injury from my regular workout routine. Playing pro hockey at 40 is insane. Even with the best trainers, doctors, nutritionists, etc idk how you do it, keep up and just not be injured 24/7.
Mid 30’s is when athletes tend to begin to decline physically. Can vary a little depending on the exact sport.
Most don’t play past 35 32is pushing limits.
Biologically, we have major shifts in roughly 7 year increments. 27-33 is generally when the body is considered fully mature without any negative effects of aging. 35-40 is when peak athletic performance becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. 40-45 has been determined by multiple studies as a definitive turning point for many physiological processes beginning to degrade in the human body. Ovi never had insane top speed, just stamina and resilience. It makes sense that his physical ability isn’t meeting the same standard it used to.
This is true of all sports, professional through Joe Shmoe. Ovi has been blessed with amazing genetics and very few injuries in his career but Father Time never loses. He can probably play another 10+ years in Russia like Jaromir Jagr has (still playing at age 54). I think that his contract ending, age hitting him harder than some cross checks, and wifey wanting to raise the kids in Russia will likely mean this is his final season in DC.
We’ve had 21 seasons of this amazing human being playing for our squad. He deserves every ounce of praise. He also deserves to enjoy the game that has made him famous and spend more time with his family. I will be happily surprised if he’s back in the fall. I will also be happy for him if he decides to call it a career in the NHL this summer.
If this is the last year I hope he announces it soon so we can give a proper farewell
Ovi is the third oldest player in the league.
Brent Burns just turned 41 two days ago and Corey Perry turns 41 in May. Ovi’s birthday is in Sept.
I’m 40 (and only about a month older than Ovechkin). I can confirm, I do not have the energy or strength I had in my twenties. Not that I did much to improve it…. But yeah, I felt that comment from him hahaha. Abd from what I’ve heard from dudes older than me, things continue to go downhill
Random thought that your question made me think of. Our next captain will likely be Wilson who’s 31 and he probably has 3-5 years left in him. He would be the last of the greatest era in Caps history.
Pro sports are so hard on your body. Like look at people like Kane. Getting double hip resurfacing at what, 35? That’s ridiculous lol
I mean unless you’re a monster like Ovi or orr you tend to stop when you notice a significant drop off. Ovi still produces at a decent rate but nowhere near his prime and has made a noticeable step back this year