Candid photo of Alex Ovechkin reveals how much weight he’s gained in offseason

The Washington Capitals failed to clinch a playoff spot this offseason and have been off for several weeks now as we await to see who, between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, are crowned champions for 2024. Captain Alex Ovechkin is back in Russia for the summer, and on Friday, a candid photo of the star forward was posted on social media, and fans and pundits didn’t waste any time commenting on Ovechkin’s weight.

I do not want to go into fat-shamming or anything like that, however, it is clear that Ovechkin has put on weight since the end of the regular campaign in April.

This is the photo that is currently going viral of Ovechkin posting during a tennis game:

Earlier this month, Ovechkin revealed in an interview on the Russian show This is hockey, brother! (which was then transcribed by sports.ru and translated by RMNB), that he hates training, especially off the ice, and how he dislikes dealing with the pre-season in the NHL.

“I hate preseason,” Ovechkin said. “I really hate it. I don’t like to just train. This is the hardest thing. Imagine, you arrived after your vacation, you have a tan, everything is fine, you’re happy. And your coach calls you and says, ‘Well, Sash? Tomorrow we begin training.’ You go to training, then rest, then another training session. I hate it, I can’t stand it.”

I have to say it kinda shows in this picture…

On his NHL profile, Ovechkin is listed at 238 lb, though it’s hard to tell how much he can weigh in the picture above.

In that aforementioned interview, the Caps’ superstar did mention how he will go on train again, with longtime trainer Pavel Burlachenko before returning to DC in the fall. The Capitals’ superstar revealed how his training is planned to change this time around, switching up his routine as he gets older.

Ovechkin scored just eight goals in his first 43 games, but finally came back a new man after the All-Star Break in February, adding 23 more tallies. I’m not sure putting weight will help him get more goals in 2024-25.

Ovechkin, who has two years left on a five-year deal he signed with the Caps in the summer of 2021, will now enter his 20th season in the NHL. He believes he will retire at the end of that deal.