Alex Ovechkin's former head coach speculates his wife Nastasiya's major role in potential chase for 1,000 career goals

Alex Ovechkin's former Washington Capitals coach, Bruce Boudreau, speculated that Ovechkin's wife, Nastasiya, may play a major role in the NHL superstar's potential pursuit of 1,000 career goals. Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal on Sunday against the New York Islanders, breaking Wayne Gretzky's long-standing record of 894.

Appearing on TSN's "Fanduel Overdrive" on Monday, Boudreau, who coached the Capitals from 2007 to 2012, said he believes Ovechkin would want to play out the remainder of his current contract with the Capitals, which runs through 2025-2026.

However, Boudreau said that Ovechkin's wife, Nastasiya, could influence when the future Hall of Famer concludes his NHL career.

“He made the reference that his wife has allowed him to still play over here, type thing,” Boudreau said (10:00). "And I'm wondering if they said, ‘Well, when you're done and when you get the record, we're going to go back home.’”

Boudreau believes Ovechkin is unlikely to play long enough to reach 1,000 career goals, which is still 105 tallies away. He projects Ovechkin would need at least three more seasons at his current elite level of production.

"So I don’t know. I don't think he'll stay for 1,000," Boudreau said. "That’s to me three years down the road. You get old all of a sudden. It's harder to do these things. I know he's a freak of nature - speaking of Ovechkin - but at some point he's going to start looking old."

Ovechkin's family priorities and desire to return to Russia could curtail his historic goal-scoring chase, according to his former coach.

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Alex Ovechkin's reaction to breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record

When Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal, he turned and belly-flopped onto the ice, joyfully sliding on his stomach over the blue line.

"This is something crazy," Ovechkin said after the game. "I'm probably going to need a couple more days or maybe a couple weeks to realize what does it mean to be No. 1."

Ovechkin expressed pride in the milestone, crediting his family, teammates and coaches for helping him achieve the record.

“It's huge. It's unbelievable. It's an unbelievable moment, and I'm happy,” he said.

Alex Ovechkin mentioned the belly flop wasn’t intentional and that he slipped because of the poor ice conditions. Still, he thought it ended up being a pretty cool moment.