“Then I came to Ovi, and I looked up and I said: ‘Holy f—! I’m coaching Alex Ovechkin,’” Bruce Boudreau recalled back in 2007 when he became the head coach of the Washington Capitals. Yeah, the reaction totally makes sense. Ovi stepped into the NHL as a top prospect and really wowed everyone with some amazing performances, even in those early seasons (how can anyone forget that his explosive debut against the Blue Jackets when he scored 2 goals?). With Boudreau at the helm, Ovechkin hit a career-high of 65 goals and snagged his first Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player during the 2007-08 season.

This was the year Ovi made his debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he had some pretty solid stats for a rookie, finishing with 4 goals and 5 assists for a total of 9 points in just 7 games. Boudreau and Ovi had quite the dynamic relationship in the NHL, and even now, Boudreau still enjoys Ovi’s dominance on the ice. He recently hopped on The Hockey News’ YouTube channel with Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos to chat about Ovi’s career.

When asked, “Will Alex Ovechkin retire before the age of 50?” Boudreau chuckled and said, “Yeah, I think his wife will make him retire before the age of 50, but hey, listen, the way he’s playing this year, like he, he looks like he’s 25, 26 years old again.”

So, according to Boudreau, the Russian hockey star will be ready to hang up his skates as soon as his family gives him the nod. But the former Caps coach also highlighted Ovi’s style of play, even at 39 years old. Boudreau pointed out that the way Ovi plays in the NHL makes him seem much younger than he actually is. Why is that?

“And I’m not saying even the goal scoring, but the way he’s hitting right now, like, I mean, he, last year, for example, like, which was a real off year for him for most of the year, he wouldn’t move his legs and he wouldn’t hit, he would be bouncing into it. Now he’s punishing guys again. And when that man hits, it hurts.” Ovechkin is 39 now, and at that age, it’s pretty common for players to start slowing down. But with Ovechkin looking youthful as ever, its a testament to longevity and durability in such a physical league.

Well, to borrow the words of Ovi himself, “Russian machine never breaks.” The former Caps coach mentioned that Ovechkin plays aggressively on the ice. Even though he may not be in his physical prime, he still knows how to land a good hit when needed. Just ask Cole Caufield.

Alex Ovechkin almost obliterated the Canadiens forward

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be hit by an actual Russian tank? Actually, you might want to check in with Cole Caufield from the Montreal Canadiens about that. Alex Ovechkin is 6-foot-2 and weighs somewhere around 238 pounds. Getting hit by him at that speed is definitely going to feel like being hit by a tank, no doubt about it.

But while the hit on Caufield was the most notable one, Ovechkin in fact ended game 1 with a whopping 7 hits! “Yeah, he’s a machine,” his teammate Tom Wilson said. “He brings a ton of energy to our team. That’s who he is on and off the ice. Just a high-energy guy. His whole career, he’s done everything. Score goals, hit, whatever it takes to win. They don’t make them like him anymore. He’s one of a kind, and we’re lucky to have him on our side.”

In Game 1, the Capitals faced off against the Canadiens, and Caufield took quite a tumble after getting hit by Ovi, landing hard on the ice. What does he think about it? In a chat during the intermission with ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Caufield talked about how Ovechkin’s physical play has made an impact. “I wouldn’t recommend it,” the Canadiens forward said.

Well, it looks like the 39-year-old literally put the Montreal player on factory reset. So, there’s quite an age difference here since Caufield is only 24 years old. Plus, he’s only 5-foot-8 and weighs 175 pounds compared to the Russian hockey GOAT. That must have really hurt!