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Monumental Sports owner Ted Leonsis talks about what's ahead
The Washington Capitals took on the Boston Bruins Wednesday at Capital One Arena in D.C. It was the team's first regular season game of the 2025-2026 National Hockey League season. Monumental Sports owner Ted Leonsis spoke with FOX 5 ahead of the game.
WASHINGTON - The Washington Capitals took on the Boston Bruins Wednesday at Capital One Arena in D.C. It was the team's first regular season game of the 2025-2026 National Hockey League season.
From the CEO:
Ahead of the game, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis spoke with FOX 5 about a wide range of topics.
Among them: how he feels heading into what may be the final season of 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin's incredible career.
"I’ve never had a conversation with him about it," Leonsis said outside of Capital One Arena.
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RAW INTERVIEW: Ted Leonsis talks about what's ahead for Capitals
FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal speaks with Monumental Sports owner Ted Leonsis about what's ahead for the Washington Capitals on their opening night and the impact of big league sports on the DMV.
"About a half dozen years ago, we were talking about his new contract, this five-year deal, and he said, ‘I’ll never take advantage of the fan base or the organization, and I know you won’t with me. If we don’t have a great team, and I’m not a great player and a great captain, I won’t play, but if I’m healthy and I’m playing well and I’m scoring a lot of goals and the team is great, who knows what the future holds, but let’s take it moment by moment, day by day,’ and that’s how we’re approaching this year. Let’s win a cup! You broke Wayne Gretzky’s record last year. We won the East, we lost in the second round. Let’s be focused now on why not try to win a cup?"
"At some point I’m sure Alex will want to talk," Leonsis continued, "but right now that’s what he’s focused on."
Local perspective:
Leonsis also gave an update on the massive, multi-year Capital One Arena construction project that began late last year.
"We’re on schedule, but we’re over budget, which I was expecting," he said, adding, "I’m looking at it as, we’re building a new arena. We’re not, it’s not a new paint job."
What's next:
FOX 5 also asked Leonsis whether he still has interest in buying the Washington Nationals should the team go back on the market.
"You know if the Lerner family, who are my friends and partners, ever think it’s a wise decision to sell the team or merge the team, we’d be very interested. Right now they’ve said, ‘no we feel a responsibility to rebuild the team,’ and so there are no conversations going on," Leonsis said.