Alex Ovechkin was asked to name his favorite NHL teams other than the Washington Capitals during a recent Russian-language interview with his friend and blogger Amiran Sardarov.

Ovechkin, a one-team player with the Capitals for his entire historic career, gave Sardarov two different answers. First, he chose a team he has had a ton of success against and matched up many times with to start his NHL journey in the old Southeast Division.

“I like Tampa – they play combination hockey,” Ovechkin said per a transcription by sports.ru and a translation by Google Translate. “Everyone plays a pass, it’s nice to watch.”

The Lightning, one of the league’s top offensive clubs and most successful playoff teams of the last decade, play the high-tempo, high-scoring style of hockey that Ovechkin perfected during his prime. The Great Eight also personally performs tremendously against Tampa Bay, tallying only more career points against the Carolina Hurricanes (104) and Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets (100) than he has the Lightning (96).

Ovechkin has scored 50 total goals against Tampa Bay in his career, second-most against any opponent. One of those goals sparked possibly the most talked about goal celebration in the modern NHL, the “Hot Stick.”

The Bolts also currently feature two prominent Russian players: Nikita Kucherov, the NHL MVP in 2019, and netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Vezina Trophy-winner that same year.

The other team Ovechkin chose is one he only gets to play twice a year.

“I like Edmonton,” Ovechkin said. “But again – it all depends on the players.”

The Oilers have Connor McDavid, the consensus best hockey player in the world. Ovechkin has previously stated that if he had to buy one current player’s jersey, he would buy McDavid’s.

Ovechkin has long been complimentary of McDavid, the NHL’s premier playmaker. The two superstars share the active player lead for most Hart Trophy victories (3) as the NHL’s MVP.

McDavid also once gifted a signed stick to Ovechkin as a gift for Ovi Jr.

“He’s from a different planet,” Ovechkin said of McDavid at the 2023 All-Star Game. “How he plays the game. How he controls the puck. He controls his speed. He’s very fun to watch.

“It’s not one player and one year,” Ovi continued. “He’s consistently doing it. Every year. It’s cool to see. It’s great for us. It’s great for fans. It’s great for the kids.”

By choosing the Oilers as his top Western Conference side, Ovechkin spurned his childhood favorite, the San Jose Sharks. Young Ovi was a huge Owen Nolan fan and received a Ulf Dahlen jersey from his father Mikhail as a child.