Next winter, NHL players will participate at an Olympics for the first time in 12 years when the hockey competition takes place in Milan. But there is a growing possibility that Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, who by that point might be the leading goal scorer in the league’s history, won’t be allowed to join them.

The Washington Capitals lost a shootout contest against the Minnesota Wild in their recent contest. They managed to snag a point against a rock solid Wild team and their best player, Alex Ovechkin, took one step closer in his historic pursuit.