Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin has signed a contract to play with Dynamo Moscow of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League during the lockout, the team announced Wednesday.

Ovechkin played 153 games for Dynamo Moscow from 2001-05 prior to starting his National Hockey League career. He made his professional debut for the club when he was 16 years old.

After Washington selected Ovechkin with the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, he returned to Dynamo Moscow and had 26 points in 37 games in 2004-05 to help the team win the Russian Super League championship.