Can Ovechkin pass Gretzky’s all-time goal record?

Photo courtesy of All-Pro Reels/Wikimedia Commons

Left winger Alex Ovechkin has become a household name in hockey blazing a historic path throughout his 19 year career in the NHL. With multiple awards and accolades his next triumph is to pass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record.

Washington Capitals hockey captain and left wing Alex Ovechkin finished the 2023-24 season with 853 career goals, putting him just 42 goals away from breaking one of the most impressive career goals you can make as a National Hockey League (NHL) player: Wayne Gretzky’s all-time career record of 894 goals. This 2024-25 season could be the year that Ovechkin finally breaks the record.

Since his debut in 2005, Ovechkin has been stunning players and fans with his offensive talents, scoring against 175 different goaltenders in his 19 years of playing in the NHL. Last season, Ovechkin had a slow start, scoring just eight goals in the first 43 games of the season, but picked it up by the end of the season, finishing with 31 goals for the year. 

In the last 36 games of this past season, Ovechkin had the fifth-best shooting percentage in the league, but he only averaged 3.4 shots per game, resulting in the lowest average of his career. Ovechkin said, “Every year it’s harder and harder to score…teams play differently. Goalies play differently. So, we’re just going to try to do our best to score goals, win games, and do all that kind of stuff.” According to the NHL. He is not wrong; hockey is evolving, and he is one of the oldest guys in the league at 39 years old, meaning that almost all of his opponents are almost half his age.

Ovechkin’s career has sparked talk of an NHL Hall of Fame nomination for years, and he will be known as one of the greatest players ever to play the game. He was drafted first overall by the Washington Capitals in 2004 and made his NHL debut in 2005. That same season, he earned the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year. Throughout his career, he has won the Hart Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player) three times, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy (NHL Leading Goal Scorer) nine times, the Art Ross Trophy (NHL Leading Point Scorer) once, the Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff Most Valuable Player) once, the Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player as voted by other players) three times, and has made 13 NHL All-Star game appearances. 

Ovechkin’s signature style of play, explosive speed, lethal shot, and overall physicality made him an immediate star, and he continues to stand out among the younger generations of hockey fans. The guy is one of the best at doing it, and it is clear when his accolades and accomplishments are a paragraph long. 

Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal record is deeper than individual accolades; it symbolizes an era-defining moment in hockey history. His relentless consistency, unmatched goal-scoring ability, and physical durability have redefined what many believed was an unbreakable record. Even if Ovechkin does not break the record this year, he still has until next season, when his contract expires. A part of me feels like he will not let himself hang up the skates until he rewrites history, so hopefully, this year will be his year.