Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin broke the long-standing NHL record for goals scored Sunday, eclipsing the mark the legendary Wayne Gretzky set more than 25 years ago.
Ovechkin scored the record-setter, his 895th, in the second period against the New York Islanders. The matchup was immediately paused and a ceremony — with Gretzky on site — took place on the ice to commemorate the historic moment.
"What a day, huh?" Ovechkin said at center ice. "Like I always say, it’s a team sport. Without my boys, the fans, the trainers, coaches, I would never stand there and I would never pass the Great One. Fellas, thank you so much. I love you so much."
Ovechkin, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, has been one of the NHL’s most feared offensive players since his rookie season, when he scored 52 goals. He has scored at least 30 goals every year, excluding only the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season.
Ovechkin’s professional career began in Russia in 2001 with Dynamo Moscow. He was such a highly touted NHL prospect that the Florida Panthers even concocted a scheme to draft him in 2003, one year before he was officially eligible to be selected. (At the time, the Panthers argued Ovechkin was old enough to meet the league’s cutoff if his age were to include leap years.)
A tall, bruising forward with an incredibly strong shot, Ovechkin has gone on to set several scoring records, including most power play goals, most overtime goals and most goals with a single team. He is also tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for most 50-goal seasons.
Ovechkin has also won a record nine Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophies, given annually to the NHL’s top goal-getter. He has won three MVP awards, and he led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup win in 2018, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy that year as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
Ovechkin broke Gretzky’s record despite multiple obstacles that deflated whatever his final goal count ends up being. The 2004-05 NHL season, which would have been his first, was canceled because of a lockout. The 2012-13 season was shortened because of another lockout, and both the 2020 and 2021 seasons were shortened because of the pandemic.
In the playoffs, Ovechkin has 72 goals in 151 games. Washington has not appeared in the Stanley Cup with Ovechkin outside of 2018, however, and has not made it beyond the first round of the postseason since then.
As far as his future in Washington goes, Ovechkin signed a five-year contract extension in 2021 that runs through next season. In the past, he has hinted that 2025-26 could be his final year in the NHL before a possible return to Russia.
