Over the weekend in the National Hockey League, a significant milestone was reached as Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals surpassed Wayne Gretzky to become the all-time leading goal scorer. Comparable to iconic sports moments such as Hank Aaron’s breaking of Babe Ruth’s home run record, Emmitt Smith overtaking Walter Payton in NFL yardage, or LeBron James setting the highest NBA scoring record, this achievement is truly remarkable and spans Ovechkin’s entire career.
During Friday’s game, Ovechkin scored two goals to match Gretzky’s record, with Gretzky in attendance at Capital One Arena to witness the historic moment. As noted by Chase Jennings from RedState following the game, this achievement warrants greater recognition from the media. Subsequently, on Sunday, Ovechkin scored the only goal in the Capitals’ defeat against the Islanders, solidifying his position as the greatest goal scorer of all time.
Joe Beninati, a long-time announcer for the Washington Capitals, had the honor of calling both Alex Ovechkin’s first NHL goal and his record-breaking goal many years later. 🫡
Iconic. #Gr8ness pic.twitter.com/FVzkcYf2rn
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2025
Making this so iconic is that this is a prototypical Ovechkin strike. In the latter years of his career, Wayne Gretzky was known as much for assists as for being a goal scorer. He was renowned for feeding teammates from behind the net, a spot that came to be known as “Gretzky’s Office.” During his final season, arenas painted 99 behind the net to honor the all-time great. If there is an “Ovi’s Office,” it is from the top of the left circle where the sniper in his trademark yellow laces delivers a one-timer power-play slap shot.
What stands out even more about his record is the manner in which he broke the mark. In some of these player career instances, you enter into the barroom debate about the generational differences in accomplishing these figures. Aaron, for instance, needed far more games to pass Ruth in homers. Sunday’s goal was earned in Ovechkin’s 1,487th game – the exact amount Gretzky completed when he retired. This erases the dismissive argument that it was a mark reached by longevity.
What impresses about Ovechkin’s accomplishment is the contrast in careers. Gretzky emerged in the late ’70s and exploded in the 1980s, an era when goal-scoring was prolific. Between goalie conditioning and the revolution in their equipment, the modern netminders have become more of a puck-stopping force. If we want to argue on behalf of contemporary advantages, we could discuss perhaps the elimination of the two-line pass, although that did not lead to a surge in goal scoring.
Early on, Gretzky had years with logic-defying statistics. He had eight straight years scoring at least 50 goals, with four in a row of 70 or more, including the record of 92 scored in the ’81-82 season. He is also the only player to ever record 200 points (goals and assists) in a season, something he achieved four times. In his later years, there was a drop-off in production, and he scored 80 goals over his last four seasons, a figure more in line with his most prolific single years.
This is not an aging player legging out a career to pad the stat sheet. While not quite cresting those lofty Gretzky numbers in his career, Ovechkin at 39 is still producing at an extremely high level. The Sunday goal was his 42nd of the year, fourth best in the league at the moment, and putting him in position to hit 50 goals for the ninth time. He is leading the Capitals to a great season, one point shy of the best record in the league.
He has had this great season despite suffering a leg fracture in November and missing a month’s worth of games. More than this, his march to this record had also been waylaid by enduring a union lockout season and one other season canceled due to the pandemic. If he’d had those two additional years, Alex Ovechkin might have very well been on the verge of 1,000 goals.
This is an achievement that is truly remarkable, and to see a player at his age still delivering what would be considered a career season for most players is all the more impressive. This is history well earned. Call him the Gr8est, and you are not exaggerating.
ALEX OVECHKIN HAS PASSED WAYNE GRETZKY FOR THE MOST CAREER GOALS IN NHL HISTORY‼️#Gr8ness | @Venture_Global pic.twitter.com/Jl3LMYqeVI
— x – Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 6, 2025
