Alex Ovechkin has maintained his track record of being a dangerous goal scorer throughout his career, and he will go down as one of the top offensive players in NHL history.
Ovechkin finally reached the NHL’s mountaintop as the top goal scorer in league history. Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky with the 895th goal of his professional career in Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders
Ovechkin has spent the last several seasons within earshot of Gretzky’s all-time goals record, and finally broke through Sunday afternoon. During the last three campaigns, the Capitals star has compiled 115 goals to reach the illustrious plateau.
Alex Ovechkin stats, records: A look at the Capitals star by the numbers after passing Wayne Gretzky
Austin Nivison
Over the past three seasons, Ovechkin put together these stat lines:
- 2022-23 season: 42 goals and 0.58 goals-per-game in 73 games
- 2023-24 season: 31 goals and 0.39 goals-per-game in 79 games
- 2024-25 season: 42 goals and 0.69 goals-per-game in 61 games
Ovechkin ended up scoring six goals over his last five games to set the record.
The Capitals star was forced to deal with some adversity over the past two seasons that may have delayed reaching Gretzky’s all-time mark. In 2023-24, Ovechkin had what can be categorized as a down season in which he scored just 31 goals, the second-lowest total of his career. Meanwhile, Ovechkin also suffered a broken leg in mid-November and missed over a month of action.
Comparing Ovechkin and Gretzky
When looking at the careers of both Ovechkin and Gretzky, a large amount of uncanny similarities are evident. The most noteworthy being it took Ovechkin 1,487 games to score 895 career goals, while Gretzky scored his 894 goals in 1,487 contests.
Ovechkin had an opportunity to surpass Gretzky’s record in one fewer game as he registered two goals in Friday’s 5-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. With the Capitals leading by a goal late in Friday’s game, Ovechkin could’ve scored an empty-net tally, but in true Ovechkin fashion, he informed Capitals coach Spencer Carbery he wanted to dethrone “The Great One” with a goaltender in the crease.
The two players tallied nearly the same amount of goals in the same amount of games, and even scored at a very similar clip. Ovechkin is tied for seventh in NHL history with 0.60 goals per game. Ironically enough, Gretzky is tied with Ovechkin with 0.60 goals per game.
The conclusion of Gretzky’s iconic career was far different than the production Ovechkin has recorded in the latter stages of his career. Gretzky failed to reach the 30-goal mark in each of his final five NHL seasons, while Ovechkin has topped the 30-goal mark in every professional season aside from the 2020-21 campaign that was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, Gretzky tallied just nine goals in his final professional season in 1998-99. On the other hand, Ovechkin still remains one of the NHL’s most lethal goal scorers even at the age of 39, and recorded his 14th 40-goal season of his career in 2024-25.
Ovechkin’s path was more difficult
While Gretzky produced some superhuman seasons, it’s also worth noting the league was a completely different animal in the 1970s and 1980s when Gretzky broke in.
The athleticism of many of the league’s players, including defensemen, wasn’t quite what it is now, as the speed of the game has been elevated drastically over the last decade. Additionally, goaltending techniques and equipment have vastly improved over the last three decades.
For example, during the 1985-86 season when Gretzky registered a career-high 215 points (52 goals, 163 assists), only two NHL goaltenders tallied a goals-against-average under 3.00. Philadelphia Flyers goalie Bob Froese led the league with a 2.55 goals-against-average, while Montreal Canadiens netminder Doug Soetaert had the second-highest at 2.77.
Compare those numbers to the 2023-24 season, when 33 NHL goaltenders recorded a sub-3.00 goals-against-average. Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck ended up winning the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie with a 2.04 goals-against-average.
How far can Ovechkin climb?
Gretzky produced arguably the most impressive offensive career in NHL history, but the growth of the game certainly makes Ovechkin achieving the same feat all the more special.
With the all-time goals record officially in his rearview mirror, Ovechkin now has a chance to create some distance between himself and Gretzky. At 39 years old, Ovechkin has one more season remaining on his current contract, and the Capitals are battling for the Presidents’ Trophy this season. If Ovechkin decides that he wants to play a few more seasons, perhaps 1,000 career goals could be within the realm of possibilities.
Regardless of how many more goals Ovechkin can rack up, these two will always be considered some of the most lethal goal scorers to ever put on the skates.
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