After tying the Great One on Friday in a two-goal performance at home, Alex Ovechkin passed Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all-time goals list with his 895th career goal on Sunday against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
It was a remarkable moment and despite it happening on the road, the NHL and Islanders stopped the game for a full ceremony celebrating the accomplishment of the greatest player to don a Washington Capitals uniform. Gretzky was on hand and gave a brief speech congratulating Ovechkin, the first of many luminaries from the world of sports and beyond to do so.
Shortly after Ovechkin set the new benchmark for goal scoring, the NHL compiled a 90-second video of a number of legendary figures from across sports and entertainment offering their congratulations on the monumental achievement.
There were, unsurprisingly, a number of hockey legends like Mark Messier, Sidney Crosby, Jeremy Roenick, Martin Brodeur, Sergey Federov, Marie-Philip Poulin, Hilary Knight, PK Subban and Doc Emrick that offered messages to the Great Eight. Other big names in Washington sports like Jayden Daniels, Elena Delle Donne and Ryan Zimmerman showed love to one of the best athletes in D.C. sports history.
Alex Ovechkin stats, records: A look at the Capitals star by the numbers after passing Wayne Gretzky
Austin Nivison
The league also got greats from other sports in Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, LeBron James, Roger Federer, Buster Posey and Derek Jeter to send their congratulations, as well as folks from TV, music and film like Steve Carrell, Snoop Dogg, Dave Coulier, Pat Monahan, Vince Vaughn and Pat Sajak.
It is an eclectic group offering a glimpse at the impact of Ovechkin and the place he holds among not just hockey’s elite, but the sports world as a whole.
