When the clock strikes noon on July 1, the league’s all-time leading goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin, will be an unrestricted free agent at the age of 40. Although he hasn’t confirmed anything, rumors are swirling that he could head home to Russia.
Ovechkin, who has 24 goals this season, has reiterated a few times that he would like to play for Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League again. He played for his hometown team in what was then the Russian Superleague, leading them to the RSL title before coming to the NHL. He also played 31 games during the 2012-13 lockout-shortened NHL season.
Wednesday night could mark the last time “The Great 8″ plays an NHL game in Philly (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max). And although many in the crowd will be looking forward to seeing the greatest goal scorer in NHL history up close for what could be the last time, Flyers defenseman Cam York has a different thought.
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“I feel like every time we play, I’ve never taken it for granted,” he said. “Obviously, watched him a ton as a kid, and he’s been an idol for so many guys. He’s grown the sport so well.
“I’ll never forget when he broke my foot, my first year on a one-timer. It was like my welcome to the NHL moment. So it’s super cool, and if it is the last one, thank God.”
Of his 921 regular-season goals, Ovechkin has scored 52 goals in 80 career games, including 28 tallies in Philly, against the Flyers. It is his third-most against any NHL franchise, with the Atlanta Thrashers-turned-Winnipeg Jets at No. 1 (58) and the Carolina Hurricanes second (53). He’s added seven more goals in 14 playoff games against the Orange and Black.
“I’ve just never seen someone love hockey goals more than him,” forward Garnet Hathaway, who played almost four seasons with Ovechkin (2019-23). “Like doesn’t even matter, if he’s on the ice, if he’s on the bench, if he’s scoring them.”
“It’s his shot, his shot is so lethal,” added captain Sean Couturier. “He can score from everywhere. Usually, you try to take guys away from the middle of the ice, and you give them the outside; him, even from the outside, he can score from there — he can score from the corner, probably too.
“The puck just always finds a way to go through goalies like good goal scorers do, and he’s the best of all time. So always a tough opponent to play against.”
Sam Ersson will start in goal for the Flyers on Wednesday and has allowed three goals to Ovechkin in five games. The last one was fittingly No. 888 for Ovechkin, when he somewhat whiffed on the puck but still found the back of the net in Washington, D.C., last March. As for the others, “One off a faceoff, they won it back, he shot it low glove,” Ersson said a year ago. “[And] a point shot was going 10 feet wide and hit [him] in the pants and goes in.