Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is already one of the most heralded players in NHL history. The legendary forward already has a ton of records on the NHL history books, but there’s one more still to go that could put him in the pantheon of all-time greats.
Ovechkin is on the verge of becoming the NHL’s all-time goals leader, and he can pass Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894 during the 2024-25 regular season. The Capitals standout currently has 868 career goals, so needs to rack up 27 more goals this season in order to top Gretzky’s record.
The 2023-24 campaign proved to be a mortal one for Ovechkin, who scored 31 goals last season, his lowest total in a full-length season since he netted 32 goals in the 2012-13 season. Ovechkin did have just 24 goals in 2020-21, but that season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 goals during the 2022-23 season, and has tallied at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
Alex Ovechkin WAS • LW • #8 Career goals 868 Last goal scored 11/18/24 View Profile
Ovechkin currently has tallied 1,575 points (868 goals, 707 assists) in his professional career. He made even more history in 2023-24 when he registered an NHL record 18th 30-goal season, passing Mike Gartner’s 17 for the honor.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin took another big jump toward Gretzky on Nov. 18 with two goals in a 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club. That came one day after a hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. It was Ovechkin’s first hat trick since Dec. 31, 2022. Monday’s game against Utah also represented another milestone: His 100th career multi-goal road game, also most all-time.
However, Ovechkin did leave the ice early with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. He did not return.
At this season’s pace, given health, Ovechkin would surpass