After Wayne Gretzky called time on his illustrious career in 1999, there was a massive void in the NHL. Although his shoes were too big to fill, in came Alexander Ovechkin after a few years, whose goalscoring exploits may just yet surpass the Great One’s. Joining the Washington Capitals in 2005, Ovechkin scored two goals in his very first game as he propelled his team to a 3-2 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This was the beginning of something special for Alexander Ovechkin as he went on to achieve numerous records in the NHL and is also nearing an all-time record held by Gretzky.

A career packed with achievements

Ovechkin has been a one-team man, playing for the Capitals since the beginning of his NHL career. He won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018 after 13 years of waiting. In the same season, he earned the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the most valuable player in the playoffs. Such has been the magnitude of Ovechkin’s career that he went on to break an illustrious record held by Wayne Gretzky as he achieved the most 40-or-more goal seasons, breaking the Great One’s record of 12 seasons in this regard.

But it doesn’t end there—Ovechkin also has several other NHL records to his name. At 9, he has the most number of Rocket Richard Trophies, and he has also recorded the most goals for a single NHL team. With 883 goals, he has broken the great Gordie Howe‘s record, who had 786 goals with the Detroit Red Wings.

Apart from his goal-scoring feats, Alexander Ovechkin also has many firsts to his name. During the 2012-13 season, he became the first player to be named to both the NHL First and Second All-Star teams in the same season. Additionally, Ovechkin has also earned the Art Ross Trophy, Maurice Richard Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Award, and Hart Memorial Trophy in a single season, becoming the first player to do so.

While Ovechkin has a big list of records to his name, he’s not done yet. The Russian legend could very well win his second Stanley Cup this season and is also nearing a major feat achieved by Wayne Gretzky years ago. And this just might be the greatest record of his career yet, if he gets there.

Alexander Ovechkin is on the cusp of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record

Over the course of a stellar NHL career, Ovechkin has scored 883 goals, and he is just 12 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record for the most goals scored in the league. In his 20-season stay in the NHL, Gretzky scored 894 goals, and the Russian star is closer than ever to overcoming the monumental record held by the Great One.

Interestingly, Ovechkin could’ve broken Gretzky’s record much earlier had he not missed five weeks with an injury toward the end of last year. He returned to action on Dec. 28, 2024, against the Maple Leafs, resuming his goal-scoring ways. Not to mention the time he lost due to the 2012 lockout and Covid-19-shortened seasons.

Alexander Ovechkin began the 2024-25 season with 853 goals and has scored 30 goals so far this season. With just 12 goals shy of Gretzky’s record, there is much excitement among hockey fans surrounding this massive feat. As a result, the “Will he do it this season?” subplot with Ovechkin has become one of the most popular storylines in the NHL currently.

But can he actually do it? When asked if it was possible after his hat trick against the Oilers on February 23, Ovechkin replied, “Game by game. Yeah, today I have pretty good chances to score more, but I’ll take three.” While Ovechkin is only now nearing Gretzky’s record, debates on whether he could really achieve it have been going on for years.

And it looks like fans will get a definitive answer soon enough. With the form he is in and if he stays healthy, he could very well break the record this season. This is something that the Capitals star has even discussed once before, and it was a surprising revelation indeed.

Alexander Ovechkin to retire after breaking Gretzky’s record?

Back in 2019, Ovechkin sat down for an interview with ESPN alongside teammate John Carlson and interviewer Linda Cohn. During their conversation, Cohn asked Ovechkin what went through his mind when thinking about breaking Gretzky’s record. He replied, “It’ll be nice; I’m not gonna lie, but you know it’s still a long way to go, you know. I don’t know how many pucks are behind them, but you know, before Gretzky, it’s a great name out there.”

Subsequently, Ovechkin was also asked how he would celebrate if he broke the record and what he’d do in the aftermath of it, to which he said, “Probably never going to see me on the ice again.”  While Ovechkin ended that conversation with a laugh, he is showing no signs of slowing down and is scoring goals better than ever.

Thus, it is highly unlikely that Ovechkin would retire after breaking Gretzky’s record, with his sights set on another Stanley Cup win with the Capitals. Furthermore, if he can reach 895, what’s going to stop him from going all the way to 1000?

He is, after all, a player who’s constantly reinventing himself. Just when it looked like he was beginning to decline in the 2023-24 season, he’s come back stronger than ever this season, showing that that year was but a blip in the grand scheme of things. “I’m okay; Russian machine never breaks,” remarked Ovechkin in 2006. And nearly 20 years later, Alexander Ovechkin is continuing to show the hockey world just how true that is.