The Greatest goal-scorer in National Hockey League history is Alex Ovechkin!
Sunday afternoon, April 6, 2025, is now immortalized in hockey history as the day The “Great 8,” Alex Ovechkin, broke The “Great One,” Wayne Gretzky’s hallowed career goals record of 894 with Number 895 and of course, he did it on the power-play. They say records are meant to be broken. It took 31 years, from the moment Gretzky passed Gordie Howe, to get to where we are today and it will likely take at least another 31 years before anybody ever comes close to toppling the new Goal Scoring King of The NHL.
https://x.com/NHL/status/1908940174458831336
The chase, which began in earnest several years ago, really ramped up at the start of this season, when Ovechkin was 42 goals away from claiming the top spot. There was doubt he could do it this year, given his age (39) and how he had finally started to slow down last season. Then, he started the year red hot, scoring 15 goals in 18 games before breaking his leg to put the chase on pause.
Once he came back, Ovechkin picked up right where he left off, but time supposedly wasn’t on his side. 42 goals is a tall task for anyone, let alone a 39-year-old with 20 years in The League. Throw in the missed time due to the broken leg and it just didn’t seem like the record would fall this season.
Well, the one thing about Alex Ovechkin is that he has never conformed to public opinion. He has always been himself and that means he flies in the face of conventional thinking. He was supposed to be too old and slow to get to 895 this year. His body was supposed to break down before he ever got close to Gretzky’s sacred mark. This was the record that was never supposed to fall and yet, here we are.
https://x.com/NHL_On_TNT/status/1908945415560679895
Things really heated up over the last two weeks as Ovechkin seemingly scored every game to remove the question of IF and turn it strictly into a WHEN? Friday night in Washington D.C. against the Chicago Blackhawks, he entered the game with 892 goals in his pocket. He scored 893 early in the game and got 894 in the third period to tie Gretzky. He had the chance to get 895 but refused to go on the ice when Chicago pulled its goalie to give the Capitals an empty-net situation. He wanted the record-breaker to come against a goalie, not an empty-net.
https://x.com/espn/status/1908946846140998085
Sunday, on Long Island, at UBS Arena, against the New York Islanders and goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who he had never scored against previously, Ovechkin took aim at history and did not miss.
Seven minutes into the second period of the game, Casey Cizikas was called for tripping Rasmus Sandin to send the Capitals to their first power-play of the afternoon. 26 seconds into the power-play, Ovechkin’s longtime teammate and friend Tom Wilson sent a cross-ice pass to his Captain. Ovechkin received the pass at the top of the left face-off circle and let loose a blast from his office that beat Sorokin for goal number 895.
https://x.com/NHL/status/1908943646835044771
With 895 officially in the books, the question now becomes, how high will The “Great 8” climb and who might one day break his mark?
That first part is likely easier to answer than the second. Rumor has it that Ovechkin will leave The NHL after next season (the last on his contract) to go home to play in The KHL for a season before retiring from playing the game and transitioning to being a full-time owner of a team in Russia. IF that is accurate, then Ovechkin will likely finish his NHL career in the neighborhood of 930 goals.
Now for the hard part, who might surpass him one day?
A lot of people have drawn comparisons between Auston Matthews and Ovechkin over the last several years. Both are pure goal-scorers. Matthews is this generation’s most prolific goal-scorer. Could he one day catch Ovechkin? Probably not.
One thing that The “Great 8” enjoyed throughout his career was durability. Rarely, if ever, did the Caps’ Captain miss an extended period of time with an injury. The same cannot be said for Matthews, who has dealt with several notable injuries over the past few years. Sure, he still scores at an incredible pace, but the math isn’t in his favor.
Let’s say Matthews ends this season – his age 27 campaign – with 400 goals on the dot. And let’s say he plays through his age 40 season, just like Ovechkin is likely to do. If Ovi ends up with 930, that means Matthews would need 530 goals over a span of 13 seasons to claim the record for himself. That’s an average of 40.77 goals per season.
The Leafs’ Captain currently averages 52 goals per 82 games played in his career, according to Hockey-Reference. He won’t maintain that average as he enters his 30s. IF Matthews can score at a 50-goal-per-season pace for the next four seasons, he’ll chip 200 goals off the 530 that he would need, leaving him needing 330 over his final nine seasons to get the record. That’s an average of 36.67 goals during his age 32 to 40 seasons. So, not likely that he gets there. But there is a small chance.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl is probably the only other active player who would even draw any discussion regarding his potential record chase. The Oilers’ superstar currently has 399 goals and is in his age-29 season. Let’s say he plays through his age-40 season and finishes this year with 400 goals on the nose. That means he would need 530 goals over 11 seasons to catch Ovechkin. That’s an average of 48.18 goals per season.
There’s just no way Draisaitl is going to average almost 50 goals per year for the next 11 seasons. His current career average is 41 goals per 82 games played, according to Hockey-Reference. He’s not going to INCREASE his goal-scoring average by a little over seven goals per year as he enters his 30s. So, while we can’t say he DEFINITELY won’t get there, we can say the chance is minute at best.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of our system, congratulations to Alex Ovechkin on scoring career goal number 895! Your reign atop the career goals list should last at least 31 years, just like Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky before you.
