Every rose has its thorn, and Wayne Gretzky’s thorn is none other than Alexander Ovechkin, who has been chasing down his all-time NHL goals record for some time now.
Although question marks were raised a few months ago about the realistic possibility of Ovechkin doing so given his poor run of form in front of goal, things have significantly improved and these days, at the NHL betting sites, it’s almost a matter of when he breaks the record, not if.
Ovechkin is Red Hot Right Now
What a turnaround it has been for the Russian Alex Ovechkin this season, after the first few months people were starting to question if he would even make it close to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record of 894 goals as he had only scored 7 goals and only scored in six games after the first three months of the season.
People were starting to question his goalscoring prowess and the calculators were at the ready with numbers being thrown around such as “if he stays averaging 7 goals per three months it could take him another 4-5 years to even get close to the great ones record”.
Fear not because, when January rolled around, Ovechkin stopped messing around, and since the turn of the year, he has been the 5th highest goalscorer in the NHL (not bad for a 38-year-old) with a total of 23 goals scored in 36 games.
This now leaves Ovechkin with a career-high 852 goals, and those 4-5 years that people were tallying up has now come down to most likely next season or the start of the following season (all things going to plan) and if not next year, it will almost certainly be before the end of the 25/26 season.
Ovechkin’s NHL Records
When it comes to this living legend, there’s a lot of records he holds in the NHL, including shots, points, assists, goals and specific team records. He currently holds an eye-watering 42 records. With that said here are his top goalscoring records as that’s the primary focus of our attention today.
- Most Goals in an NHL Season: 9
- Most Career Goals Scored on the Road
- Most Career Powerplay Goals
- Most Career Opening Game Goals
- Most Career Overtime Goals
- Most Career 30 Goal Seasons: 18
- Most Career 40 Goal Seasons: 13
- Most Career 45 Goal Seasons: 12
- Tied Most Career 50 Goals Season: 9
His latest achievement is breaking the record for the most 30-goal seasons in NHL history. Previously tied with two former players at 17 seasons, he scored a goal in the final game of the Washington Capitals’ season, marking his 18th season with 30 or more goals in his 19-year NHL career.
Goalscoring Projections
At the time of writing, Ovechkin is 41 goals away from equalling Gretzky’s record, and 42 goals away from becoming the NHL’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Throughout his Washington career, he has averaged 0.60 goals per game, meaning that in an 82-game season, he would score roughly 50 goals. However, we must take into consideration his age and the fact that he probably won’t play 82 games a season (something he has only managed 4 times in 19 seasons). You also have to keep in mind the fact that his goals per game have regressed in the last four seasons to 0.53 per game.
Our current projections say that Ovechkin will likely hit around 30-35 goals per game next season, meaning he will have to play at least two more years in the NHL to become the top goalscorer of all time.
It would make for great headlines if he was to score 42 or more goals next season. It is possible, but the reality is he will come very close next year and then should make hay the following season when he only needs 10-15 goals in 82 games. He will most likely have his eye on not only beating Gretzky’s record but also becoming the first player to score 900 career goals.
It’s safe to say no matter how many months or years it takes Ovechkin to score 42 more career goals, he will likely be sticking around until he breaks the record at the very least. Ovechkin has signed a contract with Washington until 2026, meaning he will be 41 by the time it runs out, and by then, he would hope to be pushing towards 950 career goals.
