Alex Ovechkin is the greatest goal scorer of his generation, and one of the best scorers the NHL ever has seen.
But could he become even more than that, and prop himself atop a perch many have felt was insurmountable?
Ovechkin sits 13th on the NHL’s all time goals list with 658 goals. While that tops the list for active players, Ovechkin is 236 goals behind Wayne Gretzky, who has 894 goals.
But nonetheless, the 33-year-old is gunning for the record.
“I have to be healthy. I have to be in good shape,” Ovechkin said, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “I’m going to try to do it, but you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”
Ovechkin said in 2017 the record could not be broken, but has changed his tune after keeping up his torrid pace over the past couple of seasons. He scored 49 goals last season and has 51 this year. Should he keep that pace, he could break the record in his age 38 season. So Ovechkin isn’t kidding when he says he has to stay healthy.
All that said, no one is catching Gretzky in the points department. You could take away all his goals, and he still would top the list on assists alone.
