Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is already one of the hottest players in NHL history. The legendary forward already has a lot of records in the NHL history books, but there are still records left that could add him to the hall of fame of all-time greats.
Ovechkin is on track to become the NHL’s all-time goals leader and could surpass Wayne Gretzky’s 894 goals during the 2024-25 regular season. The Capitals standout currently boasts 866 career goals and would need to rack up 29 more goals this season to surpass Gretzky’s record.
The 2023-24 season has been a devastating one for Ovechkin, who scored 31 goals last season. Ovechkin’s 31 goals were his lowest point total since he scored 32 in the 2012-13 season. Ovechkin scored just 24 goals in the 2020-21 season, which was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 goals in 2022-23 and has scored at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
Ovechkin currently has 1,573 points (866 goals, 707 assists) in his professional career. He made more history in 2023-24 by surpassing Mike Gartner’s 17 goals for an NHL record 18 seasons with 30 goals.
Ovechkin, 39, had a hat trick against the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 17, making a big jump heading into the Gretzky match. It was Ovechkin’s first hat trick since Dec. 31, 2022.
At this season’s pace, Ovechkin will surpass “The Great One” before the end of the regular season. He has already scored 13 goals this season and is on track for an incredible 62 goals this season, second only to the 65 he scored in 2007-08, his third year in the league. This is the second record.
Ovechkin will continue to be a fixture on the Capitals’ top power play unit, so he’ll have plenty of chances to score. He’s clearly off to a much hotter start than he was a year ago, when he scored just five goals in the first two months of the season.
CBS Sports will continue to track Ovechkin’s goals throughout the season and see how close he is to surpassing Gretzky’s all-time record.
