Is Alex Ovechkin still in the hunt of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record?

There are several Wayne Gretzky records that will never be broken, such as his 50 goals in 39 in the 1981-82 season, his 215 points in 1985-86, or his point total of 2857. 

However, one of Gretzky’s records could be broken in the near future, and the Edmonton Oilers face the team that ices that player. In his career, Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1487 games, while Alex Ovechkin, one of the most prolific scorers in National Hockey League history, has 840 goals in 1407 games played.

You don’t need me to tell you how good Ovechkin is. He’s a nine-time 50-goal scorer and has hit 30 goals in all but one (soon to be two) of his 19 seasons in the NHL. The first time he didn’t hit it, he scored 24 goals in 45 games during the cursed 2020-21 season with only 48 games to hit 30 goals.

The soon-to-be season, obviously, is this season. After a 42-goal, 75-point performance in 73 games with the Washington Capitals in 2022-23, hopes were high that Ovechkin could get even closer to Gretzky’s record this year. However, he only has 18 goals and 48 points in 60 games this season for the Capitals, and is pacing for 24 on the campaign.

This season didn’t start off great for Ovechkin, as he scored just eight goals through his first 43 games played. However, he’s been on a bit of a heater recently, as he has 10 goals (and 19 points) over his last 17 games played. The Capitals only have 19 games remaining on their schedule this season.

Thankfully, Ovechkin still has two seasons remaining on his contract with the Capitals, meaning he has at least 183 more games to chase down Gretzky’s record. As of now, he needs just 55 goals to break the record. Easy for a prolific scorer, right?

Well, it’s not quite so easy to predict. There are a few factors that hinder Ovechkin’s chase, with the biggest being that he’s 38 years old and not getting any younger. When the last season on his contract rolls around in 2025-26, Ovechkin will start the season as a 40-year-old, and there aren’t a whole lot of 40-year-olds playing hockey in the NHL, much less scoring 20+ goals.

In fact, there are just 13 instances where a player 40 or older has scored 20 or more goals. Gordie Howe reached that plateau at ages 40, 41, and 42, and nearly did it at age 51 as well. Jaromir Jágr is the oldest player to hit 20+ goals, having done so in his age 43 season, as well as his age 41 season. Johnny Buyck and Teemu Selänne both were able to accomplish this feat in their age 40 and 41 seasons, while Dean Prentice, Mark Recchi, Dave Andreychuk, and Gary Roberts all did it once in their age 40 seasons.

With age comes a decline in ability. Every athlete in every sport has to face this, and it sucks seeing players you grew up watching retire.