Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin now stands alone in NHL history.
Early in the second period of Washington’s home game against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night, the future Hall of Famer scored the 900th goal of his 21-year career, becoming the first player to hit this mark. The only other players to score at least 800 goals in their careers are Wayne Gretzky (894 in 1,487 games) and Gordie Howe (801 in 1,767).
Undoubtedly, it’s a fantastic milestone for Ovechkin. But is it his most impressive?
What is Alex Ovechkin’s greatest accomplishment?
Ovechkin’s résumé is ridiculous. Along with being the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, the Russian has won a Stanley Cup, is a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner (MVP) and has made 13 All-Star Games.
Most fans will still say scoring 900 goals in 1,504 games is his greatest accomplishment, and for good reason. But Gretzky’s total doesn’t include the 46 goals he scored with the Edmonton Oilers and Indianapolis Racers during the 1978-79 WHA season. (The defunct league merged with the NHL in 1979.)
Gretzky also may have reached 900 goals had he played one more season. In 20 NHL seasons, “The Great One” averaged the same number of goals (49) per season as Ovechkin. He was a shell of his former self later in his career but scored 23-plus goals in two of his last three seasons.
So, what would be his biggest accomplishment? Perhaps it would be having the most seasons with 40-plus goals (14) in league history, ahead of Gretzky (12).
Over his past five seasons, Ovechkin, 40, has reached the 40-goal mark three times. In 65 regular-season games last season, he scored 44 goals, which tied Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson, 28, for the third most in the league.
Not even Gretzky, widely considered the greatest hockey player ever, can claim this level of longevity. He scored 41 goals in his age-30 season during 1990-91 with the Los Angeles Kings. He would never score 40-plus goals again before retiring at 38 after the 1998-99 season.
Considering Ovechkin has sustained this level of productivity in a sport like hockey — where players regularly fight — makes that feat even more impressive.
Yes, Ovechkin has scored the most goals in NHL history, but that may not be his most impressive achievement. It’s him being able to remain effective for so long, which is something even Gretzky struggled to do. In many ways, the Capitals star is an ageless wonder.
