It’s exceedingly rare to have the proximity to a sports legend the way we do right now. We can go to his games, watch the press conferences after he sets and breaks all-time records, post about the moments as they happen. It’s a moment in history, and it’s so sweet to fully understand the gravity of the moment. If you don’t yet, or if you just want to get a full appreciation, this is for you. This is my attempt to quantify and qualify the greatness of Alexander Ovechkin.
His goal scoring is the big one, especially right now. If you’re reading this, then Alex Ovechkin is either tied for or has sole possession of the record for most goals scored in NHL history. That record was property of Wayne Gretzky, starting when he passed Gordie Howe’s 801 goals on March 23, 1994, and being pushed higher up to his 894th goal. It belonged to Gretzky solely from that day until 11,336 days later, when on April 4, 2025, Ovechkin got 894 of his own. I can’t imagine that it’ll take long for Ovi to move into sole possession of first place, and that record is going to be his for the foreseeable future. I will guarantee you right now that no player in the NHL today will get to 895, let alone the 900+ that Ovechkin will eventually finish his career with. Feel free to bookmark or screenshot; this won’t come back to haunt me.
The pace of his goal scoring is remarkable. Ovi has scored at a pace that outstrips everyone who’s played even nearly as many games. Limited to players who have crossed the 1,000 game mark, Ovechkin is first, with a scoring average of 0.6 goals per game in his 1,486 games played. Gretzky also scored at 0.6 GPG, but played an extra game. Other players, like the Hulls, managed to get close to that mark, but none passed it. There are six players, one of whom is the active Auston Matthews, that have a higher GPG, but none managed to play more than 915 games while keeping that pace. Matthews is at 622 games right now, and likely will start dropping off in scoring as he ages out of his prime. Gretzky did, everyone does at a certain point. Except Ovechkin.
Ovechkin doesn’t slow down in his scoring. He’s scored 31+ goals in every season except for the massively shortened 56-game 2020-21 season (he still scored 24 goals in 45 games, on pace for 35 goals in 66 games, if you roughly math it out to a full season). 2019-20 was shortened as well, with Ovechkin’s Capitals only playing 69 games. He still scored 48 that season and shared the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals. That’s not an easy award to achieve, by the way. Only Auston Matthews (3), Pavel Bure (2), Sidney Crosby (2), Jarome Iginla (2), and Steven Stamkos (2) have won it more than once since it was introduced in the late 1990s. Even if you were to go back and award it to every top goal scorer in NHL history, you’re only adding eighteen guys to that list. 23 players that can say they led the NHL in goals more than once, over 106 completed seasons. None did it more than Bobby Hull, who led the league seven times. I feel like I’m forgetting someone in all this. Oh right, Alex Ovechkin has done it nine times. More than Gretzky (5), more than Lemieux (3), more than anyone ever. No one has been able to keep up this kind of sustained scoring for this long.
One thing that helps with scoring is actually being on the ice to score. Ovi has top-tier availability across his career. One of his most famous quotes came after being hit with a puck and scaring the entire hockey world into thinking he was gonna be out with injury for a while. The very next day, he practiced like nothing had ever happened and, when asked, explained his miraculous recovery with a perfect four words: “Russian machine never breaks.” Nothing could better sum up the career of Ovechkin, who barely ever misses any time. He’s only missed 75 games in his entire career. Of those, 51 were from being hurt, and never did he miss a stretch longer than 16 games. That span actually came this year, because he broke his leg. It only kept him out for about a month. He’s played in over 95% of all possible regular season games, and 100% of the playoffs. Sidney Crosby, who came into the league at the same time as Ovechkin, has missed well over 200 games in the same span. They’re two of only twelve or so players that were drafted before they played their first game (excluding free agents, AHL-assigned players, and functionally retired players on LTIR), which goes to show you how rare it is to have a career this long. Guys like Corey Perry and Brent Burns have missed months at a time in their careers, which isn’t super abnormal, especially when playing for close to or over two decades. That just doesn’t happen to Ovi. Even looking outside of hockey, to a sport with an identical season length and another all-time great, LeBron James is a player who has been über-consistent and available more often than many of his peers. He’s only played in a little over 88% of his possible regular season games. That’s great, but it’s not 95+% great. Ovechkin is great on a different level.
It’s not easy to play that often for any player, but it’s especially tough for the ones that get physical. Alex Ovechkin gets physical like no one who’s ever been even close to his level of scoring. He’s thrown the third most hits of anyone since the stat started being tracked in 2005. By the end of his career, he’ll likely finish first or second. No one on that list is a scorer you can even compare to Ovechkin. People can talk about Ovi’s defensive lapses, and they have been there at times, but he is a force. He can create turnovers and opportunities just by his presence on the defensive end, because no one wants to get bowled over by a 6’3″ 240lb monster. He uses his body better and more often than anyone else who you could even call productive on offense, let alone the most productive scorer ever. The video that this graph is from is linked at the bottom of this post, and you should watch it because District 5 makes great videos, but you just have to see this. It’s insane.
Also, another crazy graphic, from all the way back around goal #788.
This bit I want to look at might not be super quantifiable (unless you want to look at all the team success it’s brought), but Alex Ovechkin is a true captain and leader. He got criticism (from people who didn’t know what they were talking about) early in his career for being too flashy, too individual, and not leadership material. It was never true, and all he’s done since then is prove that. You can see it in how he celebrates all his teammates’ goals as if they were his own. You see it in how he called the whole roster from the bench and tunnel to the ice to shake hands with Marc-André Fleury, in the final meeting between their teams. It’s in the pre- and post-game videos, where he’s helped turn the Washington Capitals into the team with the best vibes and the most welcoming atmosphere in the NHL. How free agents and trade acquisitions from all over the league, including outcasts and alleged malcontents, instantly become best friends and find themselves at home. Ovi is 39 years old and has the energy of someone 20 years younger. He understands how to get his team on the same page, how to win, and how to conduct himself on and off the ice.
The last things I wanna show you are the records that Ovechkin currently holds. There’s a lot of them, like a lot a lot, like to the point where I had to zoom out to 80% just to be able to steal them in one screenshot from Wikipedia. I think they can speak for themselves.
Any one aspect of Alex Ovechkin’s greatness mentioned here would be enough to make him one of the most valuable players in the league. Anyone who can score close to this many goals in a career is a must-have. Anyone who can get you an almost guaranteed six goals every ten games is a must-have. Anyone who can lead the league in goals once, let alone nine times, is a must-have. Anyone you can rely on to be available in the biggest situations, and almost every situation, is a must-have. Anyone who can throw multiple big hits every game is a must-have. Anyone who can lead a team to outstanding success, incredible chemistry, and a Stanley Cup is a must-have. Anyone who can set over two dozen NHL records and sixteen franchise ones is a must-have. Combine all those things, and you have, inarguably, one of the greatest players in NHL history. We still get to watch this man play simply sensational hockey. Don’t take it for granted.
Here’s some sources used, some assorted clips, and other articles. I’d highly recommend checking them all out:
theScore – The Great Eight | The Story Behind Alexander Ovechkin – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puXuTQTr5fk
Jon Sorenson [NoVa Caps Fans] – How The Florida Panthers Schemed To Draft Alex Ovechkin in 2003 – https://novacapsfans.com/2020/04/13/how-the-florida-panthers-schemed-to-draft-alex-ovechkin-in-2003/
Paul Attfield [The Globe and Mail] – Ovechkin’s craziness makes the difference – https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/ovechkins-craziness-makes-the-difference/article1108804/
Ian Oland [RMNB] – The story behind Alex Ovechkin’s quote, ‘Russian machine never breaks’ – https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2019/12/02/the-story-behind-alex-ovechkins-quote-russian-machine-never-breaks/
Capitals Outsider – Games Alex Ovechkin Has Missed – https://capitalsoutsider.com/alex-ovechkin-missed-games/
NBC Sports – Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin knocks out Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov in Game 3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phvMyYKrZLc
SPORTSNET – GOTTA SEE IT: Alex Ovechkin Makes History By Scoring 700th Career Goal – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11eCWB1sJxg
NHL – Ovechkin scores 802, passes Howe for 2nd all-time – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQbIqz723h4
Ovechkin goal #883 – https://bsky.app/profile/glb.dogfishcr.us/post/3lj2cvfcy6c2l
Ovechkin goal #886 – https://bsky.app/profile/glb.dogfishcr.us/post/3ljy3ayuxa22k
Ovechkin goal #889 – https://bsky.app/profile/glb.dogfishcr.us/post/3llaqkgtfh22p
Ovechkin goal #894 – https://bsky.app/profile/glb.dogfishcr.us/post/3llzrhsvtwc2g
NHL – Top 10 Alex Ovechkin Highlight Reel Goals – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkwrByigcQ
Delta Highlights – 10 Minutes of Alex Ovechkin Dangles – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-62nzOtbGw
District 5 – Will we ever see another player like Alexander Ovechkin? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLEDK-9mwNA
Before the 2017-18 season – Alex Ovechkin tells media, ‘Not going to be suck this year’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC8eDZcf8Mw
After the 2017-18 season – Alex Ovechkin: “We’re not going to be fucking suck this year.” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL9AQ86p4Io
NHL – Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals lift the Stanley Cup! – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiezsZrOHAo
