SPORTS OPINION
On March 26, Alexander Ovechkin scored a goal in the second period to put the Washington Capitals 2-1 up over the New York Islanders. Seems normal, right? Something that happens every day in the National Hockey League? Wrong.
This was no ordinary goal; this was goal number 895, which broke the record for career goals set by Wayne Gretzky in 1999.
If those people and that record I just mentioned mean nothing to you, allow me to give you some context. Wayne Gretzky is the GOAT of hockey. Unlike other sports where there are hotly contested debates, there is no Lebron vs. Jordan or Messi vs. Ronaldo in men’s hockey—there’s just Wayne Gretzky. He stands alone.
When he retired, Gretzky held a staggering 61 NHL records, including most points, most goals, most assists, and pretty much any other offensive record you could think of. He broke Gordie Howe’s record of 801 goals in 1994, making another 93 over the next four years until his retirement in 1999.
Since then, many people believed that the record was there to stay. Eight hundred ninety-four goals represent such a high level of sustained production that beating it seemed out of reach, an impossible feat.
That said, people did think Ruth’s homerun record was untouchable, that Kareem Abdul- Jabbar’s NBA points record would never get beaten, and what did we see happen? Hank Aaron bested Ruth and then Bonds bested him; Lebron James roared past Abdul- Jabbar’s record and shows no signs of slowing down.
And now Ovechkin comes along, you might think worthy of assuming Gretzky’s mantle. It would seem now that Ovenchkin’s goal-scoring prowess would be indisputably the best of all time. You would think so, right? Not quite. For many still, Gretzky remains the GOAT, lost
record or not. I am here to tell you that those people are dead wrong, and the stats back it up.
Gretzky is undeniably an incredible player, and an incredible goalscorer, but the fact remains that he played in an era where goals were easier to come by. Gretzky spent his prime playing in the 80s against goalies using pads made of leather and packed with animal hair. These heavy pads limited goalies’ movement. This was coupled with the “stand up” style of goaltending, which meant that goalies had to move more to save shots.
Additionally, goalies in the 80s were on average four inches shorter than they are today. A hockey puck is only one inch thick, so Gretzky had four whole hockey pucks worth of space to work with compared with Ovechkin. If you add all these factors together, you get a decade goals-per-game average of 3.8. Ovechkin has played in a league with an average of 2.86 goals a game, nearly a whole goal less. Couple that with the more dynamic “butterfly” stance, and you have a decidedly more challenging environment in which to score goals.
Despite all this, Ovechkin managed to break Gretzky’s record in the exact same number of games: 1487. This is truly remarkable, and speaks to Ovechkin’s pure scoring ability. Ovechkin’s career is marked by his unstoppable slap shot. Time and time again setting up just above the left faceoff circle, Ovechkin patiently waits for a pass and then releases a blistering slap shot that goaltenders simply cannot catch.
Ovechkin is not just a one-trick pony however, he is capable of scoring off the rush, dangling past defenders, and even scoring while on his back.
He was also robbed of part of his career, with lockouts canceling or shortening the 2004 and 2012 seasons, and Covid reducing the 2020 season to only 52 games. Who knows how many more goals he could have now if he had played those games.
Heading into this season, Ovechkin was on 853 goals. The record was well in reach for his standards, but there was plenty of work still to be done. Ovi started hot, and seemed well on his way, but on November 18, disaster struck.
An ill-fated knee-on-knee check during a game against the Utah Hockey Club sidelined Ovechkin with a broken leg. I, along with many others, thought that spelled the end of the goal chase for this year. Surely a broken leg is not something you can come back from. Yet Ovechkin was back in action just 16 games later.
Ovi has gone on to score 42 goals this year, including number 985. All at the tender age of 39.
So to conclude, Gretzky is still the GOAT of hockey, but Ovechkin is deservedly the greatest goalscorer the sport has ever seen. He managed to best the Great One in a tougher era and thus should sit alone at the top. Anything less is a disservice to a remarkable athlete.
