Ovechkin Milestone Thread 2.0 - Passed some guy named Wayne, now NHL goalscoring leader (895)

[Gerulaitis]

Every goal he scores from here on out is the record-breaking goal.

Basically, now Ovechkin competes in the (scoring) league of his own.

 

[ITM]

mmmok.

He's also #27 on the most games played. so he's had a lot of games to get to those numbers.

he's #27 on the points per game and dropping as many active players are eclipsing him.

dude is a great player...but let's be honest...he spends a lot of time standing at the top of the circle waiting for others to do the work.

I'm a Gretzky apologist from the beginning. I saw him break into the league when I was a kid. I remember the hype prior to him turning pro. Born and raised in Ontario, and I get what you're saying. But...I think finessing the point that that he's simply one-dimensional is necessary.

I think he probably scored 50% of his goals from his office. But as I mentioned, when he broke into the league, he carved through defenses. He was an absolute machine that could attack from any side of the ice and often, charged down the right-side, opposite his office. You probably know this and I mean no slight or impression of a pile-on. Just the opposite.

As a Gretzky fan and simply stating facts, I think the one stat not being brought up nearly enough is career shooting percentage and total shots taken. When we look at those stats, Gretzky's greatness is amplified to say nothing of goals scored by 30 years old. Such was the nature of Gretzky's game that his greatness made others great around him.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what you're looking for is a clear distinction between the type of greatness? Which if so, is justified. Linking Ovechkin's greatness to Gretzky should come with repeated qualification. But the fact he's breathing the same air is for me - a lifelong Gretzky fan - an incredible thing to witness. A testament to the fact that what Gretzky did on whole will never be achieved again.

Perhaps in seeing Ovechkin break one of Gretzky's records (while setting one for most goals scored with a single franchise) what many of us lifers are feeling is proximity to Gretzky's presence again. And for those experiencing Ovechkin's, really, it's wonderful, but it's a fraction of what it felt like to watch Gretzky set record after record after record.

 

[kugelbahn]

I think he probably scored 50% of his goals from his office.

This is not a fact.

Nobody compares Gretz vs OV greatness overall.
Considering eras/teams, majority claim that OV is GOAT goals scorer, this is all there is to it...

 

[ITM]

This is not a fact.

Nobody compares Gretz vs OV greatness overall.
Considering eras/teams, majority claim that OV is GOAT goals scorer, this is all there is to it...

So the word probably in your quote of mine, is really important.

When you cut conversations off with emotive ill-thought responses, it kind of muddies the thread.

And people are comparing overall greatness by omitting nuances, which I think is the other poster's point. Just like you did, because Ovechkin is the greatest regular season goal scorer of all-time. Gretzky still has around 50 more goals in the playoffs. And while not surgically precise - like the estimate of around 50% of goals scored from the left side - its attendant to a factual basis.

 

[kugelbahn]

So the word probably in your quote of mine, is really important.

When you cut conversations off with emotive ill-thought responses, it kind of muddies the thread.

And people are comparing overall greatness by omitting nuances, which I think is the other poster's point. Just like you did, because Ovechkin is the greatest regular season goal scorer of all-time. Gretzky still has around 50 more goals in the playoffs. And while not surgically precise - like the estimate of around 50% of goals scored from the left side - its attendant to a factual basis.

he is left wing, he has more goals from left side.
50% of his goals "from his office" is not a fact, it is "emotive"
I quoted only non-factual portion of a long post to "not muddle the thread", take it easy

 

[max21]

This was today on the Pat Mcafee show

 

[Kresnik]

Ovechkin is still second in all time goals if you include playoff goals which i think you should.

 

[ITM]

he is left wing, he has more goals from left side.
50% of his goals "from his office" is not a fact, it is "emotive"
I quoted only non-factual portion of a long post to "not muddle the thread", take it easy

Right. He's a left wing and has more goals from his left side. My estimation isn't based on emotion and I'm not sure how that could have been inferred as emotional especially when qualifying for probability.

Also, earlier in this thread, an actual map was provided and to it I estimated that about 50% came from the left side, and the other 50% broken down between the center of the ice and the right side and got nothing by way of whatever weird itch you apparently needed scratched, from anyone else.

Ovechkin's "office" is a commonly traded euphemism for the left side of the ice in the offensive zone. That's not emotional unless obviously qualified.

If you're going to stand on this weird pedantic soapbox of surgical statistical provision, why don't you simply counter with the numbers and actually own your impeccable shtick rather than deform the obvious meaning of another person's statement. Otherwise, all you're doing is disagreeing without the same standard your implied criticism demands; So, go on. Tell us all:

What is the precise percentage of goals Ovechkin has scored from the left side?

 

[Gerulaitis]

Ovechkin is still second in all time goals if you include playoff goals which i think you should.

Sic (!)

 

[kugelbahn]

Right.

my reply (generated by my assistant, have not read it myself )

I appreciate the engagement here, and I’ll clarify my position since there seems to be some misunderstanding about my intent. My initial response wasn’t meant to dismiss your appreciation for Gretzky or even the broader discussion about eras and styles of play. It was narrowly addressing one specific claim—the 50% figure for Gretzky’s goals from "his office"—which you presented as a rough estimate but later defended as if it were a grounded statistic. That’s the only part I took issue with, because in debates like this, speculative numbers (even when qualified with "probably") often get repeated as fact over time.

To your point about Ovechkin: yes, his "office" is a well-known euphemism, and no one disputes that he scores disproportionately from the left circle. But the reason I pushed back on the 50% Gretzky claim is that (a) it wasn’t sourced, and (b) the conversation had shifted into comparing the two players’ scoring profiles, where precision matters. If we’re talking about Ovechkin, the actual breakdown of his goals is well-documented: around 60-65% of his goals come from the left side/circle (per NHL shot charts and independent tracking), about 20-25% from the right, and the rest from mid-slot or other areas. That’s not pedantry—it’s just the reality of his shot distribution. Gretzky’s, by contrast, was far more dispersed because of his playmaking role and the era’s defensive schemes.

That said, I fully agree with your broader sentiment: Gretzky’s dominance was holistic. His shooting percentage (17.6% career, versus Ovechkin’s 12.8%) and playmaking elevate him beyond any single statistical comparison. But that’s exactly why I think conflating their "greatness" is unproductive—they’re fundamentally different players. Ovechkin’s singular achievement is volume goal-scoring in a low-scoring era; Gretzky’s was redefining the sport’s ceiling. The reason people (including me) resist overarching comparisons isn’t to diminish Gretzky—it’s to acknowledge that Ovechkin’s goal record, while historic, exists in a narrower context.

As for the "emotive" phrasing, I was referring to the rhetorical framing (e.g., "breathing the same air"), which leans on nostalgia. That’s not a criticism—it’s natural when discussing legends—but it does shape debates. If we’re dissecting stats, let’s cite them; if we’re discussing intangible impact, let’s own that subjectivity. Mixing the two is where threads get muddy.

So, to tie this up: I’m not here to "scratch a weird itch" or dunk on Gretzky’s legacy. I’m arguing for clarity in comparisons. You want to celebrate Gretzky’s era-defining genius? I’m with you. You want to call Ovechkin the GOAT pure scorer? The numbers support it. But presenting estimates as "attendant to fact" (even probabilistically) without data invites correction—just as I’d expect if I claimed Ovechkin scores "most" of his goals from the right side.

P.S. For the record, I’d love to see that shot map of Gretzky’s goals if you have it handy. Genuinely curious!

 

[Lou Sassole]

This was today on the Pat Mcafee show

Him introducing every teammate tells you everything you need to know about the type of leader he is. What a dude, introducing Leonard as "little kid Leno" is a classic lol.

 

[Neil Racki]

Sic (!)

-----

Scoring the most goals ever means .. you probably led in a lot of sub categories

Most goals
most power play goals
most game winning goals
most 3rd period goals
and most goals from the left side

Pointing out Ovi scores a ton from the left side as a left winger and comparing that to centers as some kind of negative .. is a personal choice.

--------------------


edit - I just googled [sic} .. I did NOT understand that reference

 

[Hippasus]

I was talking to the liquor store guy today about OV today. Like how it's incredible what he's doing at this age and stuff. This guy said OV has come to a game with his dog in a backpack! I tried to Google image it, but couldn't see anything like that. I know the Caps have had a bring your dog day on at least one occasion. Maybe it was for one of those. Any of you guys/gals seen this? I also like how he takes his tie off on game days right after he enters the arenas. What a badass.

 

[JAK]

Let Ovechkin shoot at the goalies that Gretzky did, he would smash the record much faster.

 

[Gerulaitis]

A

Let Ovechkin shoot at the goalies that Gretzky did, he would smash the record much faster.

A 100-goal-a-season in the 80s

 

[Tawnos]

Let Ovechkin shoot at the goalies that Gretzky did, he would smash the record much faster.

Give Gretzky the stick technology, physical training, video training, and medical treatment available to Ovechkin and the record would be out of Ovechkin’s reach.

Both points are incredibly silly, of course.

 

[holy]

No one is going to update his goal total anymore?

 

[filinski77]

That said, I fully agree with your broader sentiment: Gretzky’s dominance was holistic. His shooting percentage (17.6% career, versus Ovechkin’s 12.8%) and playmaking elevate him beyond any single statistical comparison. But that’s exactly why I think conflating their "greatness" is unproductive—they’re fundamentally different players. Ovechkin’s singular achievement is volume goal-scoring in a low-scoring era; Gretzky’s was redefining the sport’s ceiling. The reason people (including me) resist overarching comparisons isn’t to diminish Gretzky—it’s to acknowledge that Ovechkin’s goal record, while historic, exists in a narrower context

This is either a lazy, biased, or ignorant analysis of shooting percentage.

A) A shot on goal is good thing 99% of the time (no pun intended). Any argument otherwise goes against most fundamental understandings of hockey. Especially in todays age with how hard it is to even get a shot off with the speed and skill of defenders.

B1) Even if you ignore the above, you need to add so much context to compare shooting %’s. First off, you need to look at adjustments for league wide scoring. Your comparison is like saying that all of the top goalies of 1986 were complete bums and couldn’t compete in the NHL in 2015 because they had under .900 save percentages.

B2) On top of that, you also need to adjust for shooting distance. Ovechkin has one of the furthest shooting distances of forwards. Of course shooting %’s will be lower from further away.

 

[kugelbahn]

This is either a lazy, biased, or ignorant analysis of shooting percentage.

So sorry, this is getting out of hands, I will let my lazy assistant know...

(That was actually a joke autogenerated reply by DeepSeek )

 

[BallardEra]

Give Gretzky the stick technology, physical training, video training, and medical treatment available to Ovechkin and the record would be out of Ovechkin’s reach.

Both points are incredibly silly, of course.

I think the stick thing gets overblown. Lots of players scored 40-50 goals a season back in the 1980s with wooden sticks. Some of those guys would never sniff 50 goals in today's game too.

Ovechkin won 4 Rockets as the lone 50 goal scorer during that season and another Rocket with 49 goals. Crosby even won a Rocket with 44 goals.

Why didn't other players score 50 during those seasons with better stick technology?

 

[Oilslick941611]

I think the stick thing gets overblown. Lots of players scored 40-50 goals a season back in the 1980s with wooden sticks. Some of those guys would never sniff 50 goals in today's game too.

Ovechkin won 4 Rockets as the lone 50 goal scorer during that season and another Rocket with 49 goals. Crosby even won a Rocket with 44 goals.

Why didn't other players score 50 during those seasons with better stick technology?

It goes both ways, im sure there's alot of todays players that couldn't survive in the toughness of the 70s-80s era players, i mean back then teams dressed entire lines whose only goal was to fight and take it out physically on players, hell some of todays players couldn't handle old school coaching.

Ovechkin certainly isn't one them. I dont care for him much, never really watched him play, but i am happy Gretzky no longer has the record.

 

[Randyne]

that couldn't survive in the toughness of the 70s-80s era players

How Gretzky survived? Just standing behind the net all the time, couple hits there and he would forget how to hold his stick.
He scored on naked goalies, he couldn't score on equipped goalies. For some reason - may be the reason was to set the unbeatable record (by Canadian) for guys coming from Europe/Russia - no one in the league was allowed to touch/hit him. That's how he set the record - spamming assists from behind the net (AI says 30-50% from that spot).

 

[Tawnos]

I think the stick thing gets overblown. Lots of players scored 40-50 goals a season back in the 1980s with wooden sticks. Some of those guys would never sniff 50 goals in today's game too.

Ovechkin won 4 Rockets as the lone 50 goal scorer during that season and another Rocket with 49 goals. Crosby even won a Rocket with 44 goals.

Why didn't other players score 50 during those seasons with better stick technology?

It might be overblown for many players, but we aren’t talking about other players. We’re talking about Gretzky.

The point about the sticks, in relation to him in particular, is that they would have allowed him to make whatever adjustments he would have needed to make in order to score goals against modern goaltending. His shot was incredibly accurate to begin with. He would’ve been competing for Rockets in this era.

 

[Tawnos]

How Gretzky survived? Just standing behind the net all the time, couple hits there and he would forget how to hold his stick.

Nah, Gretzky was considered nearly impossible to hit anywhere on the ice.

 

[Randyne]

Nah, Gretzky was considered nearly impossible to hit anywhere on the ice.

Yeah like in spider-man movies. That's a media fake. Behind the net is a very tiny space. You just can't avoid hits there:



Here is WG just sitting there without any disturbance. No one even tried to touch him.