Breaking the record doesn't seem as exciting as I thought it would be. I actually don't care who holds the record but congrats to Ovechkin when he does it. He has had an amazing career.
Ovechkin milestone thread - 850 and Beyond!
- Thread starter Lshap
- Start date
BallardEra
Leafs&Caps Since 1982™
It's funny because a lot of people said he'd never sniff the record and now that's he's close, some choose to not care or simply don't want him to break it.
I don't mean you in general but it is quite humorous reading different sites out there how much hate he gets.
I have always liked Ovechkin so I never really cared if he broke the record or not. He has had a great career regardless. It doesn't really change anything in my mind if he breaks it. For him personally it probably means a lot. I think it's good when records get broken and also not having every record held by one player.
thegazelle
Registered User
- Nov 11, 2019
- 326
- 561
I remember when I was a kid and Gretzky set all those records, I was like "no one will ever break any of these". I still think that his 215 points in a season or his 92 goals in a year will never be broken in my lifetime (since I am more than halfway through it, statistically), but it is nice to see Ovi on the precipice of breaking one of them.
I think part of this may be that Ovi has always struck me as a great player who never did stupid things off the ice or put his foot in his mouth or became a foil for NHL star players. His scoring accomplishments speak for itself and it is just so nice to have seen multiple generational talents in my lifetime. Whether one likes him or not, Ovechkin eventually breaking the record is good for the game, in my humble opinion.
I think part of this may be that Ovi has always struck me as a great player who never did stupid things off the ice or put his foot in his mouth or became a foil for NHL star players. His scoring accomplishments speak for itself and it is just so nice to have seen multiple generational talents in my lifetime. Whether one likes him or not, Ovechkin eventually breaking the record is good for the game, in my humble opinion.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Oh I definitely appreciate how much better Gretzky was than the next best guy. I think you could make a case that he had the highest goal scoring peak of all time in his early 20s. And I do think there’s something fun about the GOAT owning all the major records, by a huge margin. To the point that legends like Howe and Jagr could play to 50 and still not get all that close to him.
But if we look at career-long production, Ovechkin has been an absolute freak. I like the table @Randyne posted above — Ovie’s had TEN seasons that meet or exceed anyone else’s 4th best season. That’s just completely insane.
I’ve enjoyed Gretzky’s record while it lasted, but that record could never have existed if he had started his career after 1990. And for that matter it couldn’t have existed if he’d played in the Original Six era. As great as he was, he only put up those kinds of numbers on a firewagon dynasty in a high-scoring era. Ovechkin’s raw numbers are a little lower, but he’s (somehow, freakishly) been even better relative to the era he plays in, and he simply deserves the crown at this point.
I also love that Ovechkin isn’t playing to 50 to get this. He’s about to set the record while an elite player on a contending team. Remember, Gretzky hit 894 as part of a 9-goal season on a losing team, where their season was all about his personal farewell tour. He was done as an elite goalscorer by his mid-30s, so his last 100 goals or so were just him continuing to compile numbers. Ovechkin has been an actual 50-goal threat during that stage of his career, and a few months short of his fortieth birthday he somehow still has a large lead over the rest of the league in goals/game. He’s just a freak. The last guy that really blew my mind like this was late-career Mario.
I can’t get over the fact that Ovi’s 82 game average is 50 goals
zappa4ever
Music is the Best!
yup, I think this is often overlooked, that the early 80's Oilers were blowing teams out of the water on a regular basis, which is reflected in Gretzky's 255 goals while up by 2+ goals
Looking at just EDM's 1983-84 season, they scored:
7 goals - 16x
8 g - 5x
9 g - 5x
10 g - 2x
11 g - 1x
12 g - 2x
13 g - 1x
that's 32gms of 7GF or more.
good gravyHope it happens this season. The salt mines need refilling.
AD1066
Registered User
- Sep 30, 2011
- 7,749
- 4,286
What's really incredible is that number has hardly changed during his career. His cumulative goals / cumulative GP has very little variance year over year. He basically set a pace in his early 20s and then kept it up for two decades, in defiance of the normal aging curve modeled from the careers of thousands of other players.
People need to be reminded of this when they say things like can x player score as many goals as Ovi (Matthews being the main example of this). Ya the guy has a good goal scoring peak but Ovi’s level of goal scoring throughout his whole career is insane and might not be matched in our generation or likely even further then that
Hockey Outsider
Registered User
- Jan 16, 2005
- 9,568
- 16,096
Obviously the focus is on Ovechkin approaching goal #894, but there are a few more significant milestones that are within reach:
Most points for a single franchise
Ovechkin ranks 7th all-time for most points scored with a single franchise. He'll almost certainly reach 1,600 points this season. (He already has the record for most goals scored with a single franchise).
Most primary points
Ovechkin recently became the 9th player in NHL history to reach 1,300+ primary points (goals plus primary assists). Does he have it in him to get to 1,400?
Most even-strength points
Ovechkin will soon become the 10th player in NHL history to score 1,000 ES points. Not bad for someone who has sometimes been characterized as a powerplay specialist.
Most points for a single franchise
| 1 | Gordie Howe | 1,809 | Red Wings |
| 2 | Steve Yzerman | 1,755 | Red Wings |
| 3 | Mario Lemieux | 1,723 | Penguins |
| 4 | Wayne Gretzky | 1,669 | Oilers |
| 5 | Joe Sakic | 1,641 | Avalanche |
| 6 | Sidney Crosby | 1,636 | Penguins |
| 7 | Alex Ovechkin | 1,577 | Capitals |
| 8 | Ray Bourque | 1,506 | Bruins |
| 9 | Stan Mikita | 1,467 | Blackhawks |
| 10 | Mike Modano | 1,374 | Stars |
Ovechkin ranks 7th all-time for most points scored with a single franchise. He'll almost certainly reach 1,600 points this season. (He already has the record for most goals scored with a single franchise).
Most primary points
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | 2,218 |
| 2 | Gordie Howe | 1,547 |
| 3 | Jaromir Jagr | 1,450 |
| 4 | Mark Messier | 1,445 |
| 5 | Marcel Dionne | 1,393 |
| 6 | Ron Francis | 1,346 |
| 7 | Mario Lemieux | 1,344 |
| 8 | Steve Yzerman | 1,342 |
| 9 | Alex Ovechkin | 1,301 |
| 10 | Phil Esposito | 1,273 |
Ovechkin recently became the 9th player in NHL history to reach 1,300+ primary points (goals plus primary assists). Does he have it in him to get to 1,400?
Most even-strength points
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | 1,818 |
| 2 | Jaromir Jagr | 1,296 |
| 3 | Gordie Howe | 1,250 |
| 4 | Mark Messier | 1,162 |
| 5 | Marcel Dionne | 1,098 |
| 6 | Steve Yzerman | 1,077 |
| 7 | Sidney Crosby | 1,053 |
| 8 | Ron Francis | 1,040 |
| 9 | Phil Esposito | 1,006 |
| 10 | Stan Mikita | 987 |
| 11 | Alex Ovechkin | 983 |
Ovechkin will soon become the 10th player in NHL history to score 1,000 ES points. Not bad for someone who has sometimes been characterized as a powerplay specialist.
Yeah, Gretz had a typical goal scorers curve with peak and decline.
OV is unicorn with 50G average pace throughout 20 yrs career which is the only way to beat Goat's record it seems.
Funny because without lockouts he’d have over 1000 goals
39 and could pass for 49 with all that grey
Yeah, I was thinking recently about Ovechkin getting to 900 career goals, and then put it into perspective that 900 goals means a player would have to score an average 45 goals a year for 20 years. How many active players in the league have even scored 45 goals in a season?
Randyne
Registered User
- May 20, 2012
- 1,347
- 2,267
Only 23 active players:
| Player | 45G seasons |
| Alex Ovechkin | 12 |
| Steven Stamkos | 4 |
| Auston Matthews | 3 |
| David Pastrnak | 3 |
| Leon Draisaitl | 3 |
| Brayden Point | 2 |
| Evgeni Malkin | 2 |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 2 |
| Artemi Panarin | 1 |
| Chris Kreider | 1 |
| Connor McDavid | 1 |
| Corey Perry | 1 |
| Filip Forsberg | 1 |
| Jason Robertson | 1 |
| John Tavares | 1 |
| Kyle Connor | 1 |
| Mikko Rantanen | 1 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 |
| Patrick Kane | 1 |
| Sam Reinhart | 1 |
| Sidney Crosby | 1 |
| Tage Thompson | 1 |
| Zach Hyman | 1 |
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
I mean, just these first two data points. Unbelievable.
SherVaughn30
Registered User
Only time will tell. 50 in a season is not unreasonable the way he has scored 17 in 20 games! Something that might give OV a boost, is he's been resting for 16 games(5 weeks span).
TOT Goals When Team Leading 2 And More Goals (Seasons 1917-18/2023-24)
TOT Goals When Team Leading 2 And More Goals
% Goals When Team Leading 2 And More Goals (Seasons 1917-18/2023-24)
% Goals When Team Leading 2 And More Goals
TOT PTS When Team Leading 2 And More Goals (Seasons 1917-18/2023-24)
TOT PTS When Team Leading 2 And More Goals
% PTS When Team Leading 2 And More Goals (Seasons 1917-18/2023-24)
% PTS When Team Leading 2 And More Goals
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
yup, I think this is often overlooked, that the early 80's Oilers were blowing teams out of the water on a regular basis, which is reflected in Gretzky's 255 goals while up by 2+ goals
Looking at just EDM's 1983-84 season, they scored:
7 goals - 16x
8 g - 5x
9 g - 5x
10 g - 2x
11 g - 1x
12 g - 2x
13 g - 1x
that's 32gms of 7GF or more.
Gretzky stats by seasons:
| Season | Team | G_TOT | G_LEAD_2+ | %G_LEAD_2+ |
| 1979-80 | EDM | 51 | 11 | 21.57% |
| 1980-81 | EDM | 55 | 15 | 27.27% |
| 1981-82 | EDM | 92 | 32 | 34.78% |
| 1982-83 | EDM | 71 | 24 | 33.80% |
| 1983-84 | EDM | 87 | 32 | 36.78% |
| 1984-85 | EDM | 73 | 21 | 28.77% |
| 1985-86 | EDM | 52 | 18 | 34.62% |
| 1986-87 | EDM | 62 | 17 | 27.42% |
| 1987-88 | EDM | 40 | 14 | 35.00% |
| 1988-89 | LAK | 54 | 12 | 22.22% |
| 1989-90 | LAK | 40 | 10 | 25.00% |
| 1990-91 | LAK | 41 | 13 | 31.71% |
| 1991-92 | LAK | 31 | 10 | 32.26% |
| 1992-93 | LAK | 16 | 3 | 18.75% |
| 1993-94 | LAK | 38 | 7 | 18.42% |
| 1994-95 | LAK | 11 | 1 | 9.09% |
| 1995-96 | LAK | 15 | 3 | 20.00% |
| 1995-96 | STL | 8 | 3 | 37.50% |
| 1996-97 | NYR | 25 | 4 | 16.00% |
| 1997-98 | NYR | 23 | 3 | 13.04% |
| 1998-99 | NYR | 9 | 2 | 22.22% |
| TOT | 894 | 255 | 28.52% |
| Season | Team | PTS_TOT | PTS_LEAD_2+ | %PTS_LEAD_2+ |
| 1979-80 | EDM | 137 | 32 | 23.36% |
| 1980-81 | EDM | 164 | 37 | 22.56% |
| 1981-82 | EDM | 212 | 61 | 28.77% |
| 1982-83 | EDM | 196 | 53 | 27.04% |
| 1983-84 | EDM | 205 | 75 | 36.59% |
| 1984-85 | EDM | 208 | 54 | 25.96% |
| 1985-86 | EDM | 215 | 68 | 31.63% |
| 1986-87 | EDM | 183 | 52 | 28.42% |
| 1987-88 | EDM | 149 | 38 | 25.50% |
| 1988-89 | LAK | 168 | 37 | 22.02% |
| 1989-90 | LAK | 142 | 38 | 26.76% |
| 1990-91 | LAK | 163 | 45 | 27.61% |
| 1991-92 | LAK | 121 | 21 | 17.36% |
| 1992-93 | LAK | 65 | 16 | 24.62% |
| 1993-94 | LAK | 130 | 20 | 15.38% |
| 1994-95 | LAK | 48 | 6 | 12.50% |
| 1995-96 | LAK | 81 | 20 | 24.69% |
| 1995-96 | STL | 21 | 5 | 23.81% |
| 1996-97 | NYR | 97 | 22 | 22.68% |
| 1997-98 | NYR | 90 | 8 | 8.89% |
| 1998-99 | NYR | 62 | 19 | 30.65% |
| TOT | 2857 | 727 | 25.45% |
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Sincere thanks to everyone posting Ovi's eye-popping stats. As remarkable as they are, what I find equally amazing about Ovechkin is his sincere love for the game and respect for his peers. Two examples of why he's such a great ambassador for hockey. Seriously, what other player does this:
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