Ovechkin Milestone Thread - Countdown to 894

[VainGretzky]

Capitals have now 217 regular season games left before Ovie turns 40 (happens during the off season on September 17th, 2025). Tying Gretzky before that "milestone" requires 0.452 goals per game from today to the end of 2024-2025 season.

I think he will stay around for 1000

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Last I checked, Gretzky is still the top goal scorer and will likely always be, even if is record is passed, due to his dominance with his pass first mentality.

So Ovechkin is the greatest playmaker of all time due to his goal-first mentality?

 

[Beukeboom]

Ovechkin's a great, but dude has only five 5 on 5 goals this year lol it's getting embarrassing

I do believe "sissies" is a polished version of what Mr. Iafrate actually said...Anyway, would be fun to hear his take on this empty net bonanza.

 

[Monsieur Miz]

Hope he scores nothing but EN until he beats the record.

 

[Zuluss]

Sid got just as many points in less games. Just a statistical fact.

The fact is that nobody cares. Career points are longevity/durability measure, that's all they are good for.
If you are trying to argue that Crosby is somehow durable without being all that durable, that's a strange argument to make.

Both Ovechkin and Crosby provided about the same amount of offense over the course of their careers. If one looks at goals/primary points, Ovechkin provided maybe 7% more.
Neither one seems up to something incredible like beating Jagr in career points and starting chasing Gretzky. Both look to be on their way to making top10 ever in career points, which means both played for a long, long time and stayed pretty good.

In the end though, no one cares that Dionne has more career points and a higher career ppg than Lafleur. Well, yeah, we know Lafleur declined faster, and career points/ppg reflect that, but that's not what defines their comparison.
Unless the edge in longevity is massive (e.g., Selanne vs. Bure) or someone's longevity is out of this world (see Jagr/Howe), longevity is not that big of a deal.

 

[hirawl]

No politics so I got nothing. Just empty nets. I mean emptiness.

 

[Duder54]

LOL at people talking trash at Ovi's EN goals as though Gretzky didn't have his fair share as well.

Maybe people should look at the other side of the coin and ask how many GWG Ovechkin also has in his career.

One of the greatest players of his generation and of all-time. Period.

 

[Blades Ov Steel]

LOL at people talking trash at Ovi's EN goals as though Gretzky didn't have his fair share as well.

Maybe people should look at the other side of the coin and ask how many GWG Ovechkin also has in his career.

One of the greatest players of his generation and of all-time. Period.

The jealousy is astounding

 

[TheBeard]

ovi has a unique role where he floats around saving energy and then gets an easy ride while the other teams players are dead tired. ovi is an amazing goal scorer, but his empty net goals aint nothing impressive at all. he would already have 7 or 8 this season if he had taken his empty net chances, he has actually been poor at it thus far in 2022-23 and yet he is on pace to set a new nhl record again, that says it all about him being fed in a way we´ve not witnessed before in the history of the sport.

as hurricanefanatic pointed out, everyone but ovis fans admits its stat padding of the highest rank. thats whats so annoying.

Who. The f***. Cares?

God some of you are insufferable and need to not be so emotionally attached to sports.

 

[Duder54]

The jealousy is astounding

The sad thing is, if Ovechkin were Canadian, half of the maroons on here trying to discredit his accomplishments would be singing his praises from the top of every hill they could find.

 

[BallardEra]

I think he will stay around for 1000

No way.

I say he walks away at the age of 40 after his current contract is done.

 

[BallardEra]

LOL at people talking trash at Ovi's EN goals as though Gretzky didn't have his fair share as well.

Maybe people should look at the other side of the coin and ask how many GWG Ovechkin also has in his career.

One of the greatest players of his generation and of all-time. Period.

I think A LOT of people honestly don't want Ovechkin breaking such a sacred record of 894 career goals.

Due to this, watching him score into an empty net as he gets closer to the record isn't something they want to see or something that they like.

Please also know that the closer he gets the more this will intensify as well.

It's really that simple.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Only member of the 900 goal club sounds perfect…

 

[NORiculous]

I think he will stay around for 1000

Unless his team wants to park him beside every empty net for a couple of years, I don’t see him reaching that.

 

[hatterson]

LOL at people talking trash at Ovi's EN goals as though Gretzky didn't have his fair share as well.

Maybe people should look at the other side of the coin and ask how many GWG Ovechkin also has in his career.

One of the greatest players of his generation and of all-time. Period.

Wayne Gretzky scored 6.26% of his goals into an empty net. Ovechkin has scored 6.53% of his goals into an empty net. If OV had scored ENers at the same rate Gretzky did he would have a grand total of roughly 2 goals fewer to this point in his NHL career.

People make it sound like he has 150 ENers and all the other greats only had 10.

OV also plays in an era where there are far more ENs scored, so it makes sense for his percentage to be higher. If you look at the list of most EN goals in NHL history something like half of the top 25 are either current or just recently retired. And if you sort said list by highest percentage of goals being EN goals, Marion Hossa and Joe Thornton are the only retired players in the top 10

 

[NORiculous]

I think Brett Hull was and is the best goal scorer of all time. But OV will get the official title when he beats Gretzky.

 

[Midnight Judges]

I think Brett Hull was and is the best goal scorer of all time. But OV will get the official title when he beats Gretzky.

Brett Hull led the NHL in goals 3 times.

Ovie did it 9 times.

 

[hi]

Gretzky's historically poor vision prevented him from seeing that he should have scored more empty net goals and assisted on fewer goals to make his total goals and empty net goals records truly untouchable. What a shame.

 

[PaulD]

The fact is that nobody cares. Career points are longevity/durability measure, that's all they are good for.
If you are trying to argue that Crosby is somehow durable without being all that durable, that's a strange argument to make.

Both Ovechkin and Crosby provided about the same amount of offense over the course of their careers. If one looks at goals/primary points, Ovechkin provided maybe 7% more.
Neither one seems up to something incredible like beating Jagr in career points and starting chasing Gretzky. Both look to be on their way to making top10 ever in career points, which means both played for a long, long time and stayed pretty good.

In the end though, no one cares that Dionne has more career points and a higher career ppg than Lafleur. Well, yeah, we know Lafleur declined faster, and career points/ppg reflect that, but that's not what defines their comparison.
Unless the edge in longevity is massive (e.g., Selanne vs. Bure) or someone's longevity is out of this world (see Jagr/Howe), longevity is not that big of a deal.

Long response for a "nobody cares"

 

[SecretaryofDefense5]

I think Brett Hull was and is the best goal scorer of all time. But OV will get the official title when he beats Gretzky.

Based on…..?

 

[NORiculous]

Brett Hull led the NHL in goals 3 times.

Ovie did it 9 times.

Lots of ways you can turn the info.

Someone has to pass the puck.

Do you think that scoring empty nets requires a skill?

I don’t think anyone comes close to Brett Hull. OV had his moment but he is way passed that now.

Based on…..?

Scoring goals?

 

[BallardEra]

Brett Hull? I think you'd have a better case if you said his father.

 

[NORiculous]

Brett Hull? I think you'd have a better case if you said his father.

Yeah, Bobby was good and so was Bossy.

Had Bossy done it for more games, I would have said him.

I still think Brett Hull was and is the best pure goal scorer of all time. He did it for long enough and there was no padding, just skill.

 

[Hall of Faber]

Hope he scores nothing but EN until he beats the record.

If a team gets blow out by Washington they should pull the goalie with 5 minutes to go and give the puck to Ovi so he can score like 10 goals to help recoup the BS miss time he has dealt with. If he was 2 days older he would of had another 82 games on top of the lockouts and covid.

 

[User9992]

Sad this pass didn't end with Goal