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

[SML2]

I guess I have to admit this is happening.

I don't like Ovi. But I don't dislike him any more than I dislike non-Ranger players. I don't like players who aren't on my team. The only one I can think of that I really liked despite that is prime Wendel Clark. I loved that guy.

I was in the building the day he was drafted #1 by the Caps. My brother and I snuck on a bus driving prospects from our hotel to the arena and the last stop before the arena was to another hotel where they picked up Ovi, his brother and his parents. They sat down right in front of us, and Ovi's brother had a video camera and was making a video of Ovi and his parents speaking about the day in Russian. If that video ever comes out, you will see two guys who have NO business being on that bus seated right behind them. I swear on my kids that's all 100% true.

I took the under. I didn't think he'd get there. I bet on age and wear and tear.

I lost.

He's unreal. Nobody expects a guy his age to pop 40 goals in 60 games. If you took the names out of the equation and get Vegas odds on a player doing that, what do you think the chances are? 10%? 5%?

Ovi is a rare breed.

What sets him apart is not world class skill. This is the NHL. It's where world class players play.
What sets him apart is the same thing that set Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky apart from all the others. They never had a significant injury and played a long time. That allowed them to consistently put numbers on the board.

SO a player that comes in today would have to rope together 20 45 goal seasons in a row to come close to where we are at.

It's almost impossible.

You would need to:
Break into the league early
become a dominant player immediately.
Not get hurt, ever.
No lockouts/pandemics, etc.
Play on a team that is contender level for nearly 20 years

All that goes to show just what an accomplishment it is.


Hats off Ovi. You're the man. I was wrong about you. I am here to eat my crow. If it tastes like chicken, can I have it fried? I do like some fried chicken.

I'm going to order a whole bucket of crow by adding this:

Last season I said that if I were a player on the caps, I would take exception to the fact that the team was chasing a personal achievement and using a season of my prime to do so, rather than commitment to winning.

They are the best team in the Eastern Conference.

SO they proved me 100% wrong there as well.

Pass the hot sauce.

 

[Firsov99]

I guess I have to admit this is happening.

I don't like Ovi. But I don't dislike him any more than I dislike non-Ranger players. I don't like players who aren't on my team. The only one I can think of that I really liked despite that is prime Wendel Clark. I loved that guy.

I was in the building the day he was drafted #1 by the Caps. My brother and I snuck on a bus driving prospects from our hotel to the arena and the last stop before the arena was to another hotel where they picked up Ovi, his brother and his parents. They sat down right in front of us, and Ovi's brother had a video camera and was making a video of Ovi and his parents speaking about the day in Russian. If that video ever comes out, you will see two guys who have NO business being on that bus seated right behind them. I swear on my kids that's all 100% true.

I took the under. I didn't think he'd get there. I bet on age and wear and tear.

I lost.

He's unreal. Nobody expects a guy his age to pop 40 goals in 60 games. If you took the names out of the equation and get Vegas odds on a player doing that, what do you think the chances are? 10%? 5%?

Ovi is a rare breed.

What sets him apart is not world class skill. This is the NHL. It's where world class players play.
What sets him apart is the same thing that set Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky apart from all the others. They never had a significant injury and played a long time. That allowed them to consistently put numbers on the board.

SO a player that comes in today would have to rope together 20 45 goal seasons in a row to come close to where we are at.

It's almost impossible.

You would need to:
Break into the league early
become a dominant player immediately.
Not get hurt, ever.
No lockouts/pandemics, etc.
Play on a team that is contender level for nearly 20 years

All that goes to show just what an accomplishment it is.


Hats off Ovi. You're the man. I was wrong about you. I am here to eat my crow. If it tastes like chicken, can I have it fried? I do like some fried chicken.

This is one of the reasons I love the HFBoards. For this kind of little gem stories. Thank you!

Would fried crow with seasoning do?

 

[Golden_Jet]

Alex Ovechkin Turned Down Chance to Break NHL Scoring Record on Empty Net

Respect.

www.si.com

 

[ViD]

This summer Ovechkin will announce that next season will be his last one in the NHL.

The farewell tour will begin in earnest as the 2025-26 NHL season gets underway and unfolds.

Why you gotta make me sad like that

 

[Midnight Judges]

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was having to use era-adjusted goals as the crux of my arguments on message boards/reddit to defend the opinion of Ovi being the best goal scorer of all time. Now I don't need to use era-adjusted at all, and that feels pretty damn good

You should still use adjusted goals. It's much more indicative than comparing the 3.5 GPG 80s and early 90s to the 2.8 GPG 2010s as if they are the same.

 

[BallardEra]

From his age 36-39 seasons:

164 goals in 289 games played for a .5675 goals per game pace.

46.5 goal pace over 82 games.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

706 goals before 30 for Gretzky and 188 goals past the age of 30.

I had forgotten how badly Gretzky's goal-scoring deteriorated in his final season. He scored just 3 goals over his final 40 games! It's so much more meaningful that Ovechkin is going break the record, while still an elite goal-scorer.

For what it's worth - Gretzky was a highly competitive person. I don't doubt that if Howe had stayed in the NHL (instead of going to the WHA), and reached 900 goals, Gretzky would have found a way to score 950. Hopefully Ovechkin keeps going, and puts the record that much farther out of the reach for whoever the next contender is. There's a good chance that player isn't even born yet.

 

[SML2]

How do these guys still have writing gigs

Because clicks equal dollars, and like every business that has ever existed, the more money you bring in, the linger you will stay.

Writers are like weather men. They don't keep a batting average on how often weather men are right or wrong. THey judge them on how many people tune in to hear them.

It's the digital version of the old sports talk radio schtick where they throw out a crazy idea and the phone blows up with people telling the hosts why they are wrong. Meanwhile nobody turns the dial.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Didn't think we'd see it happen when he appeared to finally be slowing down a couple years ago. Here we are.

Very impressive longevity as a high level goal scorer for sure.

 

[Calderon]

Another angle to marvel how incredible the goal record is is to compare it with how Patrick Marleau broke Gordie Howe's record of games played. Marleau had reduced to a veteran role player with very pedestrian production (a total of 9 points in 56 games in his final season) and it seemed pretty obvious that the bid to break the record was the only thing keeping him in the league. Sharks fans may comment and fill in as I didn't follow Marleau's career closely but I think we can agree Marleau matches the definition of limping to the record. And we're talking about games ie. just participation.

Then we have the opposite, Alex Ovechkin, seeking to break the record in arguably the most coveted category, goals. With a handful games left in the season the 39-year-old veteran is 3rd in goals, 2nd in goals per game, amidst an active four-game goal scoring streak, 6th in goals created per game, scoring points at a higher rate (1.13) than his career average (1.09) and the only player in his EC topping team with a point per game campaign. The man is starting to look like a granpa but produces like a 25-year-old.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Ovi eats cheetos and pizza and washes it down with soda on game days. Breakfast of Champions!

 

[kaiser matias]

I had forgotten how badly Gretzky's goal-scoring deteriorated in his final season. He scored just 3 goals over his final 40 games! It's so much more meaningful that Ovechkin is going break the record, while still an elite goal-scorer.

For what it's worth - Gretzky was a highly competitive person. I don't doubt that if Howe had stayed in the NHL (instead of going to the WHA), and reached 900 goals, Gretzky would have found a way to score 950. Hopefully Ovechkin keeps going, and puts the record that much farther out of the reach for whoever the next contender is. There's a good chance that player isn't even born yet.

I've seen this noted a lot, and it's not accurate. Howe had been retired for two years before he went to the WHA, and only because of the chance to play with his sons. It's highly unlikely such an option could have come up in the NHL, and as such his totals would have been even lower (he had 786 goals at his first retirement).

 

[Golden_Jet]

View attachment 1006657

Pizza in a paper bag now lol ok.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

I'm not so sure about that. His eating habits have been the subject of numerous articles, and not in the healthy MacKinnon sense. And on Spittin' Chiclets a few years back, Orpik described him as a "farm animal". Which to me, just adds to the legend.

Alex Ovechkin’s ‘borderline inspiring’ diet includes gas station sub AND Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

Alex Ovechkin's diet has always amazed teammates, including Brooks Orpik who once famously called it "borderline inspiring." Now another one of his…

russianmachineneverbreaks.com

'Mama Luccia! Mama Luccia!' | By Brooks Orpik

It’s funny. Everyone is asking us about change. Now that we beat Pittsburgh all the talk is, “What did you guys do differently?”

www.theplayerstribune.com

Maybe he's cutting back on his food expenses.

 

[kugelbahn]

Pizza in a paper bag now lol ok.

No, it is his classic Subway meal from Dulles airport

 

[Hockey Outsider]

You should still use adjusted goals. It's much more indicative than comparing the 3.5 GPG 80s and early 90s to the 2.8 GPG 2010s as if they are the same.

Agreed. Ovechkin getting goal #895 will be a huge story from the perspective of casual fans (who take the numbers at face value, without doing any deeper analysis). It's good for the league, and good for Ovechkin's legacy, at least among casual fans.

But the reality is, Ovechkin has long since surpassed Gretzky's career value as a goal-scorer. The difference in the scoring environment is massive. Looking at it more analytically, goal #895 will only add to the substantial lead that Ovechkin already has over Gretzky. I suppose this makes it more understandable from the perspective of casual fans, but it actually understates the advantage that Ovechkin has.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Crazy, never thought I’d see this

Habs moms knew

 

[Demandedace]

Anyone heard from Morapanov today? That dude must be screaming from a rooftop at this point

 

[kugelbahn]

Anyone heard from Morapanov today? That dude must be screaming from a rooftop at this point

He probably got temporary relief with OVs leg, but seems to be gone now. Great HF Crash of 2025 could be to blame...

I think we will see resurgence of OV vs Crosby debates now, hopefully not in this thread.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Blows my mind that we're likely going to witness history tomorrow.

 

[AllAlphas]

Anyone heard from Morapanov today? That dude must be screaming as he throws himself from a rooftop at this point

FIFY...
His hatred of Ovechkin is bordering on sociopathic. His level of depression today must be epic.

 

[Hippasus]

Oates played with Hull when he had his 86 goal season. It's probably reasonable to assume he taught Ovechkin some of Hull's tricks.

If I recall correctly, he was told not to move and to be a sniper from standstill. At least in certain situations.

 

[BallardEra]

@Mulletman

You are now vindicated!!!:

Thread 'Ovechkin is now halfway to Gretzky!'

Jan 18, 2015

With a goal against the Stars Ovechkin now has 447 goals in the NHL. That's exactly half of what Gretzky scored. It took Ovechkin 9 and a ½ seasons, or actually 9 seasons if you count the 2012-13 lockout, to score 447. Ovechkin still has about 13 and a ½ season of hockey left so the question is, can he score another 447 goals to reach Gretzky? If not, how close will he come?

• Mulletman
• Replies: 206
• Forum: National Hockey League Talk

• 
• 

 

[BallardEra]

 

[Mulletman]

@Mulletman

You are now vindicated!!!:

Thread 'Ovechkin is now halfway to Gretzky!'

Jan 18, 2015

With a goal against the Stars Ovechkin now has 447 goals in the NHL. That's exactly half of what Gretzky scored. It took Ovechkin 9 and a ½ seasons, or actually 9 seasons if you count the 2012-13 lockout, to score 447. Ovechkin still has about 13 and a ½ season of hockey left so the question is, can he score another 447 goals to reach Gretzky? If not, how close will he come?

• Mulletman
• Replies: 206
• Forum: National Hockey League Talk

• 
• 

Yes, Ovechkin got there even faster than I thought. Now lets just hope he can score another 6 goals this season and hit 900 against Crosby in the final game of the season!