Illustration by RMNB’s Rachel Cohen

Wednesday, while doing some research, Dimitri “Mr. Sportsnet” Filipovic looked up the league-leaders in shot attempts since 2005-06. Alex Ovechkin is one of the most prolific shooters of all-time so we would expect him to lead.

But my jaw dropped when I saw by how much.

Came across this insane Ovechkin stat while digging something up. The league leaders in shot attempts since '05. pic.twitter.com/bRRTFknoCX

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) March 16, 2016

To use a NASCAR metaphor, Ovechkin is about to lap the field. He has a 3,004 shot attempt lead over second-place Eric Staal. 4,172 of those Ovi shot attempts have actually hit the net, which would put Ovechkin 11th on the shot attempt league leaders list. That is craziness.

This motivated me to look deeper. Via Hockey Reference, Ovechkin has led the league in shots in 10 of his 11 seasons in the league. He also ranks 18th all-time in overall shots.

We always say appreciate this man while it lasts. Well this is just another reminder.