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Alex Ovechkin named one of the NHL’s top 100 players ever

By Ian Oland

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January 28, 2017 12:00 am

The NHL is celebrating its centennial year and to mark the occasion, a blue-ribbon panel chose the 100 greatest hockey players of all-time. Friday night at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was named to that list.

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Ovechkin walked across the stage and shook hands with Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Patrick Kane. Sidney Crosby and Jaromir Jagr were the other only active players to be named to the list.

In 12 NHL seasons, Ovechkin has scored 548 goals and tallied 1,011 points – two totals that make him a virtual lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame after he retires.

After scoring last night against New Jersey, Ovechkin tied Michel Goulet for 28th all time in goals. His 1,011 points rank him 82nd, one point shy of former Blackhawks forward Steve Larmer.

Ovechkin’s milestones in the NHL include:

Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP): 2008, 2009, 2013
Lester B. Pearson Award/ Ted Lindsay Award: 2008, 2009, 2010
Art Ross Trophy: 2008 (112 points)
Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy: 2008 (65 goals), 2009 (56 goals), 2013 (32 goals; lockout shortened), 2014 (51 goals), 2015 (53 goals), 2016 (50 goals)
Calder Memorial Trophy: 2006
NHL First All-Star Team: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015
NHL All-Star Game selections: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017

Ovechkin was given a special blazer that included NHL100 centennial patch. His name was also sewn in the inside.

NHL100 Blazer

Other former Capitals that made the list include Hall of Famers Mike Gartner, Scott Stevens, Adam Oates, Sergei Fedorov, and Jaromir Jagr.

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More from the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin and Mike Gartner were named by the NHL as two of the League’s 100 Greatest Players on Friday at the NHL100 event in Los Angeles. The 100 Greatest NHL Players is the centerpiece in honoring 100 years of NHL hockey. A Blue Ribbon panel comprised of distinguished members of the hockey community – including executives, media members and NHL alumni – selected the list of esteemed players.

Ovechkin has earned 1,011 points (548g, 463a) in 888 career games with the Capitals. He ranks first in franchise history in points (1,011), goals (548), power-play goals (204), shots (4,416), game-winning goals (94), overtime goals (19), power-play points (393), multi-goal games (111) and multi-point games (291). In addition, he ranks second in assists (463) and fourth in games played (888). Ovechkin was drafted by Washington in the first round, first overall, in the 2004 NHL Draft.

Ovechkin earned his 1,000th career point in his 880th NHL game on Jan. 11 against Pittsburgh, becoming the second-fastest active player to reach 1,000 points (Jaromir Jagr: 763 games) and the 24th-fastest player to record 1,000 points in NHL history. In addition, he is the 37th player in NHL history to record 1,000 points with one franchise and his 545 career goals are the second-most through a player’s first 1,000 points (Brett Hull: 560) in NHL history. The 6’3”, 239-pound left wing became the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to score 500 goals (801 games played) on Jan. 10, 2016 against Ottawa, trailing Wayne Gretzky (575 games), Mario Lemieux (605), Mike Bossy (647) and Brett Hull (693) as the fastest to reach the 500-goal plateau. He has recorded 50 goals in a season six times, joining Bossy (9), Gretzky (9), Marcel Dionne (6), Guy Lafleur (6) and Lemieux (6) as the only players in NHL history to record six or more 50-goal seasons. The Moscow native is the NHL’s leader in career goals by a Russian-born player and his average of 0.617 goals per game is fifth in NHL history (minimum: 300 games played), trailing only Bossy (0.762), Cy Denneny (0.755), Lemieux (0.754) and Pavel Bure (.623).

Despite making his NHL debut in 2005-06, Ovechkin leads all players in power-play points since 2003-04, goals since 2000-01, game-winning goals since 1999-00, shots since 1998-99, power-play goals since 1997-98, hat tricks since 1996-97 (16), multi-goal games since 1995-96 and overtime goals since 1993-94. In addition, he leads the League in points since 2005-06, ranks second in multi-point games and ranks fourth in hits (2,398) among forwards.

Ovechkin ranks tied for first in NHL history in overtime goals, tied for 10th in game-winning goals, 13th in shots, tied for 15th in power-play goals and 29th in goals. He has been selected to eight NHL All-Star Games and has won the Hart Trophy three times, the Ted Lindsay/Lester B. Pearson Award three times, the Art Ross Trophy once, the Hart Trophy once and the Calder Memorial Trophy once.

Gartner spent the first 10 seasons of his 19-year NHL career with the Capitals after Washington selected him in the first round, fourth overall, in the 1979 NHL Draft. Gartner scored 35 or more goals in each of his first nine seasons with the Capitals and recorded 789 points (397g, 392a) in 758 games with Washington from 1979-89. He ranks third in franchise history in goals, points, game-winning goals and power-play goals and fourth in assists.

Gartner played 1,432 games with five teams in his NHL career, recording 1,335 points (708g, 627a) and ranks seventh in NHL history in goals. He was inducted in to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001 and holds the NHL record for most 30-goal seasons (17) and shares the record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons (15). He played in seven NHL All-Star Games and won the NHL’s fastest skater competition at the All-Star Game three times. Gartner became the fourth player in Capitals history to have his number retired when his No. 11 was raised to the rafters on Dec. 28, 2008.

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