For only the ninth time in his storied 18-year career, Alex Ovechkin did not lead the NHL in goals. But he was the class of the league in a different category.
Ovechkin had the top-selling NHL jersey during the regular season for the second year in a row per Fanatics.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.
Ovechkin’s second straight Jersey Title win came as he passed Gordie Howe for second place on the NHL’s all-time goals list and hit the 800-goal milestone with a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks. He finished the season with 40 or more goals for the 13th time in his career.
Ovechkin was likely aided as well by the fact that the Capitals wore five different sweaters this season and he personally ended up having six different jerseys available on the Fanatics market in authentic and replica styles.
For most of the season, the Capitals wore their red home and white away jerseys, but they also had three alternate sweaters that they wore off and on.
The Capitals rocked a Reverse Retro jersey, which featured the Screaming Eagle on black. That jersey was wildly popular among Capitals fans and sold out quickly. The team also wore its third jersey, their navy blue W alternates, for the third consecutive year and had a special white jersey made for their Stadium Series game against the Carolina Hurricanes, featuring the Weagle logo on the crest for the first time. Ovechkin ultimately did not wear the Stadium Series sweater due to missing the game and being in Russia for his father’s funeral.
Ovechkin’s sixth jersey was the sweater that he wore for the 2023 All-Star Game, the final Reverse Retro jersey produced by Adidas.
Ovechkin beat out fellow superstars Sidney Crosby, David Pastrnak, Jack Hughes, and Auston Matthews, who rounded out the top five.
The Capitals, as a team, finished with the fourth-most jerseys sales in the NHL. The 65-win Boston Bruins ended up selling the most sweaters during the regular season finishing ahead of the New York Rangers (second), Pittsburgh Penguins (third), and Colorado Avalanche (fifth).
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
