Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will enter his 19th career season in the NHL during the upcoming 2023-24 campaign and he’ll do so just 72 goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in league history.
As Ovechkin draws nearer and nearer to the record, more and more people around the game will be asked about whether or not they think he’ll be able to claim the top spot for his own.
That question has recently extended overseas as former Caps forward and current head coach of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow, Sergei Fedorov, was queried by Russian outlet KP Sport about his former teammate’s chase of The Great One.
“You know, if you could look ahead, everyone would do it,” Fedorov started and as translated via Google Translate. “My answer is this. I want to wish Sasha good health, self-confidence, and great support from his loving family. Everything else is secondary. But, what you asked me, I think it will happen.”
Fedorov, the owner of 483 NHL goals himself, played with Ovechkin for parts of two seasons in DC before heading to the KHL to wrap up his playing days. Ovechkin passed him for the most goals scored by a Russian player on November 19, 2015 and for the most points (1,180) on February 5, 2019.
TJ Oshie scores after a brilliant assist by Alex Ovechkin. Ovi is now the all-time Russian points leader in the NHL (1,180), passing Sergei Fedorov. pic.twitter.com/KHoGkPsmci
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) February 6, 2019
Ovechkin has long been an admirer of his elder statesman. The Great Eight recently listed Fedorov as one of the most famous athletes in his phone contacts and named the Hall of Fame pivot to his “symbolic all-time team” this past May.
Fedorov has led CSKA Moscow to two straight Gagarin Cup championships in his first two career seasons as a head coach. Fedorov previously served as the team’s general manager for five years from 2012 to 2017.
“The greatest player, and now he is becoming a great coach,” Ovechkin told TASS in May. “I want him to continue. I don’t know what will happen next, maybe he will be the head coach of the Russian national team. I am happy for him and for the CSKA team.”
Now, Ovechkin and every Caps fan will be hoping Fedorov is just as good of a fortune teller as he is a player and coach.
Headline photo: @aleksandrovechkinofficial/Instagram
