Alex Ovechkin has reached another incredible milestone in his hockey career.
On Monday against the Colorado Avalanche, Ovechkin became the first player in NHL history to reach 7,000 career shots after firing five pucks on net.
Those five shots gave him exactly 7,000 in his career. Ovechkin added two more against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.
Ovechkin is the only player in NHL history to score 900-plus goals (917) and fire 7,000-plus shots on net. He now has a staggering 793-shot lead on second-place Ray Bourque, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who played 22 seasons in the NHL.
The NHL has tracked the shot stat since the 1959-60 season.
Most shots in NHL history
| Rank | Player | Shots |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Ovechkin* | 7,002 |
| 2 | Ray Bourque | 6,209 |
| 3 | Jaromir Jagr | 5,637 |
| 4 | Marcel Dionne | 5,363 |
| 5 | Phil Esposito | 5,166 |
| 6 | Al MacInnis | 5,157 |
| 7 | Mike Gartner | 5,090 |
| 8 | Wayne Gretzky | 5,088 |
| 9 | Brendan Shanahan | 5,086 |
| 10 | Brett Hull | 4,876 |
| 11 | Jarome Iginla | 4,759 |
| 12 | Joe Sakic | 4,621 |
| 13 | Steve Yzerman | 4,602 |
| 14 | Bobby Hull | 4,577 |
| 15 | Dave Andreychuk | 4,556 |
| 16 | Teemu Selanne | 4,540 |
| 17 | Stan Mikita | 4,482 |
| 18 | Sidney Crosby* | 4,417 |
| 19 | Paul Coffey | 4,389 |
| 20 | Patrick Marleau | 4,333 |
* denotes an active player
Ovechkin is the most prolific shooter in NHL history. He’s recorded 10 or more shots on goal in a game 53 times in his regular-season career. He’s hit his career-high of 15 shots twice: October 7, 2006, against the Atlanta Thrashers, and November 10, 2015, against the Detroit Red Wings.
Ovechkin has led the league in shots on goal in 11 of his 21 seasons, including in the first six campaigns of his career (2005-06 through 2010-11).
Alex Ovechkin’s shot totals per season
Highlighted seasons mean Ovechkin was the league leader
| Season | Age | Shots |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 20 | 425 |
| 2006-07 | 21 | 392 |
| 2007-08 | 22 | 446 |
| 2008-09 | 23 | 528 |
| 2009-10 | 24 | 368 |
| 2010-11 | 25 | 367 |
| 2011-12 | 26 | 303 |
| 2012-13 | 27 | 220 |
| 2013-14 | 28 | 386 |
| 2014-15 | 29 | 395 |
| 2015-16 | 30 | 398 |
| 2016-17 | 31 | 313 |
| 2017-18 | 32 | 355 |
| 2018-19 | 33 | 338 |
| 2019-20 | 34 | 311 |
| 2020-21 | 35 | 382 |
| 2021-22 | 36 | 334 |
| 2022-23 | 37 | 294 |
| 2023-24 | 38 | 272 |
| 2024-25 | 39 | 237 |
| 2025-26 | 40 | 138 |
Ovechkin also owns seven of the top 30 highest single-season shot totals in NHL history, including three of the top six (528 shots in 2008-09 – 2nd most; 446 shots in 2007-08 – 3rd most; and 425 shots in 2005-06 – 6th most). The Boston Bruins’ Phil Esposito owns the record, putting 550 shots on goal during the 1970-71 season. He scored 76 goals that year.
Since advanced stats were first tracked in 2007-08, Ovechkin has averaged over 10 shots per hour in every season except in 2025-26. He’s led the league eight times.
Alex Ovechkin’s shot rate per season
Stat began being tracked in 2007-08
| Age | Season | Shots per hour | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 2007-08 | 14.1 | 1st |
| 23 | 2008-09 | 17.4 | 1st |
| 24 | 2009-10 | 14.1 | 1st |
| 25 | 2010-11 | 13.0 | 4th |
| 26 | 2011-12 | 11.8 | 7th |
| 27 | 2012-13 | 13.2 | 2nd |
| 28 | 2013-14 | 14.5 | 1st |
| 29 | 2014-15 | 14.4 | 1st |
| 30 | 2015-16 | 14.9 | 1st |
| 31 | 2016-17 | 12.5 | 1st |
| 32 | 2017-18 | 12.9 | 1st |
| 33 | 2018-19 | 12.0 | 4th |
| 34 | 2019-20 | 13.3 | 3rd |
| 35 | 2020-21 | 12.4 | 3rd |
| 36 | 2021-22 | 12.7 | 8th |
| 37 | 2022-23 | 12.0 | 10th |
| 38 | 2023-24 | 10.8 | 22nd |
| 39 | 2024-25 | 12.3 | 2nd |
| 40 | 2025-26 | 9.1 | 40th |
Combining Ovechkin’s offense with his physical play — he has also recorded the third most hits (3,828) in NHL history — he’s arguably the greatest power forward of all time while also being the most durable.
