Alex Ovechkin started the 2024-25 season scoring at the highest rate he has ever achieved. With 15 goals through his first 18 games, the Washington Capitals captain was barreling down on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.
The only thing that could stop his early-season tear was a broken fibula he suffered in a game against the Utah Hockey Club last Monday. After rarely getting hurt over his 20-season NHL career, Ovechkin’s injury halted his career goal total at 868, 26 goals from a share of the record with Gretzky.
Ovechkin’s absurd pace had him on target for a career-high 68 goals, smashing through the record as he needed just 41 at the outset of the year to tie Gretzky. If the 39-year-old winger makes a quick enough return, he could still have enough runway to complete his journey, and Gretzky recently relayed to CNBC that he would be happy to see that.
“People ask me about it all the time,” Gretzky told Joe Kernen on Squawk Box. “You know, I’m good friends with Alex…Alex is a special young man. I’m very proud of what I accomplished with the 894; nothing can take anything away from that. Alex has been exceptional for our game and for the Washington Capitals. I hope I’m the first guy to shake his hand when he does break the record.”
As he has done in the past, Gretzky compared his enthusiasm about ceding the record to how Gordie Howe treated him when he broke many of the records Howe held. Gretzky leaped Howe for the all-time lead in goals on March 23, 1994, scoring his 802nd career goal against the Vancouver Canucks.
“People used to ask me all the time, ‘Is Alex going to break your record?’ And I would say, ‘Yeah, eventually.’ That’s what happens. That’s progression in our sport. I can remember the day I broke Gordie Howe’s record. I can remember saying to my dad, ‘This is a catch-22 for me,’ because I idolized Gordie Howe so much, and he was not only the greatest player ever to live, but he was just such a gentleman.
“So, I can remember saying to my dad, ‘I’m kinda embarrassed a little bit that I’m going to break Gordie’s record.’ And, he goes, ‘You know what, you can’t be like that. Gordie’s very proud of what you accomplished. Just remember, one day, when somebody breaks your record, you have the same dignity as Gordie Howe.’ I remember I looked at my dad, and I said, ‘Well, can I enjoy this for just a couple days?'”
Gretzky believes part of his easygoing attitude about one of his primary records being broken comes from how little focus he put on setting the record in the first place.
“I never played and thought about the records themselves,” Gretzky said. “I was lucky enough to play on some great teams in some great cities. I always tell people it’s an honor and a privilege to play in the National Hockey League, and I never really sat back and looked at it. Now, if I scored two goals that night, I wanted to get three and four, but I think those are things that drove me. I wanted to keep playing. I wanted to be successful each and every night.”
Gretzky has previously said he’d like to travel with the Capitals once Ovechkin gets closer to the record-setting goal. If he does so, Gretzky could be one of the first to shake Ovechkin’s hand once the record falls, fulfilling his wish.
