Early 2022 predictions for Alex Ovechkin

The Washington Capitals are gearing up for a new season ahead. It’s time to make some early predictions. We did so with defensemen Martin Fehervary and John Carlson. Now let’s shift to forwards and kick things off with none other than Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin turns 37 on September 17. That’s a scary thought that Ovechkin is getting older. But he showed last season that he still got it and he doesn’t want to go away anytime soon.

Ovechkin had 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points. That’s another 50 goal season. He’s scored 30 or more in 16 of his last 17 seasons. The only time he didn’t was when the season was shortened to 56 games due to the pandemic.

Ovechkin signed a five year contract extension last summer. At the time of his signing, he needed to score 33 goals over those five seasons to catch Wayne Gretzky. Year one has passed and he had 50.

Now doing the math, Ovechkin needs 28.5 goals for the next four years. If he does that he will pass Gretzky and become the number one goal scorer of all time.

So far in his career Ovechkin has 780 career goals. This season he could move into second place and collect some milestones along the way.

Ovechkin is 20 goals from 800, 21 goals away from tying Gordie Howe for second place and 22 goals from passing him to be all alone second all time in the NHL in goal scoring.

When all is said and done, Ovechkin could very well reach the mark around 2024. It is certainly doable especially if he keeps up the torrid pace that he’s on.

Last season Ovechkin averaged nearly two goals per game with 1.9. In total he averages 3.4 points per 60 minutes of play. Father Time will be one year closer to Ovechkin, who has two sons Sergei and Ilya.

But those two sons will have a front row seat next year to greatness from their own dad. Sergei is now old enough to realize what his dad does for a living and soon Ilya will reach that age as his father gets closer to the record.

So with that said here is some early predictions. I think Ovechkin will have another 50 goal season. The final number is 52 to go along with 42 assists. It might be his last or second to last 50 goal season so enjoy it.