We are all lucky as Washington Capitals fans to have Alex Ovechkin on our squad. Last week he passed Jaromir Jagr for third place on the NHL’s all time goal scoring list, showing the entire hockey world that he is still going strong and not stopping anytime soon.
This season Ovechkin has 40 goals which is fourth in the NHL. He reached the 40 goal mark on Sunday evening against the Dallas Stars for the 12th time in his career. That ties Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. He is also the only player in NHL history to record 12 40 goal seasons with one team.
Ovechkin is also the sixth player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season at the age of 36 or older and the first since Teemu Selanne in 2006-07. Naturally, the great eight is on pace for 50 goals this season. He would become the only player in NHL history to reach the 50 goal mark at age 36 or older if he achieves that feat. He would also join Gretzky and Mike Bossy as the only players in NHL history with nine 50 goal season.
From the moment he was selected by the Capitals as the number one overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, he’s helped transform the town from a football city to a hockey one. Ovechkin ranks first in franchise history in goals, points, power play goals, game winners, overtime goals, shots, and multi goal games. In 1,260 games, Ovechkin has scored 770 goals and added 626 assists for 1,396 points. 120 of those goals were game winners and he’s accumulated 6,008 shots.
Since entering the NHL at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, Ovechkin leads the league in goals, points, power play goals, and game winning goals. He also leads int he NHL in goals since 1982-83 despite beginning his career in 2005. He’s the only player in the league to score 30 or more goals in 16 of the last 17 seasons.
He’s got all the accolades too. A Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy, Calder Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, three Hart Memorial Trophies, three Ted Lindsay Awards, and eight Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies. He’s the only player in NHL history to win a Cup, a Conn Smythe, Calder, Art Ross, Hart, Ted Lindsay, and Rocket Richard Trophy.
What makes passing Jaromir Jagr so poetic was that back in the early 2000s it was a blockbuster trade for him that harmed the Caps… or did it? While it did lead to a fire sale it led the Caps to drafting the best player in the world. And the rest as they say is history. We are all witnesses and it’s going to be a fun ride.