Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is about to become one of the most heralded players in the world Story. The legendary striker already has a lot of records to his name history books, but there is one more that could put him in the pantheon of all-time greats.
With the 2024-25 season now underway, Ovechkin is on the verge of becoming the NHL's all-time leading scorer. Ovechkin can surpass Wayne Gretzky's mark (894) in the 2024-25 regular season. The Capitals star currently has 863 career goals, meaning he would only need to score 31 more goals this season to surpass Gretzky's league record.
The 2023-24 season proved fatal for Ovechkin, who scored 31 goals last season. Ovechkin's 31 goals were his lowest total since he scored 32 goals in the 2012-13 season. Although Ovechkin only scored 24 goals in the 2020-21 season, that season was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ovechkin scored 42 goals in the 2022-23 season and has scored at least 41 goals in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons.
Ovechkin currently has 1,568 points (863 goals, 705 assists) in his professional career. He made even more history in the 2023-24 season when he scored an NHL-record 30 goals in his 18th season, passing Mike Gartner (17).
Ovechkin reached the 10-goal mark for the season with a two-goal performance in the 3-2 win over Nashville Predators on November 9th. Ovechkin continues to maintain the pace he needs to catch Gretzky by the end of the regular season. Currently, Ovechkin is on pace for 59 goals, which would easily be enough to surpass “The Great One.”
Ovechkin will likely continue to be an established force on the Capitals' top power play unit, so scoring opportunities will be plentiful. He got off to a much better start than 2023/24, when he only scored five goals in the first two months of the season.
CBS Sports will keep an eye on Ovechkin's goals throughout the 2024-25 season and keep an eye on how close he is to surpassing Gretzky's record.
