Can Ovechkin catch Gretzky? Not likely
ST. LOUIS — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had his tongue out and his right leg in the air as he unfurled a wrist shot that fluttered its way into the net, carving out another slice of history for himself with that 30th goal of the season.
Way above Ovechkin in the St. Louis arena, Hall-of-Fame winger Brett Hull, 54, was standing in the press box minutes later, marvelling at the player who’s already joined him as one of the greatest the NHL has ever seen.
“Everyone thinks he’s always over here on his off side; well, he just scored over there from the right wing,” Hull said. “He got it, corralled it and fired it. There aren’t a lot of guys who have that ability.”
Ovechkin has arguably been compared to Hull most throughout his career for their shared elite goal-scoring ability. Hull finished with 741 goals in his 18-season career, and he played until he was 41, appearing in five games during the 2005-06 season. That was Ovechkin’s rookie year, and at 33 years old, he’s on pace to become the first player since Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos in 2011-12 to potentially post a 60goal campaign.
And because Ovechkin has finally added a Stanley Cup to his impressive resumé, the question surrounding him now is whether he can catch Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals for his career. Ovechkin currently has 637.
“All it depends on does he stay healthy, does he want to continue to play that long?” Hull said. “That’s an awful lot of goals. I remember when I hit 700 and I was like, ‘I’m still almost 200 away? I mean, it seems like you’re close but you’re really not. If anyone can, he’s the only one.”
Ovechkin has dismissed the thought that he could catch Gretzky. Before the season, he was asked about how long he might play — after this season, he has two more left on his contract with the Capitals — and he referenced wanting to retire feeling well enough that he could still play with his son, Sergei, who was born in August.
“The most important thing is I want to be healthy; I want to play with him when he’s going to be 10 or 12,” Ovechkin said.
Team owner Ted Leonsis also said recently that he couldn’t envision Ovechkin continuing to play once his production and role started to diminish. “The thing that I know intuitively about Alex is that he will only play if he’s great,” Leonsis said.