Alex Ovechkin career goal tracker: How close is the Capitals captain to breaking Wayne Gretzky's record | Sporting News

Bryan Murphy

There is only one name left for Alex Ovechkin to catch atop the NHL all-time goal leaderboard, and it's the greatest one of them all.

One of the most exciting races in the NHL for this season is Ovechkin's chase to break Wayne Gretzky's goal record. The Great One's mark of 894 has stood for over nearly three decades, and it was thought to be unbreakable. However, the Washington captain has emerged as a serious threat to dethrone Gretzky.

For the first time in his career, there is no one between Ovechkin and Gretzky on the all-time list. He passed Gordie Howe for second place last year, breaking Gretzky's record for the most 40-goal seasons in the process.

The Capitals star remains one of the game's most dangerous goal scorers. His signature one-time slap shot from the left dot continuing to terrorize goaltenders, even as he enters his 20th season in the league.

The question feels more like when, not if, the Great 8 will break the Great One's record at this point. But the 39-year-old Washington winger still has his work cut out for him.

Here is a look at where Ovechkin stands with regard to Gretzky's career goal record.

All stats updated as of 6 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024.

Gretzky surpassed Gordie Howe for the goals record with No. 802 on March 23, 1994. It occurred in the second period at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif., when Gretzky put the puck past Canucks goalie Kirk McLean to break the record, which had stood for 14 years.

Nearly 30 years later, Gretzky remains in first with 894 for his career. For as close as Ovechkin is, he is still 35 goals away from passing Gretzky, who scored his last goal on March 29, 1999.

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Gretzky holds a ton of records in NHL history, many of which will never be broken. But his career goal record is one that is certainly at risk.

As of Oct. 29, Ovechkin is 34 goals away from matching Gretzky's mark of 894, and 35 from taking over first place on all-time goals list. For his career, the Capitals captain is averaging 0.60 goals per game, meaning at that rate, he would score 50 goals in an 82-game season, a feat that Ovechkin is very familiar with.

Ovechkin has a chance at breaking the record in 2024-25. He needs more than 40 goals on the season, which is entirely possible for the Russian sharpshooter.

The Great 8 has stayed healthy for the majority of his career, so if we had to make a guess here at The Sporting News, we would say that Ovechkin does pass Gretzky as the NHL's all-time goal leader.

Ovechkin entered the 2024-25 season with 853 career goals. He is up to seven goals on the 2024-25 campaign, giving him 860 career goals.

Ovechkin has made scoring goals look easy in the NHL ever since he arrived in North America from Russia. In his rookie season, he put up 52 goals, finishing four shy of the Sharks' Jonathan Cheechoo for the Rocket Richard Trophy. However, he did earn the Calder as Rookie of the Year.

The Great 8 has gone on to win the Rocket Richard Trophy nine times, including hitting the 50-goal mark nine times in his career. No other player has won the award more than twice.

* Won the Rocket Richard Trophy^ Co-winner with David Pastrnak

Bryan Murphy joined The Sporting News in 2022 as the NHL/Canada content producer. Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games. A graduate of Quinnipiac University, he spent time in college as a beat reporter covering the men’s ice hockey team.