Wayne Gretzky’s goal record: Alex Ovechkin still doubts he can beat it

When you think of a sport, you always think of the best players in the sport’s history.

Indeed, every sport has one or more all-time greats.

In soccer, for example, we think of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

In basketball, we think of Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

In soccer, we think of Tom Brady.

And in field hockey, the most important sport of all, the name Wayne Gretzky comes to mind.

Gretzky left his mark on the ice hockey imagination, shattering every possible National Hockey League record throughout his 20-season career.

Gretzky scored 894 goals, 1963 assists and 2857 points in 1487 games for the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

For the most part, the records held by Gretzky are safe and should never be broken.

On the other hand, if there’s one record that’s been the talk of the town for a few seasons now, and one that could soon be broken, it’s that of career goals scored.

894 career goals is an impressive record that could be broken in the coming seasons by Washington Capitals legend Alexander Ovechkin.

Everyone believes that Ovechkin will succeed, but the man himself doubts it’s possible.

In an interview with MatchTV this week, the Capitals’ No. 8 said he still had doubts about breaking Gretzky’s goal-scoring record.

“I can’t predict how long it will take. God (knows). We’ll see how I feel. Every interview I’ve given in the last two years, someone has asked me about the record. Of course I’d like to beat it. I’ve said it’s unrealistic. Well, I still doubt it’s possible, but I’ll do everything in my power to reach that record.” – Alexander Ovechkin

Understandably, Ovi is very humble about the record, even though the entire field hockey world, including record holder Wayne Gretzky, believes that Ovechkin will surpass 894 career goals.

To put this into perspective, Ovechkin currently has 822 career goals.

That leaves him 73 goals short of Gretzky.

With three seasons left on his Caps contract, Ovi would have to average just over 24 goals a season to break the record.

This is more than feasible for the Russian, especially considering he scored 42 goals in 73 games last season.

In short, Ovechkin is taking this race for Gretzky’s record very seriously, but he doesn’t want to take anything for granted until it’s done.

It’s a big thing and he doesn’t want to have the mentality of a guy who’s guaranteed to break that record, even if Gretzky believes in him and wants him to break his record.

“Gretzky sincerely believes in me and expects me to break his record. I think all the fans want that to happen because it’s a great story. Just being in the running is worth a lot.” – Alexander Ovechkin

In a gust

– NHL news.

– Incredible.

A great player, Elena Rybakina. Taking the time to sign autographs at 3am for the fans. This is why we love the sport. ❤️ https://t.co/bFPnickBDr

– Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) August 12, 2023

– Big win for Australia.

– A beautiful moment.

Australian manager, Tony Gustavsson couldn’t hold back the tears after the Matildas made history! ❤️#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/yRTUVRsHEj

– TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 12, 2023

– Read more.