Alex Ovechkin wants to reach 1,000 goals (and he won’t make it this season)

Félix Forget
Alex Ovechkin wants to reach 1,000 goals (and he won’t make it this season)
Credit: John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images

A little over a year ago, Alex Ovechkin became the NHL's all-time leading regular-season goal-scorer. He surpassed the record of 894 set by Wayne Gretzky… and the Russian now has 929 goals to his credit.

And one wonders if anyone will ever break that record.

Especially since Ovechkin will be back in the NHL for the 2026–27 season. He's signed a new one-year contract and will have the opportunity to add to his goal total. And while many people expect this to be his final season, except that…

In an interview with the Russian media outlet Match.TV (which was picked up by RMNB), Ovechkin was asked if he wanted to reach the 1,000-goal mark in regular-season play over his career.

And the Russian, who is 71 goals away from that mark, said he wants to try to get there.

Ovechkin clarifies that all of this will obviously depend on his health and motivation. It's likely he'll reassess the situation based on how the upcoming season unfolds—taking into account his mindset as well as his goal total this season.

Because, in reality, he won't score 71 this season. If he wants to reach that mark, he'll need another big season in 2025–26… and (at least) one more season after that.

Keep in mind that Ovechkin will be 41 years old at the start of next season. That said, he's still just come off a 32-goal season, which suggests he still has some gas left in the tank.

And we know that the Capitals, who have been very aggressive this summer in adding talent, no longer need him to carry the team on his shoulders quite as much. Perhaps in a more limited role focused purely on offense, he might be able to score 71 goals within the next two or three seasons… assuming he stays healthy, of course.


In a Nutshell

– Interesting.

– Hehe.

– The Hughes brothers are at the ESPYS tonight.

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