@redwings13400

It's even more bizarre when you realize how Ovechkin broke the record. Hockey players aren't supposed to produce this much when they're this old. Ovechkin's 'prime' age seasons, the ones where goal scorers are 'supposed' to have the best seasons of their careers, were actually moderately disappointing seasons for Ovi. The Caps organization went a little insane with a string of bad first and second round exits and hired coaches with defense first philosophies to try and force him to become a defender. This led to some of the worst seasons of Ovi's career during the years where most people that age have some of their best seasons.

The reason Ovi got this record is because of his absurd consistency. Goal scorers just don't stay consistent in their upper 30s/40s. Hockey players slow down, get injured, and there's a certain point where they just stop being able to do what they used to. Gretzky's last 30 goal season came when he was 33. Gretzky's prime years had him put up completely ludicrous numbers, but even he only did it for so long.

Ovechkin has scored 43 goals at age 39, while missing 16 games because he broke his leg! The only time he hasn't reached 30 goals was in a lockout shortened season where he hit 24 in 45 games. Ovechkin just hasn't gotten injured the way most hockey players do. He hasn't fallen off the way basically everyone else does. He's become a much slower skater over time, but he's made up for it with his absurd shot that's been ridiculously consistent over the years. After Ovi failed to break 40 goals twice in a row when he was 26/27, the chase should have been over. The decline had started, he was done. But he somehow came back and is still here, scoring at an absurd pace at AGE 39!!!

It's insane. This shouldn't happen, yet here we are.

@whatgoesbumpinthenight

To think he breaks his leg, recovers has the season he is having and breaks the record. Ovi will forever be the GOAT in my eyes.

@Blazekip

I can’t believe that I was able to watch ovi be this good, I was only a few months old when he debuted in the nhl

@checkmate9111

Plus he was robbed of many games during COVID and 2 Strike season lock-outs…Amazing !!  He should have over 1,000 now honestly.

@sethmizrachi8337

I think Ovi's record stands for another 31 years to be broken by his son, Sergei.

@Anthonial_Mjj

As a die hard Oiler fan, I never had any doubt for even a second Ovie would take this record. We don't call him the great 8 for nothing. He deserves every bit of this.

@alainsoucysergerie9879

I could swear I watched that yesterday.

@albertsampson6568

The best gift in life is that i was alive for both players. I got to grow up worh Gretzky. I grew older with Ovi. In between, we had the absolute best of the hockey years with players like Hull, Chelios, Crosby, Lindross, Kane and Teows, to stand out in that era of players and score more, is a testament to the russian bad ass he is.

@leonardmccannon3136

Ovi’s record is safe for a long long time. With all the attention given to the goal scoring record, one almost forgets  the  mind boggling gap in how many more points Gretzky has.  

He is statistically the most crazy outlier.  He was by  far the  best player of his era,  playing  many years on the best team of the era , playing against the most watered down opposition  thanks to the rapid NHL expansion in  the early 80s.league wide scoring was never higher than during that period.  It was the perfect storm to smash records to pieces. 

No modern NHL player is likely to even catch one of the top ten all time single season  points records - of which Gretzky owns 8 and Mario Lemieux has 2. 

There is no chance I live  to see Gretzky’s all time points record broken.

@theWashingtonPigskins

5:12 one of the more under appreciated reasons as to why Gretzky's record seemed unattainable is due in large part to Gretzky playing more than half his career in the 80s where scoring was historically inflated

@GreekboyyD

He had 525 goals at the time of that interview.

@dylanjacobson3112

To have that goal against phoenix against gretzky had to be the sign the universe wanted us to see

@gamingbtc

He's definitely going for 1000.

@RedboRF

great video, criminally underrated channel

@nicholasczech6973

Ovechkin is simply a gifted goal scorer. It is truly hard to imagine anyone breaking this record again. Gretzky’s points will also not be broken anytime or at all even. As great books, art, movies and video games. Some things will never be made that great again. The Lord of the Rings is a classic example.

@zacharyjeffares8158

Ovechkin 1,000 percent has a chance to become the first professional hockey player ever to score 1,000 goals. He has one more year left on his contract, so let’s say he scores 32 goals next season. That puts him at 930. All he would need to do is play 3 more seasons of 25 goal hockey and he’s got 1,002. Totally attainable for a 42 year old.
Less optimistically let’s say he needs 5 seasons to get there. If he plays 60 games a season for those years and scores a goal once every 3.5 games on average- he would get to 1,000 goals.

@eirikrdberg1161

The reason is that Ovechkin was great after 35. Unheard of. That’s why it will stand.

@sheaz1435

I remember playing NHL2005 and he still didn't have a player card. I broke the record with him back in 2005.

@NunyaBizness-z8f

Not only the goals, but Ovi's all round play should be noted.  He never had the talent on his line that Gretzky did - ergo why his assists record is safe, but Ovi will hit, backcheck, and win puck battles in a way the protected Gretzky seldom could.   At 39, to come back from a broken leg and still be in the top 5 goal scorers this year shows toughness and resiliency.   The simple WILLS himself to be the best.   For 20 years, he took a lickin and kept on tickin, and he ain't done yet.

@ADL21

He just said he's not gonna retire and with the way the Capitals reloaded the roster around him with younger talent growing into stardom he may just push for 1K in the next 3 years.