Will anyone break Alex Ovechkin’s all-time goals record?

Ben Steiner
Ben Steiner
Apr 7, 2025, 15:00 EDT
Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin
Credit: Dec 17, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) checks Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

When Wayne Gretzky set the NHL’s all-time goalscoring record at 894, many, including Alex Ovechkin, said it would have been unbeatable. 

That is, until Ovechkin scored his 895th against the New York Islanders on Sunday, setting a new standard and putting himself in a position to stretch the record even further through the final five games of the 2024-25 regular season and the final year of his current Washington Capitals contract in 2025-26. 

But are there any players that could surpass his mark, however large it is?

Tyler Yaremchuk and Matt Larkin discussed the players who could possibly challenge the record on Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live. 

Yaremchuk: Part of the never-to-be-touched conversation is this 895 goal mark, and however far Ovechkin decides to push it in the next year or whatever. 

What’s interesting about him? One is the unique blend of his physicality and the fact that he never got hurt. When you look at it, Auston Matthews is on the pace with whoever, whatever player you want to pick, but that’s the biggest thing that Ovechkin is going to have for him. As much as he lost time because of the lockouts, he also barely ever got hurt.  

Larkin: Especially when you look at peak performance, not just playing into your 40s, but I think Ovechkin and Tom Brady are in their own category for maintaining elite-level performance. With Brady, he was still winning Super Bowls and Ovechkin, he’s top four in the league in goals…They stand alone all-time in terms of what they’ve been able to do. 

If you look at Auston Matthews, he has 398 goals in 623 games. Ovechkin had goal 398 in 632, so Matthews has nine goals ahead of Ovechkin’s pace. But, Ovechkin missed 16 games with a broken leg this year; that was his longest absence ever. Matthews missed 20 games in his second year in the league. 

Once you factor in the durability there, I just don’t see anyone ever catching Ovechkin, especially because, like we said, it’s not like 895; it’s the final number. He’s probably going to get a couple more this year. Next year, the final year of his deal is probably going to be the final year of his NHL career. So, I think we’re looking at maybe finishing 930-935 goals and the sustained dominance, excellence and durability required to get there. 

I don’t know, maybe Leon Draisaitl, but he’s two years older than Auston Matthews, so I just don’t think anyone’s getting close right now.

You can catch the full episode and segment below…

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