Oveckin's season to remember, a 20th for the ages

Yet, one thing is certain; however you describe the 39 year-old's 2024-25 season, he exceeded expectations by a landslide.

If you'll recall, there were only whispers at the beginning of the season around the NHL's all-time goals record Ovi was chasing, just murmurs.

Then he did what Alex Oveckin does best - he scored goals.

In fact, 44 goals in 65 games, and added 29 assists, for a total of 73 points, better than a point-per-game, doing Ovi-type things. In the playoffs, he scored his first playoff overtime goal, against the Habs, and the Caps advanced to round 2 of the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Ovi would finish the playoffs with an impressive 5 goals and 6 points in 10 games.

But back to the regular season. When it began, Ovechkin went on a tear in the first month, and whispers about the NHL goals record became an actual conversation around the league, laying the narrative for the remainder of the season.

Then he broke his fibula and was sidelined for sixteen games, the rest of November and much of December.

But that did not stop the living legend. When he returned to action on December 28th, against the Leafs, he scored a goal, and continued to score, four in the next five games, in fact.

And The Gr8 Chase was on in earnest. With each goal that he scored the media increased, and the hype reached new heights. What might have been a distraction for most players, Ovi instead thrived with the attention.

Finally, against the Blackhawks on April 4th, Ovi scored twice and tied The Great One's record at 894 all-time goals, with NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman and Wayne Gretzky himself in the stands.

That same weekend, against the Islanders, Ovi scored the record-breaking 895th goal of his career.

However you describe what Ovechkin accomplished in the 2024-25 season at the age of 39, nothing says it better than having name in the record-book, right next to most all-time goals scored.