Alex Ovechkin Continues To Demonstrate Why He's The Best Pure Goal Scorer In Hockey History

On Tuesday night, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin made history as the first player in NHL history to register 18 30-goal seasons.

Obviously, that makes him the all-time leader in 30-goal seasons…

This comes as Ovechkin pulls within 42 goals of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring mark.

So… can we finally agree that Alex Ovechkin is the best pure goal-scorer in NHL history?

The Great 8 accomplished the feat during a huge game for the Caps — who are still very much in the playoff hunt — against the Detroit Red Wings.

That goal also proved to be the game-winner as the Caps went on to win that game 2-1.

I guess at this point, we shouldn't be stunned by Ovechkin carrying the Caps into the postseason. Keep in mind, that was goal No. 30 on the year — despite a 14-game scoring drought early in the year that left a lot of people wondering if Ovie had lost his scoring touch.

Of course, he hasn't because he's an absolute machine. How many other athletes can play at the level he has played at for almost two decades? And this is while he shows up for flights with a Subway sandwich and bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos for the ride. 

With Ovechkin just 42 goals off of Gretzky's 894 NHL lamp-lightnings, it looks like he will almost certainly do it if he plays at a reasonable level for the next year or two.

He's not going to drop 60-70 like Auston Matthews, but another 30-goal season wouldn't be crazy.

And what's wild is that had lockouts not cost Ovechkin a season and a half earlier in his career, he probably would have topped Gretzky's mark a while ago.

Sure, he's not scoring at the clip he was a decade ago, but Ovechkin still clearly has a scoring touch. I think we'll see Ovechkin eclipse Gretzky's mark before Christmas during the 2025-26 season. 

And then we start talking about whether or not anyone will ever be able to break Ovechkin's record.