Alex Ovechkin, the Washington Capitals’ ageless wonder, seems to set a different scoring record every year.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Capitals captain adds another one to his gaudy list in 2025-26: most goals scored by an NHL player in his age-40 season.
On Sept. 17, the left winger turns 40, an age when most players have already retired and are starting the second phase of their careers.
But Ovechkin is just getting a second wind.
Ovechkin is coming off a season in which he scored 44 goals – tied for third in the NHL – despite missing 16 games because of a fractured left fibula. It was a season in which he passed Wayne Gretzky's 894 goals and became the league’s all-time leading regular-season scorer with 897 career goals.
Now, he has a chance to top the single-season record for a player in his age-40 season. The record is held by Gordie Howe, who at 40 scored 44 goals for the Detroit Red Wings in 1968-69, according to quanthockey.com.
'Defies Logic'
Ovechkin “defies logic and Father Time and everything else,” Washington GM Chris Patrick told NHL.com. “I’ll just be happy to watch it and kind of savoring every time we get to see him go out in a Caps uniform. So we’ll just see what he does this year.”
Just three players – Howe, Boston’s Johnny Bucyk (36 goals in 1975-76) and Anaheim’s Teemu Selanne (31 in 2010-11) – reached 30 goals in their age-40 seasons. Three others managed 20 or more goals at that age: Minnesota’s Dean Prentice (26 in 1972-73), Tampa Bay’s Dave Andreychuk (21 in 2003-04) and Gary Roberts (20 in 2006-07, playing for Florida and Pittsburgh).
Only 21 players in NHL history have reached double figures in goals during a season that started when they were 40.
Ovechkin, of course, had lots of motivation last year as he started the season needing 42 goals to surpass Gretzky.
Ovechkin Gifted All Capitals’ Players, Coaches & Staff Custom Watches After Breaking RecordWashington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will be the first to say that scoring goals truly takes a village, and when it comes to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, it’s a feat that he couldn’t reach alone.
New Motivation
Now, he figures to be motivated by the Capitals’ loss to Carolina in the second round of last year’s playoffs. He will be aiming for the second Stanley Cup in his storied career.
There is also the matter of what will happen after Ovechkin’s five-year contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season. Will he sign an extension with Washington and try to reach (gulp) 1,000 goals? Decide to return to Russia and play in the KHL? Hang up his skates and retire?
No one knows at this point.
While personal milestones are in the back of his mind, Patrick believes Ovechkin’s focus will turn more toward team goals and “What do I need to do to help the team win?”
In Howe’s age-40 season, he not only had 44 goals but contributed 59 assists, 104 points and a plus-45 rating in 76 games. He scored on 15.5 percent of his shots.
No one is expecting Ovechkin to crack 100 points at age 40 – he hasn’t done that since 2009-10 – but scoring 44 goals, as the Great Eight showed last season, is certainly not out of the question.
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