Alex Ovechkin was, yet again, praised and celebrated for breaking the NHL all-time goals record. Before his first game back after becoming the greatest goal scorer in history, he was honored with incredible gifts from the Washington Capitals in a pre-game ceremony.
This season has, more than anything, been about Alex Ovechkin and his chase for Wayne Gretzky. When The Great One retired, he did so with 894 goals—a record many believed was unbreakable. Ovechkin himself, in an interview back in 2016, said it would be impossible. But he proved himself—and all the doubters—wrong.
This past weekend, he scored his 893rd and 894th career goals in a 5–3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, tying Wayne Gretzky for the most in history. The celebrations were wild already then, but things got even better a few days later, when Ovechkin scored his 895th goal to pass Gretzky and move into the No. 1 spot on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
Unique gifts to Alex Ovechkin
On Thursday, he played his first game since breaking the record—and for the first time, he was back in the Capitals’ arena. The organization did everything to show the respect and honor he so clearly deserved.
During the pre-game ceremony, Ovechkin was joined by his wife, Nastya, sons Sergei and Ilya, and his mother, Tatyana, along with Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and president of hockey operations Brian MacLellan. Ovechkin received an engraved gold stick, and his sons were given gold mini sticks as well. But the most remarkable gift was a six-foot sculptural painting shaped like a puck, featuring Ovechkin’s actual skates and one of his game-used sticks. Ovechkin and his mother also received Rolex watches, and Nastya was gifted a Cartier timepiece.
“It’s great,” Ovechkin said, per NHL.com. “Those numbers—it’s pretty big. And to see all those people who came here to celebrate with us, it’s a pretty big moment.”
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