Last season, Wayne Gretzky joined Alex Ovechkin on the ice when Ovi broke his all-time goals record. When Ovi broke the record, Gretzky quipped, “You get to 900 I might buy you a car.” Ovi reached 900 goals, and now, Gretzky's colleagues on the NHL pre-game show on TNT are not letting him forget the promise.
“We dug up the tapes,” Gretzky was told as a clip of him promising the car to Ovi was shown.
“Cause the owner said he couldn't buy him a car, so I was trying to pump him up to get there quickly,” the Great One responded through laughter.
Ovechkin scored his 900th career goal on November 5th against the St. Louis Blues, a 6-1 victory over the Capitals. He added his fourth goal of the season and 901st goal of his NHL career on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, a 4-1 victory.
Still, Ovi is not on the same goal-scoring pace as recent seasons. He has found the back of the net four times in 16 games this year. That places him on pace for just 20 goals on the season, which would be the lowest of his NHL career. Further, he has yet to score a powerplay goal. The Great Eight has scored ten or more goals on the man advantage in 18 of his 20 seasons.
“If he keeps going, he could get to 1,000. I mean, the sky's the limit for him. Right? He's one of the greatest players in the game. He's probably the greatest goal scorer ever, and to get 900 goals, that's hard to do,” Gretzky finished with.
Getting to 1,000 is likely out of reach this season. He would need to increase his goal-scoring pace this year and likely play another full season in the NHL to make it to that mark.
Meanwhile, Ovechkin is focused on the team right now. The Capitals are 8-7-1 on the year, placing them just a point outside of a playoff spot. They will return to the ice on Thursday night, visiting the Florida Panthers.
