Hockey
Ovechkin will be the toughest veteran in the NHL. The greatness of a Russian knows no bounds!
Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © The Washington Post / Contributor / The Washington Post / Gettyimages.ru
Ovechkin celebrated his 37th birthday this week. The older he gets, the easier it is to write history.
37 years old is the age at which many hockey players end their careers. But Alexander Ovechkin is still in his prime: over the past seven years, he has scored a record number of goals – 305! And in general, he is getting closer to the status of the toughest veteran in the NHL. It takes quite a bit to do this…
Throw 45 goals
For the first half of last season, Ovechkin went at such a pace that he was one of the main contenders for the Hart Trophy – the prize for the most valuable hockey player of the season. As a result of the entire regular season, he returned to his usual dokovidny level and broke through the figure of 50 goals per season. For the ninth time in my career! This is an elite level for any player in the NHL, but for a 37-year-old, this is an absolute record.
If this season Ovi performs just as effectively and again chalks up 50 goals to his account, then once again he will go down in history: none of his peers in the NHL have been able to do this before. However, 45 goals are enough for an absolute record: among players 37 years old and older, the current sniper benchmark is 44 goals by the legendary Gordie Howe. Among peers, Brandan Shanahan and Johnny Busik have the best score (40).
Score over 100 points
Colorado General Manager Joe Sakic, who led the Avalanches to the Stanley Cup, made history 16 years ago playing in the NHL. Then he became the only 37-year-old hockey player who scored 100 points in a season. But in order to break the overall veteran record, he lacked only four points: the best result in history belongs to the same Howe. He scored 103 points in the 1968/69 season at the age of 40.
To become the highest-scoring 37-year-old hockey player in the NHL, Ovechkin will have to push: the last time he scored 100 points was 13 years ago. However, last season he hit 90, his best result in 12 years.
Pass 70 assists
The record, which Ovechkin, due to his game features, is unlikely to be conquered. He has always been an excellent sniper, but not a passer. 59 assists – his best result in his career, which came in the 2009/2010 season. The older the Russian captain of the Capitals gets, the less he plays for partners.
The record among 37-year-olds belongs to Wayne Gretzky, who at this age was already playing out in the status of a star veteran in the Rangers. Then he handed out 67 assists – the best indicator of the 1997/98 season.
And the veteran record for this indicator belongs to 38-year-old Adam Oates, who in the 2000/01 season chalked up 69 assists.
Complete 10 winning goals
Busik, at the age of 37, gave a shocking season in 1972/73, setting a record not only for goals for his peers (40), but also for the number of game-winning goals: 10.
During his career, Ovechkin repeated this result 5 times, but the last time was distant 8 years ago. Since then, he has never scored more than eight game-winning goals in a season.
It is curious that Ovechkin will surely conquer the NHL record for this indicator in total: he already has 121 decisive goals, while the leader, Jaromir Jagr, has 135.
Get 290 shots on goal
A record that Ovechkin simply cannot help breaking! The most dangerous 37-year-old NHL hockey player in history is Shanahan, who made 289 shots on goal in the 2005/2006 season. The Russian Caps star has only failed to achieve this result twice in his career, and both times of the season were incomplete – one due to injury, the other due to covid.
Last season, he made 334 shots on goal. In the list of the best of the best, regardless of age, Ovi is second (528) and third (446). Before Phil Esposito’s record, set in the 1970/71 season, the Russian was only 22 shots short.
Source: Sportbox
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.