The ex-NHL player believes that Ovechkin will break Gretzky’s record in the current NHL season

Canadian forward of Dynamo Minsk Chris Tierney believes that Washington forward Alexander Ovechkin will surpass Wayne Gretzky this season in the list of the best snipers in the history of the NHL regular championships.

Ovechkin is 39 years old and has scored a goal and provided three assists in four games this season. The Russian scored 854 goals in the NHL regular championships, according to this indicator he is second only to Gretzky (894).

— Are you following Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky?

– Of course. In North America, this has been shown everywhere on television for the last couple of years, and there is a constant countdown of how much Ovechkin has left to reach the record. It’s very cool to live at this time, we are witnesses to history. Playing against him while he was chasing the record was also incredible. It’s great to look back and say: “But he scored one of the goals while I was on the ice!”

— How do you assess his chances of breaking the record?

– Like very tall. He can score 30 goals a season, so I don’t think he’ll have any problems achieving the record. Great players like him always find ways to get things done. He can still score 40-50 goals, so it’s unlikely that this will be a problem for him.

— Can he do this this season?

– I see no reason why not. If he starts the season well, he can easily score at least 20 goals in 15 matches. Washington has acquired some good players and this team should be better than last year. Ovechkin knows how to score and he will be fired up. Even if he doesn’t break the record this season, he will be very close. But I think he will do it this season,” Tierney told the Championship.

Tierney signed an agreement with Dynamo Minsk in 2024. He previously played in the NHL for San Jose, Ottawa, Florida, Montreal and New Jersey.