‘He just loves goals’: Inside Alex Ovechkin’s record chase

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The soon-to-be undisputed greatest goal scorer of all-time stands out more than anyone else buzzing around the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in unnumbered practice sweaters.

Not because you’re looking for him. 

Because he’s making himself seen.

At first, it’s his trademark style: skate tongues flapping out like a childish taunt; bright yellow laces gleaming amid a wash of red and white; jersey stretched wide over those linebacker shoulders and tucked deep inside hockey pants that stretch halfway up his back; and, of course, a thick beard that’s seeing salt gain a territorial advantage over pepper.

But over the course of an hour-long Washington Capitals practice session, it’s the personality, the joy, the full-throttle engagement that you notice most.

Alex Ovechkin is hollering for the puck during an O-zone drill. He’s raising his stick to celebrate an easy tap-in on an odd-man rush. He’s leading the team from one ice pad to the next for special-teams work. He’s rushing to bend the knee first, front and centre, at the whiteboard as coach Spencer Carbery explains the breakout of the Toronto Maple Leafs, their next opponent.

He’s pulling aside 23-year-old Connor McMichael — who was a toddler when Ovechkin was drafted to save this franchise in 2004 — and advising him about power-play positioning.

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He’s bellowing a giddy Wooo! whenever his line scores.

And then he’s wrapping a Russian bear arm around victim-slash-teammate Logan Thompson and sharing a laugh.

To see him at work, this strange blend of natural ease and intense concentration, you wouldn’t guess that Ovechkin is chasing history. 

You’d imagine he’d already written it.

“I always heard he was just like a big, happy-go-lucky guy. Just like a big kid playing hockey, having fun. I would always talk to him on the ice a little bit, and always be joking back and forth. But I never got the chance to actually sit and meet him and talk to him, until I came here,” says Thompson, who was traded to the Capitals by the Vegas Golden Knights this summer and is still leaking sweat from trying to solve off-day Ovechkin. 

“It’s been awesome. He’s a great captain, a great leader. And it’s true: He has fun. And it’s a big reason why I think he’s still playing today and putting up goals. He just loves goals.”

Only 32 more, and he’ll have the most of what he loves.

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“The biggest thing is, Ovi wants to win hockey games,” Thompson continues. “But everyone in this room wants to get him that record. I think it’s just … he deserves it. He’s been such an impact player his whole career. He’s such a great guy. For how much love everyone has in the room for him, they want to get that record for him.”

When Wayne Gretzky surpassed his idol Gordie Howe’s 801 and retired with 894, most believed the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring record had been stashed in safe keeping.

Then along came an animal wielding the one-timer of nightmares and the durability of a Russian T-72. En route to stacking nine Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophies over 19 seasons, a couple shortened by lockout and pandemic, Ovechkin has poured in 863 goals.

Blazing out the gates in his age-39 season with 10 goals through 14 games and nine in his past nine, Ovechkin is on pace to snap Gretzky’s record before the snow thaws.

“It’s not like he comes in like, ‘Hey, pass me the puck,’” says teammate Rasmus Sandin. “I think we’re thinking about it more than him. It feels like he comes into the rink like it’s any other day. The smile on his face is like it’s his first year in the NHL. When anyone scores a goal — if it’s me, if it’s anyone but him — he’s as happy as when he scores. So, that’s the thing that’s impressive. 

“He’s been in the league for 20 years, and he just loves the game, loves being around the guys and having fun. I mean, he was one of my idols growing up. I think I have an old Ovi jersey at home. Yeah, my brother (Linus) was a big, big Ovi guy. To play with him now is surreal.”

Forty-two is the number Ovechkin needed coming into this season, the Capitals’ 50th, to avoid dragging The Gr8 Chase^TM (yes, he trademarked it) into next fall. Howe, playing at 40, when goalies stayed upright and blocked pucks with thin, heavy leather weights strapped around their shins, is the only play over age 37 to score 42 in one season.

Ovechkin — a career 13 per cent shooter converting this season at an unsustainable 20 per cent  success rate — is on pace for a lofty 59.

Despite signs of a fade in 2023-24, when he netted “only” 31, 42 seems doable if not inevitable.

“I wouldn’t be surprised. Definitely not surprised. I hope he does. It’s not if. It’s probably more so when. It’ll be great for the game. And with him and Sid coming into the league at the same time and how much they revolutionized the game of hockey for us, I’m rooting for him, for sure,” says 373-goal-scorer Auston Matthews, the most likely to take a stab at Ovechkin’s total.

“I’m not even close to him. I understand the projections and stuff like that. But at the same time, I’m not even halfway — and he’s closing in on it. So that focus and attention should obviously be on him, what he’s been able to do throughout his career, and what he’s closing in on now.”

If Ovechkin is preoccupied with Goal 895, you wouldn’t have a clue. 

He never mentions it to teammates and only refers to the chase when asked by reporters. He keeps his responses short and dull: It would be good, but there’s a long way to go. Health matters. So does winning.

“One of the undercover qualities of O which has made him so successful is, he’s such in the moment. And, so, about the next game and the next goal, the next win, as opposed to consuming yourself with the big picture and the accumulation: I gotta get to 40, I gotta get to 30, I gotta get to 20. He’s actually thinking about getting to 11,” Carbery explains.

“But every once in a while, you watch something on TV, or you catch yourself thinking about the impact of what a record like this would mean to the game. It’s … I don’t know if I can come up with as large of the words. I think it’s a massive, massive, massive accomplishment. And as it’s starting to get closer and closer. And as he continues to score, (the hype) is only going to become more massive.”

Maybe Carbery caught Gretzky on TNT last week, raving about the No. 2 goal-scorer’s tremendous October and how Ovechkin’s hot stick has run in sync with the Caps’ remarkable 10-4 start.

“Everybody’s obviously focused on Alex, but it’s fun for the other players too,” Gretzky said. “I remember my teammates, they loved it. They enjoyed it, and they took it all in also. And I’m sure all these young guys are taking it in with Alex. And, of course, the fans are, and the organization, the owner, everybody. This is an exciting time.”

Take new Caps and reunited teammates Jakob Chychrun and Brandon Duhaime, for example. Growing up in Florida during peak Ovi-Sid mania, Chychrun says the two youngsters would gab and argue about the rivalry on their way to their own minor hockey games.

Now Chychrun sits beside one of his boyhood heroes in the dressing room and on the plane, where he, Ovechkin, Dylan Strome and John Carlson grind out epic card games of 13 up, 13 down … and no one brings up 895 amid the chirps.

“He’s been scoring goals in this league since he was a kid, so it’s not really something where we want to start talking about it or get in his head. He knows what he’s got to do each night, and we’re just happy to be a part of it and hopefully help him achieve that goal,” Chychrun says. 

“It’s been a blast getting to know him. That’s something, when that record gets broken, that’s going to be there forever.”

Gretzky intends to be in the barn the night Ovechkin surpasses him, just as Mr. Howe passed the torch to him. And he has been texting Ovechkin words of encouragement when he hits a rut. 

“He’s on my side,” Ovechkin told NHL.com. “If that kind of person is rooting for me, it’s pretty cool stuff. He’s the best player out there, and he’s a great human. He supports me, and it’s a pretty cool thing.”

To spend time around the Capitals organization, to speak to their fans, is to view Ovechkin’s greatness through a single, celebratory lens: Great talent accomplishes great thing.

No one will nitpick the way Ovechkin has scored — more on the power play (314) and into empty nets (58) than anyone is history — or dare question the highly questionable political stance of a superstar who is still cheesing with Vladimir Putin on his Instagram profile photo, ironically flashing a peace sign. (There’s a reason Ovechkin’s beloved Russia won’t participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but that’s a whole other article.)

Out of curiosity, we asked some diehard Caps fans in downtown Washington how they feel about Ovechkin’s support of Putin.

Fan 1: “What’s his politics? … Oh. I just think of him as a hockey player. He’s awesome.”

Fan 2: “One of the best things that ever happened to this city.”

Fan 3: “I don’t think people process that. He’s Ovi.”

Fan 4: “He scores. Who cares?”

Ovechkin goal trackers have popped up on major U.S. sports sites. ESPN snatched up national rights for late-season Capitals dates in hopes of broadcasting history. And his highlights are being consumed in rival dressing rooms, which are brimming with 20-somethings who grew up idolizing the guy who remodelled the left dot into his personal batting cage.

“I think you hear about it every time he scores, right? You see the countdown,” says Detroit Red Wings star Patrick Kane, who motions to Alex DeBrincat beside him. 

“We were talking about how Dylan Strome is having a great year over there. They have a lot of chemistry. And I think a lot of people probably predicted that (Ovechkin) maybe wouldn’t get it this year. All of a sudden, he got eight goals in 12 games, and everyone thinks he’s going to get it, right? So, it’s a cool thing to watch, especially when it’s that important of a record and you’re chasing down Wayne Gretzky for most goals ever.”

Ah, yes. Strome, the No. 1 centreman who has assisted on all 10 of Ovechkin’s goals this season but knows the hockey gods can be cruel.

“So, basically, I’m gonna get 31 (more) straight assists but not on that one,” Strome says, chuckling. “I was fortunate to get an assist on the tying–Gordie Howe goal. I’ll always have that. 

“Just trying to keep getting him the puck in good areas, and he usually does the rest from there.”

The chemistry of maturing playmaker Strome with shoot-first Ovechkin and speedy, 225-pound forechecker Aliaksei Protas has been phenomenal, the burly wingers even taking the occasional break from conversing in Russian to speak English to Strome.

With Carbery shifting Tom Wilson to Pierre-Luc Dubois’ second line, creating a pick-your-poison top six, Strome’s unit is often freed by some more favourable matchups.

“Our line plays well. Our line generates lots of chances. We don’t want to be too cute. Dylan and Pro do a great job to find me out there, and it’s working,” says Ovechkin, whose legacy is cemented with his 2018 Stanley Cup and whose chase certainly means more in the context of team success.

“Last year was a struggle. We didn’t know if it would be good or not. Right now, you can see it’s (totally) different. We have a different team, different group of guys. It’s a matter of, What’s the GM gonna do — bring people in, or is he gonna sell?”

The GM, Chris Patrick, brought people in. Lots of them: Thompson, Chychrun, Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Matt Roy.

Thank goodness.

Had the Capitals’ campaign been about only one player’s pursuit, or had Ovechkin failed to find a groove early, there was risk of this record chase becoming a sideshow or dragging long into his 40s.

Now, it feels like we’re ramping into the most important story of the regular season, the most significant individual record any hockey player can achieve.

The whole point of our sport is to put the puck in the net.

Alex Ovechkin will soon have done than more than anyone, ever.

“Thirty-two,” Strome says, reminding of the magic number. “Lots of time left in the season. 

“We’re gonna try to keep piling up the wins. And the more we win, the more we score. The more we score, the more he scores. So, it’s a good recipe.”

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