Around the League 24-25

[Madcombinepilot]

And he refused to come onto the ice when the Hawks pulled their goalie saying he did not want the record breaking goal to be into an empty net.

Respect.

big gesture after knocking in what.. 8?? 9?? empty netters this year?

[Meds]

And he refused to come onto the ice when the Hawks pulled their goalie saying he did not want the record breaking goal to be into an empty net.

Respect.

big gesture after knocking in what.. 8?? 9?? empty netters this year?

Gretzky scored 56 empty netters in his career. Ovechkin has 65.

If Ovechkin scored all 9 of those extra ones this season, then that says something about a 39 year old player still being relied upon to protect a lead with the opponent’s extra attacker out on the ice.

[donlever]

Amazing that he's done it in only 1 less game.

This is incorrect and another example of the Media enacting journalistic license to create (in this case completely unnecessarily might I add) a better story.

Gretzky actually scored his 894th goal in game 1479.

He was held scoreless over the final 8 games of his career.

[Cornuck]

Gretzky actually scored his 894th goal in game 1479.

Thank you for the correction - will it all be over today?

[Megaterio Llamas]

There it is https://x.com/NHL/status/1908940174458831336

[Picker of Cherries]

There it is https://x.com/NHL/status/1908940174458831336

Most goals yep, greatest goal scorer nope.
For the NHL the greatest goal scorer always goes back to the Rocket’s 50 in 50.
The most goals in 50 games will always be the measure for greatest goal scorer.
From the beginning of a season these are:

Wayne Gretzky – 50 goals in 39 games (1981–82)
Wayne Gretzky – 50 goals in 42 games (1983–84)
Wayne Gretzky – 50 goals in 49 games (1984–85)
Mario Lemieux – 50 goals in 46 games (1988–89)
Brett Hull – 50 goals in 49 games (1990–91)
Brett Hull – 50 goals in 50 games (1991–92)
Maurice Richard – 50 goals in 50 games (1944–45)
Mike Bossy – 50 goals in 50 games (1980–81)

Also could consider any 50 game segment not from the beginning of a season.

Mario Lemieux (1992–93) – 50 goals in 46 games
Lemieux missed games due to Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment but still managed to score 50 goals in just 46 games played.
Cam Neely (1993–94) – 50 goals in 44 games
Neely was recovering from a knee injury and played only 49 games that season but hit the 50-goal mark in just 44 games played.
Alexander Mogilny (1992–93) – 50 goals in 46 games
Mogilny had an insane scoring run but did not start at the beginning of the season.
Mario Lemieux (1995–96) – 50 goals in 50 games
Another incredible season for Lemieux, but this 50-in-50 was based on his games played, not from the start of the season.
Jari Kurri (1984–85) – 50 goals in 50 games
Kurri's 50-in-50 came during the season, but not from the start.

Mogilny - the only one not in the HHOF - what’s with that?

Alexander Ovechkin is a relative bum

2007–08 Season: Ovechkin scored his 50th goal in his 67th game of the season.
2008–09 Season: He reached 50 goals in 69 games.
2009–10 Season: Ovechkin achieved 50 goals in 68 games.
2013–14 Season: He scored his 50th goal in 78 games.
2014–15 Season: Ovechkin reached 50 goals in 79 games.
2015–16 Season: He achieved 50 goals in 79 games.
2018–19 Season: Ovechkin scored his 50th goal in 78 games.
2021–22 Season: He reached 50 goals in 77 games.

[Cornuck]

That was likely the longest break in an NHL game that didn't involve a fight.

[Picker of Cherries]

That was likely the longest break in an NHL game that didn't involve a fight.

I think they did the same thing when Wayne passed Gordie.

[donlever]

How long was it?

They had allocated a firm 7 minutes apparently.

[Hockey Widow]

Amazing that he's done it in only 1 less game.

This is incorrect and another example of the Media enacting journalistic license to create (in this case completely unnecessarily might I add) a better story.

Gretzky actually scored his 894th goal in game 1479.

He was held scoreless over the final 8 games of his career.

That is actually pretty outrageous for them to do that. And agreed, unnecessary.

[Cornuck]

How long was it?

They had allocated a firm 7 minutes apparently.

Closer to 15, I'd say.

[donlever]

Yeah...7 was never going to work.

Took 3 minutes for Ovie to stop sliding belly first on the sheet.

As an aside, if we want glossy media style stories to make the record appear even more grandiose, it was 21 years ago today that Washington won the draft lottery for the rights to select Ovie.

Also, Goldie Howe scored the last goal of his career (801) April 6, 1980.

We live in The Matrix.

[UWSaint]

There it is https://x.com/NHL/status/1908940174458831336

Most goals yep, greatest goal scorer nope.
For the NHL the greatest goal scorer always goes back to the Rocket’s 50 in 50.
The most goals in 50 games will always be the measure for greatest goal scorer.
From the beginning of a season these are:

Wayne Gretzky – 50 goals in 39 games (1981–82)
Wayne Gretzky – 50 goals in 42 games (1983–84)
Wayne Gretzky – 50 goals in 49 games (1984–85)
Mario Lemieux – 50 goals in 46 games (1988–89)
Brett Hull – 50 goals in 49 games (1990–91)
Brett Hull – 50 goals in 50 games (1991–92)
Maurice Richard – 50 goals in 50 games (1944–45)
Mike Bossy – 50 goals in 50 games (1980–81)

Also could consider any 50 game segment not from the beginning of a season.

Might one also consider scoring the most goals of all time as a metric for the greatest goal scorer of all time?

Its always difficult to compare players across eras. Gretzky played in an era where many many more goals were scored (though his career ended in among the worst of the dead puck era). https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/stats.html. There are a number of reasons why:

* Goalies lacked modern (light, more protective) equipment and hadn't undergone the technique revolution that became far more possible with better equipment;
* More pond hockey (who old enough doesn't remember the successive odd man rushes of the era?)
* Pre salary cap era, and a greater gap between the good and bad teams
* NHL expanded by nearly 20% when Gretzky came into the league, and unlike later expansion, it was not offset by players from new markets (eastern and central europeans in the 1990s expansion); growth of the game and national programs in USA (and to an extent, Sweden and Finland) in the 2000s and 2010s.

The bottom line is the Ovechkin's goals were a greater percentage of goals scored in the NHL during his career than Gretzky's goals were in his career. His goals have more relative weight.

On the other hand, when Gretzky was at his peak, there was no one the same area code Gretzky in terms of productivity (including his regular linemates), and they were all playing the hockey in the same conditions. And the other thing that's not being considered is the fact that Gretzky' score 50 more goals than Ovechkin in the playoffs -- and while some of that is number of playoff games, Gretzky scored at a higher rate in the playoffs than Ovie. How the playoffs are absent from "all time" stats is strange artifact -- the games and goals that matter most count none for lifetime achievements.

I don't think you can say Ovechkin dominated his era like Gretzky did (especially in his first decade). Ovechkin's been consistently very good, but always had company at the top. He made it to the top of the all time list because he was able to maintain a high level of scoring well past the point where other players reached their peak. There's been no wall (yet) for Ovie, and its quite superhuman from my perspective. Especially when you consider he isn't only a perimeter player. Sure, he scores a lot from the circle, but he scores a lot from the dirty places and takes a beating for it. But because superhuman endurance is the reason he's here (it was largely why Howe was where he was); and we understandably don't think of that as being as great as the comparative superiority in skill that brought Gretzky to his peak.

To me, Gretzky's the greatest of all time. But I hope that Ovechkin's breaking of the record has us appreciating a bit more just how impressive this guy is.

[theman]

To me that greatest goal scorer of all time is Mario Lemieux. He got 690 goals in 915 regular season games. That is a .75 goals per game clip, amazing. If he stayed healthy could he have made it to 1000 goals? I think so. Even lowering to a .6 goals per game clip would have got him there if he played about the same number of games as Gretzky and Ovechkin.

P.S. Gretzky looks either permanently drunk or has had some bad plastic surgery recently. He almost looks plastic when you see him now.

[dangler]

For Ovi to get40 goals when he's 40 years old, coming back from a broken leg and breaking the record makes him one of the GOAT