Ovechkin is 31 now

[Pure Slaughter Value]

With the influx of great young players that have come into the league the last five years there's not one of them that seems to have the goal-scoring ability Ovechkin has and probably won't come close to his career or season averages.

Unless the league goals per game jumps to something like 3.5 or above, I'd bet odds he's going to be considered the best goal-scorer of all time for another generation or more, whether he finishes with 550 or 750

 

[pm88]

He'll go down as the most prolific goal scorer of his generation and among the very best the league has ever seen by the time he retires. He really needs to make at least one deep run in the playoffs before he retires though. If he doesn't, I think it will always hang over his head when talking about his career, which would be a shame

 

[Leafs87]

Amazing how time flies. I've watched him since his first season. Rare talent and amazing player. Happy birthday to him.

As for the goal record it's possible and if I had to put my money on anyone it's him. He's also had a very healthy career without any serious injuries really. I see him taking the rocket this year with 50ish and continuing strong until 40. Id like to see him win a cup though.

 

[The Abusement Park]

With the influx of great young players that have come into the league the last five years there's not one of them that seems to have the goal-scoring ability Ovechkin has and probably won't come close to his career or season averages.

Unless the league goals per game jumps to something like 3.5 or above, I'd bet odds he's going to be considered the best goal-scorer of all time for another generation or more, whether he finishes with 550 or 750

I honestly don't think we'll see another player with his goal scoring ability for a long time. His goal scoring ability is top 3 if not the best ever, we're pretty damn lucky to witness a player like him.

 

[Ivo]

Gordie Howe scored 383 goals in the seasons after turning 31. Ok that's Gordie Howe. But then you have Johnny Bucyk who scored almost 350 after age 31. Four other players scored more than 300. Who knows what Ovechkin can do, if he stays in the NHL and in shape. I would say 800 is quite possible.

 

[Price is Wright]

Ovechkin is great. I see a few more 50 goal seasons in him. He's very healthy. He will still be scoring 30+ in his late 30s.

 

[Sorey*]

He just scored 50 goals.

How many assists? Like 10

 

[AfroThunder396]

Over 30? Trade him for picks while he still has value

 

[FrozenJagrt]

Over 30? Trade him for picks while he still has value

If a player is 26 or older, with a contract that one year left or 3+, they have negative value because they're on the wrong side of 25 and are either a rental that will walk to free agency or signed too long. That's how this site works. Ovechkin's value tanked years ago.

 

[Nordic*]

Weird how he is always so useless on the national team, but the best scorer in the NHL.

 

[Sam Spade]

Weird how he is always so useless on the national team, but the best scorer in the NHL.

I have no idea why Russia even picks for the team him anymore.

 

[tarheelhockey]

He's good

I mean, I guess he's ok.

 

[BraveCanadian]

You can't be serious. Ovechkin works much harder than Iginla.

You can't be serious.

Ovechkin looks like a slob compared to Iginla.

And that should tell you everything you need to know about how people around here shouldn't be equating physical fitness with being a hockey player.

Sure, it helps a lot, but there is more to it.

Back on topic, it will be interesting to see how long Ovi can keep putting up the goal numbers. The 50 goal seasons get more rare for players in their 30s.

 

[BayStreetBully]

What a legend. I fear he may be done with the 50 goal seasons, but I hope he remains this exciting a player for a few more years. I'm not finished watching him.

 

[Fallschirmyager]

You can't be serious.

Ovechkin looks like a slob compared to Iginla.

And that should tell you everything you need to know about how people around here shouldn't be equating physical fitness with being a hockey player.

Sure, it helps a lot, but there is more to it.

Back on topic, it will be interesting to see how long Ovi can keep putting up the goal numbers. The 50 goal seasons get more rare for players in their 30s.

If the chart I read is to be believed the most 50 goals seasons after age 30 is 3 and the latest is at age 35. Ovy already has 1 at age 30. Whether he does it or not is another matter but if any player for the foreseeable future has any chance at one or both of those records it's Ovy.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Weird how he is always so useless on the national team, but the best scorer in the NHL.

Did you watch the game yesterday? He almost tied the game by himself with a minute left. If it were Toews or something, we'd be calling him captain clutch. But it's Ovi, so he's a useless, evil Russian.

 

[SenzZen]

Ovi actually isn't that big

Actually, he's enormous.

 

[The Shovel Penguin]

Happy Birthday, ya old fart

I wish him all good things except against the Penguins.

 

[COHawk]

How likely will he keep that pace?

Gretzky was over 700 at age 31 and played 8 more years to end up at 894. And this was in a time where scoring was far easier.

Anyone who thinks Ovechkin can score another 360 NHL goals in his 30's needs a doctor, zero with a big 0 chance of that happening.

Ever think that Ovechkin's physical conditioning and longevity will be better than Gretzky's? Everyone ages differently, and up til this point Ovi has missed such minimal time. It's very, very possible. And no, I do not need a doctor.

 

[Plural]

Actually, he's enormous.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Actually, he's enormous.

What's crazy is that kid is 4'8".

 

[Price is Wright]

The 50 goal seasons get more rare for players in their 30s.

Okay.

So let's take Brendan Shanahan, who scored around 260 goals after turning 30.

If Ovechkin scored at Shanhan's level for the rest of his career, he'd be looking at 785 goals. That's more than Jagr currently.

Shanny only had two 50 goal seasons so I'm going with a low estimate here. He's likely to do more than Shanahan, but Shanny was still a scoring machine. Shanahan was relatively healthy his whole career as well.

So if he does Shanahan's level, he's still going to be the third greatest goal scorer of all time (unless Jagr scores 40 more, then Ovi would be fourth), and it's likely he does better than Shanny.

 

[Stuckinthe2ndround*]

OV gets so much unwarranted hate. Great career thus far.

 

[Hivemind]

What's really crazy is that Ovechkin lost 1.5 seasons of his career to lockouts.

 

[Sam Spade]

What's really crazy is that Ovechkin lost 1.5 seasons of his career to lockouts.

And because his birthday misses the draft cutoff by two days he missed getting to play in the 2003 season.