Alex Ovechkin broke another NHL record at year’s end.
Ovechkin’s first goal after his return from a broken fibula, an empty netter against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 28, was his 40th marker in the 2024 calendar year. The goal pushed the Washington Capitals captain into sole possession of the most calendar years with 40 or more goals (regular season and playoffs) in NHL history.
Ovechkin has hit the mark 14 times during his career, passing Brett Hull (13) for the top spot. The Great Eight added a goal against the Detroit Red Wings a day later to close out 2024 with 41 total tallies.
Only nine players have ever scored 40 or more goals in a calendar year more than 10 times during their career. Ovechkin is the only present-day player on the list, with Hull, Mario Lemieux, and Luc Robitaille, who all retired after the 2005-06 season (Ovechkin’s rookie year), as the next most recent.
All-time 40-goal calendar years
| Player | Count |
|---|---|
| Alex Ovechkin | 14 |
| Brett Hull | 13 |
| Wayne Gretzky | 12 |
| Mike Gartner | 12 |
| Mario Lemieux | 10 |
| Phil Esposito | 10 |
| Bobby Hull | 10 |
| Marcel Dionne | 10 |
| Luc Robitaille | 10 |
Mike Gartner joins Ovechkin as the only players on the list to record some of those 40-goal years while with the Capitals. Gartner is one of just five Caps to have a 50-goal season after he potted 50 goals during the 1984-85 campaign.
Ovechkin’s best-ever calendar year came in 2018 when he scored 69 goals (nice) in 104 games en route to winning the Stanley Cup with the Capitals. From a rate standpoint, 2020, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was his most prolific year, as he scored 28 goals in just 35 games (0.80 G/GP).
His worst calendar year is a tie between 2023 and 2005. He played in 2005 for just the first few months of his rookie season, scoring 23 goals in 36 games.
Ovechkin calendar year goals
| Year | G | GP | G/GP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 69 | 104 | 0.66 |
| 2009 | 68 | 89 | 0.76 |
| 2008 | 64 | 96 | 0.74 |
| 2013 | 63 | 93 | 0.68 |
| 2015 | 62 | 95 | 0.65 |
| 2006 | 54 | 84 | 0.64 |
| 2022 | 53 | 89 | 0.60 |
| 2016 | 51 | 90 | 0.62 |
| 2007 | 51 | 82 | 0.57 |
| 2021 | 50 | 83 | 0.60 |
| 2019 | 50 | 91 | 0.55 |
| 2017 | 45 | 100 | 0.45 |
| 2010 | 43 | 86 | 0.50 |
| 2024 | 41 | 70 | 0.59 |
| 2011 | 39 | 86 | 0.45 |
| 2014 | 38 | 76 | 0.50 |
| 2020 | 28 | 35 | 0.80 |
| 2012 | 27 | 55 | 0.49 |
| 2023 | 23 | 68 | 0.34 |
| 2005 | 23 | 36 | 0.64 |
Ovechkin’s goals in 2024 were all scored during the regular season, as he went without a goal in four playoff games against the New York Rangers last spring. His 0.59 goal-per-game rate in 2024 is the 12-best single-year rate of his career.
The big Russian winger also recently set a new NHL record for the most goals scored by a player 36 or older in their first 20 games of a campaign. After Tuesday afternoon’s win over the Boston Bruins, Ovechkin has 17 goals through 21 games this season.
Ovechkin currently has 870 career goals, which is just 24 goals shy of claiming a share of the all-time goals lead with Wayne Gretzky (894).
