Alex Ovechkin on if he wants someone to break his NHL goals record

Alex Ovechkin will continue a tradition that Gordie Howe once started with Wayne Gretzky if a player is ever able to eclipse his number of goals in the future.

“God willing, someone will break my record,” Ovechkin said to reporters per RIA Novosti and translated by Google Translate. “I won’t name names, there are a lot of talented and great players. If that happens, then of course I will congratulate that player, just like Gretzky congratulated me.”

Gretzky was all class as it became apparent, even years before, that Ovechkin might capture his goals record.

“I think it’s great, and if he does get there, and if he does break my record, I said I would be the first guy there to shake his hand,” he said to Sportsnet in 2020. “I remember when Gordie was following me around and I was breaking his record. I said to my Dad one night, ‘You know, in some ways, I feel kind of bad for Gordie Howe.’ And my dad said, you know what, somebody is going to break your record. And when he does, make sure you are as much a gentleman to him as Gordie Howe is to you. You smile, you shake his hand, and you are proud of what you accomplished. It’s better for the game. That is what I always think of. I always think of Gordie Howe and what my dad told me.”

After scoring the tying marker, Ovechkin skated to center ice and bowed to Gretzky, who was sitting in Ted Leonsis’s owners’ box — a powerful moment, both honoring the history of the game and the NHL’s greatest player.

 Two days later, Gretzky was at UBS Arena when Ovechkin scored his 895th goal against the New York Islanders, capturing the all-time record. The NHL paused the game to celebrate Ovechkin’s accomplishment, and Gretzky congratulated “The Great 8” during the on-ice ceremony.

“I said I’d be the first one to shake your hand when you broke the record,” Gretzky said, pointing out he kept his promise.

Inside the locker room after the game, Ovechkin and Gretzky also took a photo together with the record-breaking goal puck.

The gesture follows what Howe did for Gretzky, when the four-time Stanley Cup champion broke his all-time points record in 1989. Howe, Gretzky’s childhood hero, followed the Los Angeles Kings as Gretzky neared the mark. On October 15, 1989, Gretzky recorded his 1,851st point against the Edmonton Oilers. The league stopped the game and held a ceremony where Howe congratulated Gretzky on the ice.