Caps owner gifts Rolex and Cartier watches to Alex Ovechkin and his family after team unveils 6-foot, 80-pound sculpture

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was honored prior to the game between the Caps and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. The ceremony was in Ovechkin's first home game following his record-breaking goal against the New York Islanders last Sunday.

The team unveiled a sculpture honoring the NHL’s new all-time leading goal scorer, depicting Alex Ovechkin in a Washington Capitals uniform.

Here’s a look:

The sculpture reads:

“Most goals all time 895 Alex Ovechkin”

The sculpture encapsulates the remarkable achievement by Ovechkin. But that wasn’t all. Caps’ owner Ted Leonsis acknowledged Ovechkin’s unique achievement by gifting the team captain a Rolex watch.

Leonsis honored the entire Ovechkin family with Rolexes for Alex and his mother, while his wife Anastasia received a Cartier timepiece.

The pre-game ceremony included Capitals alternate captains John Carlson and Tom Wilson bestowing the Ovechkin family with an assortment of flowers.

Thursday night’s game was the first time the hometown crowd got to see Alex Ovechkin since breaking the all-time goal-scoring record. Ovechkin scored twice in the game against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4 at home, putting him one shy of Wayne Gretzky’s mark.

That set up Ovechkin to break the record in Long Island against the New York Islanders on Sunday. Ovechkin will now have his sights set on becoming the first NHL player to break the 900-goal mark in league history.

Alex Ovechkin gunning for another NHL record

Alex Ovechkin could now turn his attention to another NHL record. Interestingly enough, Ovechkin is third on the all-time list for hits. At the moment, Ovechkin has 3,735 career hits, trailing New York Islanders forward Matt Martin, who has 3,928, and former Islander Cal Clutterbuck who tops the list with 4,029.

With Ovechkin roughly 300 hits away from topping another list, it remains to be seen if the 39-year-old can keep up the physical play long enough to reach that mark. While Ovechkin has shown no signs of letting up, there’s no telling if he might back off the rough-and-tumble play as he reaches 40.

It’s unlikely that Ovechkin will change his playing style any time soon. However, the Caps may insist on him taking it easy for the remainder of his career as Ovechkin’s strong physical play could lead to injuries as he gets older.

Still, it would be a highly interesting combination of records for the Caps’ great. Ovechkin could retire as the all-time goal-scoring and hits leader. It’s certainly an unusual combination of records, but it could be one that would be nearly impossible for anyone to match.