When Wayne Gretzky predicted the star player who could break his all-time NHL goal record

Wayne Gretzky is the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, but there's a lot of hype around Alex Ovechkin's "Gr8 Chase." Ovechkin has scored 889 goals and is close to surpassing Gretzky's 894 goal record, so everyone is excited with each goal that he scores.

This was always a possibility, and Wayne Gretzky predicted that Ovechkin could break his record. In an interview with NHL.com in February 2016, Gretzky was asked if Ovechkin had a chance. At the time, Ovechkin had 505 goals.

"I don't mean this to sound egotistical, but the first 500 are the easy ones; it's the next 500, when you're getting a little bit older and your body is a little bit worn down, the travel and physical part of the game catches up to you," Gretzky said.

"He's got the one thing that you've got to have to get to 894, you've got to have a passion for scoring goals. He has that passion for scoring goals. People don't realize, even as good as you are, you've got to get to those dirty areas and that's how you're going to score goals, and he does that."

Alex Ovechkin has maintained the pace, Wayne Gretzky talked about back in 2016. He has scored 36 goals so far this season, including two hat-trick goals. Gretzky explained that scoring gets tougher with age. But he mentioned that Ovechkin can break it by maintaining the pace:

"If he can sustain his pace, there's no question in my mind that he has the ability and the talent and the work ethic to be able to do it. And if he does it, I'll be the first guy there to shake his hand. If there is one guy out there that can do it, there's no question it's him. Records are made to be broken."

Wayne Gretzky mentioned Gordie Howe’s 802 goals were once considered unbreakable (Gretzky scored 894).

Alex Ovechkin is just six goals away from Wayne Gretzky's record after scoring his 889th NHL goal

Fast forward to March 25, 2025, Alex Ovechkin has scored his 889th NHL goal. He scored it against the Winnipeg Jets and moved closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record.

With four minutes left in the third period, Ovechkin got a pass from Aliaksei Protas in the left circle. He quickly took a wrist shot to beat Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck on the short side. The goal tied the game 2-2 and gave Washington hope for a win, but Winnipeg later won 3-2 in overtime.