Alex Ovechkin to Retire After 22nd NHL Season With 929 Career Goals

Q: With Gretzky's record already shattered, what unprecedented goal milestone will Ovechkin reach before retiring?

The likeliest unprecedented milestone is 1,000 career regular-season goals, though it is not guaranteed in his final season. Ovechkin enters the year with 929 regular-season goals, already past Wayne Gretzky’s old mark of 894. That leaves him 71 short of 1,000, a total that would make him the first player in NHL history to reach four figures in regular-season goals. The additional reporting shows Ovechkin has not ruled out chasing that number, saying it would depend on his health and desire. There is, however, another major milestone he is far closer to and is widely expected to reach before retiring: the all-time combined goals record for regular season and playoffs. He begins the season with 1,006 combined goals, just 11 shy of passing Gretzky’s 1,016. His 11th goal this season would give him that record outright. So if the question is about the truly historic, never-before-seen target beyond Gretzky’s regular-season record, it is 1,000 regular-season goals. But based on his current total, the milestone he is most certain to reach before retirement is the combined regular-season-and-playoff goals record.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Oct 5

Ovechkin, 41, said Monday that the 2026-27 campaign will be his last, ending a 22-season NHL career spent entirely with Washington.
The Capitals captain said he made the decision over the summer with his family and announced it before the first home game so he could thank people who shaped his career.
Washington re-signed him for one year at a $4.25 million average value, plus a $4.75 million bonus after his 10th game, after he posted 32 goals and 64 points last season.
His farewell season begins with 929 career goals—already past Wayne Gretzky's 894 record—as the Capitals try to contend in the East after missing the playoffs.
The season will also frame one last chapter in Ovechkin's rivalry with Sidney Crosby, with his final regular-season home game set against Pittsburgh.