Alex Ovechkin is close to previously unimaginable milestone

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates his 899th goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Nationwide Arena. Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

Capitals' Alex Ovechkin one goal away from previously unimaginable milestone

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Oct 24, 2025 10:29 PM ET

The Washington Capitals were 5-1 winners over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night, with Alex Ovechkin contributing one of the goals. While that has been a common occurrence over the past two decades, this goal is especially meaningful because it pulls Ovechkin to within one goal of a milestone that previously seemed to be unimaginable.

Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin scores goal No. 899

Ovechkin's third-period goal on Friday was the 899th goal of his career, pulling him to within one goal of 900.

He was already the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader when he scored goal No. 895 late in the 2024-25 season, and every goal he scores for the remainder of his career will just put more and more distance between him and everybody else.

But as sports fans, we love round numbers, and 900 goals in the NHL just always seemed like something that was always going to be unreachable for any player.

GOAL NUMBER 899 FOR ALEX OVECHKIN! pic.twitter.com/yq9b7RBVrD
— NHL (@NHL) October 25, 2025

After all, if Wayne Gretzky could not get there playing in the era he played in, who was ever going to do it?

Only three players in league history (Ovechkin, Gretzky and Gordie Howe) have topped even the 800-goal mark. Only eight have gone over the 700-goal mark.

It is even more impressive for Ovechkin when you realize he played in significantly lower-scoring eras than the likes of Gretzky and several of the other 700-goal club members, and also missed significant chunks of seasons due to lockouts and the Covid-19 pandemic. His potential rookie season (2004-05) was wiped out due to a lockout, as was half of the 2012-13 season.

The 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons were also basically cut in half. That comes out to potentially two-and-a-half seasons worth of games. Given how the fact Ovechkin has averaged more than 40 goals per season in his career and routinely scored 50, it is not a stretch to think he could be closing in on 1,000 goals at this point. There has simply never been a goal-scorer like him in the history of the sport.

Even though he is unlikely to ever get close to that number, exceeding the 900-goal mark will still be a massive accomplishment. He is one goal away from it.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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