MANALAPAN, Florida — As Alex Ovechkin gets closer to resuming his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record, the Great One offered some insight into what he thinks the Washington Capitals captain will have to contend with as goal No. 895 starts to come into view.
“He’s human,” Gretzky said Monday. “He’ll get a little bit nervous near the end.”
Ovechkin is working his way back from a fractured left fibula and could return to the Capitals lineup as soon as next week. He currently sits 26 goals shy of matching Gretzky’s career total of 894 and should have anywhere from 48 to 52 regular-season games remaining this season, depending on when he’s deemed healthy enough to play again.
Gretzky has been publicly supportive of Ovechkin’s record chase — much as Gordie Howe was for him when he surpassed Howe’s all-time goals and points marks.
“I talk to Alex periodically and I always wish him the best,” Gretzky said. “He’ll be fine. He’s handled the pressure. He’s won the Stanley Cup. He’s been a big part of the success of the NHL. He’s been a huge part of the Washington Capitals.
“Listen, he’s been nothing but positive for our sport and that’s most important. And good for him, man.”
Gretzky has held the NHL’s all-time goals mark since passing Howe with his 802nd career goal on March 23, 1994. He indicated that he’d like to be there to shake Ovechkin’s hand on the night the Capitals star eventually surpasses him.
While Ovechkin endured the most prolonged scoring slump of his career midway through last season, he started this season on fire with 15 goals in 18 games before getting injured on an accidental collision in Utah on Nov. 24.
“Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, right?” Gretzky said. “Sometimes you play really well and don’t score. Sometimes you’re not playing well and it happens. All in all, he hasn’t changed his game much. I think his coaching staff has done a great job of utilizing him and moving him (around) on the power play. He’s a bull. His shot is as good as anybody who ever played the game.
“I got to play with Jari Kurri and Brett Hull and one of the greatest compliments I can give both of them is they never miss the net. Like if you miss the net you can’t score, and Ovechkin doesn’t miss the net. You know what, all the more power to him.
“He’s been tremendous this year and, listen, I know how hard it is at that age. It gets tougher and tougher, but he’s hung in there and he’s a trooper.”
Beyond discussing the goal-scoring chase, Gretzky expressed excitement about the return of best-on-best hockey with the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
He represented Team Canada on several occasions during his playing career and also served as its general manager for the 2002 and 2006 Olympics, plus the 2004 World Cup. He can identify with the stress and scrutiny current Canadian GM Don Sweeney experienced last week when he officially unveiled the final roster selections.
“What I don’t miss (about the job) is the controversy of who didn’t make the team because we have so many great players in Canada,” Gretzky said. “And everybody’s got an opinion: ‘That guy should be on the team or that guy should be on the team.’ I said to (assistant coach) Rick Tocchet the other day, ‘You know, the game is so fast now and so big, you never know. There’s going to be injuries.’ You hope there’s not, but going forward, there could be one, two, three different guys that end up on this team because the game is so physical.”
While many observers have touted Team USA as the favorite heading into an event that also features Sweden and Finland, Gretzky likes the chances of his home nation.
“I would say this: The Americans are a very good team and, maybe I’m biased, but I think the Canadians match up really well against the Americans,” he said. “It’s going to be tremendous hockey. I’m not sure who is going to win, but I’m just saying that as a Canadian, I think our team matches up very good against the Americans.”
Gretzky spoke with a handful of reporters on Monday afternoon following an appearance at the NHL’s Board of Governors meeting alongside his colleagues from TNT’s national hockey panel.
When colleague Paul Bissonnette jumped into his media scrum and asked Gretzky how many more goals he would have scored in an era with composite sticks and a rulebook that features no red-line for two-line passes, he replied: “I would have liked that 3-on-3 (overtime). That’s my only thing.”
(Top photo of Alex Ovechkin: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
