Elliotte Friedman shares surprising prediction on Alexander Ovechkin's pursuit of history and Wayne Gretzky

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Tom Banks
November 11, 2024 (5:13 PM)

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Alex Ovechkin is now creeping ever closer to Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record, and now Elliotte Friedman thinks he can get it done this season.

The Washington Capitals are off to a red-hot start this season, and while there are many reasons for that, it can't be understated just how well captain Alexander Ovechkin has played. Through 14 games this year, Ovi is tied with Connor McMichael for the team lead in goals with an impressive 10, and with Wayne Gretzky's record now just over 30 away, we could be seeing history made in 2024/25.

That is something that NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman believes is not only possible but likely at this point, as he discussed the historic chase on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts.

«Suddenly, that seems a little easier to digest. And when we are talking about one of and will eventually be, we believe the greatest hole of all time that doesn't seem out of reach is the 11th hour of the chase upon us, a little quicker than maybe we imagine. It's definitely on there, faster than I imagined, like us on pace for 59 this year, which would get him well past the record."

This is in stark contrast to his prediction from the off-season, where Friedman and many more believed that scoring 40 at Ovechkin's age was not a likely thing to happen.

«He's, you know, just over 30 from it now," Friedman said. "And I think that we all have to recognize that, you know, like at the beginning of the year, my reaction was like I said, I don't think he's getting there this year, but we'll see where he is."

Despite being 39 years of age, Ovechkin sits just one back of the league lead in goals thus far in 2024/25, and with his current pace, he could pass Gretzky's record by well over 15 goals this season if he keeps it up. Ovechkin has received support from the iconic Great One throughout this chase, and it appears he has immense support from the NHL world as history approaches.

At his age, however, there's likely to be some slumps along the way, but with his determination to get this done, it appears to be just a matter of when, not if this will happen, with most believing it will now happen this season.