It was called the unbreakable record. Wayne Gretsky’s 894 career goals was an NHL record he held for 31 years until just this year when Alex Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal, breaking the record. But with all of that being said, where do his career goals place him? Is he top five, three, ten all-time? 

Today I’ll be making the GOAT case for Alex Ovechkin. Now to make this case, you have to not just think about goals, but other stats as well, and Ovechkin doesn’t just have the career goals record. He is 4th all-time in hits with 3734, 11th all-time in career points with 1619, meaning he’s a much more well-rounded player than you would think. Some drawbacks however, are Ovechkin’s 13.1% shooting percentage, which is ok, but not great when compared to others like Wayne Gretsky. Also, his career +/- of 62 is ok, but not great when compared to Wayne Gretsky. Wayne Gretsky still has the most career assists, a shooting percentage of 17.6%, and is the all-time leader in career points with 2857, which is over a thousand more than Ovechkin. With all of that in mind, I can confidently say that while Ovechkin is top five all-time and the greatest goal scorer, Wayne Gretzky is the best all-around scorer. His prowess at intercepting goals and maintaining possession makes him a better defender, and therefore the GOAT.