Alex Ovechkin And Four Other NHL Stars Are Drinking From The Fountain Of Youth

Alex Ovechkin has chased down Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record by remaining productive long into his career.

Now 39, Ovechkin tied Gretzky’s record on Friday by scoring 188 goals in 334 games since his 35th birthday in the fall of 2020. That’s the sixth-most overall during that timeframe.

By contrast, Gretzky scored just 67 goals in 265 games from his 35th birthday on Jan. 26, 1996 through his retirement in April of 1999, at age 38. Once he passed Gordie Howe with No. 802 in 1994, there was a significant drop-off in his production.

On Friday, Ovechkin also became the second-oldest player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season. Gordie Howe did it as a 40-year-old in 1968-69. The way Ovi’s going, he could take a real run at tying that record next year if the spirit moves him.

But this season, Ovechkin’s not the only NHL greybeard who’s doing great things. Here are four others who also seem to be drinking from the Fountain of Youth, listed in order of age.

The Minnesota Wild stopper has let it be known that he’s bowing out at the end of this season. And while his workload has been reduced, the first-overall pick from 2003 is still delivering quality minutes during his farewell tour. 

In 23 appearances during his age-40 year, Fleury is 12-9-1 with a 2.78 goals-against average and .903 save percentage. The next stop for the three-time Cup champ: the Hockey Hall of Fame.

When Burns signed an eight-year contract extension at an $8 million cap hit in the fall of 2016, it was widely assumed that the San Jose Sharks were buying high.

Burns won his Norris Trophy at the end of that season before his new deal kicked in. And by the end of Year 5, the rebuilding Sharks were happy to retain a third of the money in order to offload the contract to Carolina.

Burns turned 40 in March. He may not be hitting 70 points anymore, but he’s still averaging well over 20 minutes a game on one of the league’s best puck-possession teams. 

Whatever mysterious potions the bearded one might be carting around in his famous backpack, Burns’s regime is working for him. He recently moved into fourth-place all-time on the NHL’s consecutive-games-played list, at 919. 

Only one other defenseman is ahead of him, Keith Yandle (989). Burns could pass him if he plays just one more year.

Streak aside, it won’t be surprising if Burns has multiple suitors if he decides to test the waters as a UFA this summer.

Vlasic signed his big extension in San Jose just a few months after his old partner, Burns, on July 1, 2017 — at a slightly lower cap hit of $7 million a season. As more of a stay-at-home type, he’s had some injury challenges over the years. But this season, Vlasic passed Mark Giordano to become the NHL player with the most blocked shots since tracking began in 2005-06.

That achievement speaks volumes about the physical sacrifices that Vlasic has made throughout his career. 

He has one year remaining on his deal and will most likely want to play it out. It will at least provide one year of insurance for his blocks record, as John Carlson and Alex Pietrangelo are still active and sit third and fourth in the all-time blocked-shot rankings.

Sid the Kid is the 13th-oldest skater in the NHL this season. But like Ovechkin, his motor simply isn’t slowing down. 

His 1,682 career points are 64 more than second-place Ovechkin among active players. And with his hat trick in Pittsburgh’s win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday, Crosby just hit the 30-goal mark for the fourth-straight year and the 13th time in his career. 

Last week, Crosby set a record by logging his 20th  point-per-game season — which spans his entire career.

If he gets a point against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, he’ll extend his current point streak to 13 games. That would be a record for a player who’s 37 or older.

Crosby’s workload isn’t changing, either. His average ice time this season is 20:24, just 16 seconds below his career average of 20:40.

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