The Last Skate? Why The NHL Won't 'Marginalize' Alex Ovechkin's Record Chase — Despite His Political Leanings

“It’s on the top of our list in terms of potential events that we want to promote," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said about Alex Ovechkin's potential record-breaking goal.

It is a contrast that will likely cause some controversy. 

With a war still waging on, the NHL has no plans of including Russia or Russian players in its upcoming international calendar of events. And yet, the league will be pulling out all the stops if Alex Ovechkin breaks the NHL's all-time goal-scoring record this season — regardless of which political leader is featured on his social media accounts.

“It’s on the top of our list in terms of potential events that we want to promote and make sure we don’t let it slip under the radar screen,” Daly said during last week’s NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. 

Ovechkin, who has scored 853 career goals, is 41 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 career goals. He scored 42 goals in 2022-23. But last year, Father Time finally started to rear his ugly head as the 39-year-old managed just 31 goals. 

As he enters his 20th season, it's clear that Ovechkin isn't the same player he once was. But it's also apparent that the Capitals will do everything possible to ensure this is a record-breaking year. 

If so, don't expect everyone to be cheering.

Some fans — and media — have suggested that Ovechkin's record not be be celebrated. Or, at the very least, as a Russian who still has photos of himself with Russia president Vladimir Putin on his Instagram account, whatever celebration should be muted.

"Some people kind of suggested, because Alex is Russian, that somehow this should be marginalized in some way," Daly said. "We couldn’t disagree more with that. He’s been a terrific ambassador for our game for 20 years now, and his enthusiasm for the game and passion for the game is infectious, and he’s done a lot to lift the tide for the league and for all players during his tenure there. So it’s something definitely we want to celebrate.”

What that celebration could look like is yet to be determined. But knowing Ovechkin, who famously pretended his stick was on fire when he scored his 60th goal in 2007-08, expect him and the NHL to go as big as possible.

“Do I think he can score 42 goals this year? Yes, I do,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery told reporters last month. “I absolutely think he’s capable of that.”

Gretzky has already said he would like to be in the arena when the record is broken. Several years ago, Steve Mayer, NHL executive vice-president and chief content officer, told Postmedia he wanted to follow Ovechkin around and produce a Last Dance-style documentary like the 10-part series featuring NBA legend Michael Jordan on Netflix.

"I’ll be honest with you, I’ve already started the conversation,” Mayer told Postmedia in 2020. “I’ve got a guy who’s chasing one of the greatest records in hockey history. Can I follow him now all the way to him getting that record?"

Sidney Crosby, who broke into the league at the same time as Ovechkin and is considered his biggest on-ice rival, said Ovechkin's achievements deserve to be celebrated.

“It’s pretty cool,” Crosby said at the media tour. “It’s really cool to be able to play in the same division, to have that history that we’ve had over the years, to come in at the same time with pretty high expectations and to see him be this close to probably what was thought to be an untouchable record. It’s incredible what he’s doing. And I feel pretty grateful to be part of that. 

“As a player, you want to compete at the highest level. To be in that conversation with him over the years, I hope that we’ve gotten the best out of each other and hopefully that we’ve got some strong years left here."

The same involvement might not happen when it comes to the international calendar. 

Russia will not be one of the four countries featured in the NHL's upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Unless the International Olympic Committee decides to include Russia in the 2026 Olympics, the chances are it will also be held out of the 2028 World Cup and possibly the 2032 World Cup. 

That's not good news for Ovechkin or many of the other talented Russian players, such as Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky and others, who arguably would have made this year's Russian men's hockey team the best in years.

“We haven’t thought that far ahead, because the situation is so dynamic,” Daly said. “Unless there’s a drastic change in the course of events — the Summer Olympics did not allow any Russian team participation — so I would expect that same rule will apply to the Winter Olympics in 2026.

“In large part, we would see where the international community is with respect to Russian participation in competition. That won’t be a determining factor for us, but it would probably be somewhat persuasive at least depending on what the situation is. But I don’t want to rule out anything, and I don’t want to rule in anything.”

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