Alex Ovechkin is on the verge of making history.
On Friday night, Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky with 894 goals, the most in NHL history. He’s now on the cusp of breaking that record that nobody thought could ever be touched.
Peter Laviolette coached Ovechkin for three seasons with the Washington Capitals as he witnessed his greatness firsthand, which is why Laviolette isn’t surprised that the Great Eight is about to surpass The Great One.
“I think everybody probably knew it was going to happen,” Laviolette said about Ovechkin potentially breaking Gretzky’s record. “I think people have known that for a little bit. He’s an incredible goalscorer. When he puts the puck at the net, it has a chance of going in. He puts it there often, he has his whole career. I’m really happy for him. He was great to work with during my time in Washington.
“It was only a matter of time before he got there. It’s big news inside the league too. I think everybody keeps an eye on it and has turned into it. It’s a massive record, it’s the biggest record, it’s a homerun-type record. For that reason everybody watches it.”
During his time in Washington Laviolette watched Ovechkin pass Gordie Howe for the second most goals in NHL history.
It was at that moment when Laviolette and the rest of the NHL world started to process the fact that Ovechkin could one day be the all-time leading scorer.
“In my time there he was working toward No. 2 and eventually he got it,” Laviolette said. “I think then it becomes more on the table and talked about more and looked at more inside of that. Being away from it now, you are watching from the outside.”
The whole hockey world will be keeping an eye out for Ovechkin until he breaks this monumental record.