Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin accomplished something many figured would be impossible this past year, overcoming a broken leg and scoring 44 goals to overtake Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer.

Looking ahead, many are wondering if anyone will come close to that record going forward, and Alex Radulov offered some insight.

The former NHLer told MatchTV that Ovechkin's accomplishment is something many can't put into words, and said that he remembers when many wrote off the possibility that someone would break Gretzky's record.

"No one thought he would go after Gretzky's record... it was unthinkable, no one even talked about it," Radulov said, per a DeepL translation. "But as the years passed, Ovechkin did the impossible... now no one can say who could surpass Ovechkin. They say no one can do it."

When it comes down to it, though, Radulov amended that he thinks Auston Matthews has a chance to passing Ovechkin one day if things go smoothly for the Toronto Maple Leafs star.

"You can't rule it out," Radulov said. "God willing, he'll stay healthy. He has everything he needs (to break the record)."

Ovechkin is entering his 21st NHL season with 897 career goals and can become the first player in league history to hit 900 in the regular season. This is the final year of his contract, though he has not decided whether or not he will extend his tenure in the NHL.

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Matthews has 401 goals in 629 games so far, scoring at least 30 goals in each of his nine seasons so far, though some question whether his injury history and consistency could interfere with his chase for the record.

The 27-year-old, however, isn't thinking that far ahead.

“That’s such a long way away or such a long way to go,” Matthews said in April. “And, you know, I don’t even think I should be in that conversation. I mean, this guy just broke the record. I’m so far away from that, and I don’t think that should be a focus on myself. I mean, it should be on Ovi, and rightfully so. It should be on Ovi, and what he’s been able to accomplish in his career, and obviously this record being one of them."