As Alex Ovechkin makes history with 895th goal, Wayne Gretzky passes the torch

Wayne Gretzky knew this day was going to come.

After he set the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring record in 1994, Gretzky’s father, Walter, told his son that the record wouldn’t last — someone would come along in the future and break the mark. And when that happened, Walter said, he hoped his son would show the same amount of respect and admiration to that player that Gordie Howe did when he watched Gretzky approach his then-record goal total of 801.

That message has stayed with Gretzky three decades later.

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When Alex Ovechkin scored 219 goals in his first three NHL seasons, the speculation started.

Could Gretzky’s "unbreakable" record actually fall one day?

The goals kept coming, and what was once a speculative What If? started becoming a real possibility. Each time Gretzky has been asked about Ovechkin’s chances at the record, “The Great One” has been rooting on the Washington Capitals captain. He understood that the chase has brought positive attention to the league and has been good for the sport.

He remembered the words his father told him all those years ago.

When goal No. 895 was scored on Sunday afternoon, Gretzky was there in attendance at UBS Arena in New York to be part of hockey history and celebrate the Capitals superstar. After Ovechkin beat Ilya Sorokin for the record, the game was paused for a brief ceremony. There on the ice was Gretzky, who has been following Ovechkin around since last week. They exchanged hugs and a handshake. One era of hockey celebrating another.

The conclusion of the record chase is a freeing moment for Ovechkin. He has been reticent to talk about passing Gretzky. The questions have been asked for years about whether he could do it. Now that he has, the full focus can shift to the Capitals’ season, one in which ...