Alex Ovechkin broke one of the great records in sport when he surpassed the legendary Wayne Gretzky for goals in the NHL, but the Russian’s association with president Vladimir Putin adds another layer to the historic achievement.
The 39-year-old Ovechkin scored the 895th goal of his NHL career as his Washington Capitals team played the New York Islanders on Sunday night. Canadian Gretzky, widely considered the greatest ice hockey player of all time, was present and his record, which had stood since 1999, was previously considered unbreakable.
On Monday, Ovechkin was congratulated by by the Kremlin as Putin hailed his achievement as a cause of “celebration for fans in Russia and abroad”.
Ovechkin was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2004 with the first pick of the NHL draft and has remained with the team for the entirety of his career. His success with the Capitals made Ovechkin one of the most famous Russian athletes in the world and he was an ambassador for the country during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Ovechkin spoke of his admiration of Putin in 2017 when he praised the Russian president’s “fairness” and “righteousness”. At the time, he spoke openly about his support for Putin and of “never hiding my relationship” with him. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ovechkin has been less vocal of his support, but has also not criticised Putin or spoke out against the military action; his profile picture on Instagram remains an image of him standing side by side with Putin in the Kremlin.
"You have surpassed the legendary masters in the number of goals scored in the regular season matches of the National Hockey League," Putin said the message published by the Kremlin.
"You have won world and national tournaments, and many other bright, unique achievements that have entered the annals of the national hockey school. Without a doubt, this achievement has become not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad."
Ovechkin helped Washington win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018 and the 39-year-old was congratulated by sporting greats such as LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Simone Biles and Roger Federer after breaking Gretzky’s total.
Ovechkin said during a ceremony on the ice: “What a day, huh? Like I always said, all the time, it’s a team sport and without my boys, the whole organisation, the fans, the trainers, coaches, I would never stand here and obviously I would never pass the ‘Great One’.
“All of you fans, the whole world, Russia, we did it, boys, we did it, it’s history. Yeah!”
Gretzky - known as the ‘Great One’ after his four Stanley Cup victories with Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s - said: “I can tell you first-hand, I know how hard it is to get 894. 895 is pretty special. They say records are made to be broken, but I’m not sure who’s going to get more goals than that.”
