"He's on my side": Alex Ovechkin opens up about Wayne Gretzky's inspiring messages in pursuit of impressive scoring record

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Oct 24, 2024 03:29 GMT

Russian superstar Alex Ovechkin has emerged as one of the greatest goal scorers of the modern era since being taken with the first overall selection by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL Draft. He is within striking distance of becoming the NHL's new all-time goal-scoring leader and surpassing Wayne Gretzky in the process.

However, if fans think Gretzky doesn't want to see his record broken, think again. According to Ovechkin, "The Great One" himself routinely communicates with him and supports the idea of "The Great 8" surpassing his record and offers encouragement during scoring slumps.

"It's great," Ovechkin told NHL.com. "Even when I have a slump, he will sometimes text me and say, 'Don't worry about it. It will come.' He's on my side."

"If that kind of person is rooting for me, it's pretty cool stuff," Ovechkin said. "He's the best player out there and he's a great human. He supports me and it's a pretty cool thing."

Gretzky confirmed that he's rooting for Ovechkin, stating his belief that it's only "a matter of time" before the NHL has a new all-time scoring leader.

"Oh yeah, of course," Gretzky said last month. "It's just a matter of time, whether it's late this year, early next year, whenever. I mean, he's a great player. He's a great goal scorer."

Ovechkin has one goal so far this season after tallying 31 last season; he began last season in an uncharacteristic slump by scoring only eight goals in the first 31 games, which included 13 straight games without lighting the lamp.

However, he rebounded to earn the 18th 30+ goal campaign of his Hall of Fame career.

Alex Ovechkin is only 41 goals from catching Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring mark

While Ovechkin does have his eyes set on breaking Gretzky's record, he'd also love the chance to raise the Stanley Cup at least one more time during his career.

"Obviously, it's still 42 goals," he said before this season. "I'm not getting younger, I'm getting older, but the most important thing is to stay healthy and do my job. I try to score goals, try to create, play physical and the most important thing is win another Cup. It's not about the record."

Ovechkin and the Capitals are in action on Wednesday night against the visiting rival Philadelphia Flyers at Capital One Arena.