While Alex Ovechkin broke arguably the NHL’s most iconic record last season by scoring his 895th career goal, the Russian sharpshooter still has more milestones to chase in the coming year, Sports Illustrated’s Nick Horwat outlines.
In what could be his final season, Ovechkin will easily become the first player in NHL history to hit the 900-goal plateau. Just three goals away, a fast start should put that record in the rear-view mirror and could kick-start another pursuit in Ovechkin’s age-40 season. Currently, Gordie Howe holds the record for most goals by a 40-year-old player with the 44 he put up during the 1968-69 season with the Detroit Red Wings. It’s a lofty mark that remains unmatched 50-plus years later for a reason, but it’s a reasonable expectation for Ovechkin, who is coming off a 44-goal season while playing just 65 games.
Ovechkin is also just 18 points shy of cracking the NHL’s top 10 all-time scoring list, three goals away from entering the top 10 in playoff goals, and 192 hits short of becoming second all-time in that category.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division:
- The Philadelphia Flyers have been on a bit of a goaltending carousel over the years, due to a variety of circumstances. As Haley Taylor Simon of Philly Sports Network details, the situation may have hit rock bottom during the 2018-19 season when the team utilized an NHL-record eight goaltenders. Still, the Flyers haven’t exactly fortified the position since. However, Simon wonders if recently signed Dan Vladar could be the answer between the pipes. Still just 27, Vladar is coming off a solid showing with the Calgary Flames last season, appearing in 30 games and securing a .898 save percentage, a 2.80 GAA, and a career-high .586 quality start percentage. On the opening day of free agency, Vladar signed a to a two-year, $6.7MM deal and is expected to compete with Samuel Ersson, who appeared in 47 games for the Flyers last season and finished with a .883 save percentage and 3.14 GAA.
- Penguins GM Kyle Dubas expressed a desire to improve both the depth and overall performance of his left-side defensemen, which led to a series of free-agent signings aimed at finding the right fit. Among the players he signed, physical defenseman Parker Wotherspoon — who inked a two-year, $2 million deal with Pittsburgh — may have the inside track on a roster spot. Wotherspoon, 27, has appeared in 108 regular-season games in the NHL across three seasons, including a career-high 55 games for the Boston Bruins last season. On the year, he averaged 18:02 of ice time per night and registered seven points, 75 hits, and 66 blocked shots. He joins recently signed Caleb Jones and Alexander Alexeyev, as well as veteran Ryan Graves, and promising youngster Owen Pickering in Pittsburgh’s depth chart. Per Justin Guerriero of Triblive.com, Wotherspoon believes Pittsburgh gives him the best opportunity to play. “They seemed interested, we seemed interested and we thought it’d be a good fit with some opportunity to play. … An opportunity to get back in the playoffs is all I wanted to do. Everything just kind of lined up really well,” he said.