Skip to main content

Jaromir Jagr congratulates Alex Ovechkin on milestone, issues playful warning

By Matt Weyrich

Jagr congratulates Ovechkin on milestone, issues playful warning originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Jaromir Jagr is no sore loser, but the hockey legend left Alex Ovechkin with a light-hearted, cautionary message after the Capitals star passed him for the third-most goals in NHL history Tuesday night with No. 767.

“Alex, the Great 8, congratulations, now you become the leading NHL goal-scorer among European players,” Jagr said in a video aired at Capital One Arena. “But keep scoring, keep scoring, because as you know, I didn’t retire from hockey yet and there is a chance I might come back to the NHL and start chasing you.”

Ovechkin, who had already passed Marcel Dionne (731) and Brett Hull (741) on the all-time goals list this season, notched the historic score with just under four minutes left in the third period of a 2-2 game against the New York Islanders. Former teammate Semyon Varlamov was in net for New York, unable to stop the puck as it flew over his left shoulder.

With the goal, Ovechkin now trails only Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most ever.

Now with Caps, Tuch recalls Holtby’s save on him in 2018 Final: ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’

By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch joins the Washington Capitals having already been part of a big moment in their history. It was Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2018. Tuch, then a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, swept the puck toward an open net — only for Capitals goalie Braden Holtby to make a stupendous save with a desperate reach of his stick and blocker. Washington held on to win 3-2, knotting the series on the way to a five-game triumph. “I talked to Holtby in the line afterward and he said it was the luckiest save of his life,” Tuch said Friday. “So that made me feel a little bit better — but not really at the same time, because he was shaking my hand after winning the Cup.” Tuch was in his first full season that year. Now he's a three-time 30-goal scorer the Capitals acquired in a trade this week with Buffalo. He spent four seasons with Vegas and then five with the Sabres.
Read Next Story

Related Stories

Washington Capitals
NHL Draft Draft Order
June 25, 2026

NHL Draft Draft Order

Blues Kyrou Hockey

Sabres land No. 4 draft pick in trading Byram to Blackhawks. Capitals acquire Kyrou from Blues

Spencer Carbery

Capitals sign coach Spencer Carbery to a multiyear contract extension

Today in Sports - Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history

Capitals Liljegren Hockey

Washington Capitals re-sign Timothy Liljegren to a 2-year, $6.5 million contract