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Alex Ovechkin remembers Mike Bossy as he chases him in NHL record books

By Bijan Todd

Ovechkin remembers Mike Bossy as he chases him in record books originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington   New York Islanders legend and four-time Stanley Cup champion Mike Bossy passed away on Thursday at age 65. One of the biggest names in NHL history, Bossy leaves behind a tremendous legacy which he accrued over a 10-year playing career. Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin shared his thoughts on Bossy on Friday afternoon.

“Obviously I met him a couple times. He was always smiling, he always had a good mood and it’s a sad day for the whole world,” Ovechkin said. “He was a legend and obviously he was a great person. I would say he was a greatest, like very good goal scorer, and it’s sad news. I wish all the best to his family. How I said, it’s sad for the whole world, hockey world.” Ovechkin paid tribute to Bossy just as he’s chasing his hockey predecessor for a very prestigious record. Bossy is tied with Wayne Gretzky for the most 50-goal seasons in NHL history with nine apiece. Astonishingly, Bossy’s career was half as long as Gretzky’s. With 46 goals on the year, Ovechkin needs four more goals in Washington’s remaining eight games to tie that mark with his ninth 50-goal campaign. “It would be a pretty cool moment to be in that company,” Ovechkin said. “To be with Bossy and Gretzky in the same company, it will be nice. But if it happens, it would be great. If it’s not, I’m gonna try to do it next year.” This isn’t the first time Bossy and Ovechkin have been intertwined in the NHL’s history books. With his 575th career goal scored in November of 2017, Ovechkin pulled ahead of Bossy for No. 21 on the league’s all-time goals list, where Washington’s captain has since skyrocketed up to third. As Ovechkin continued to chase Gretzky’s all-time lead, Bossy took note of the Great 8’s prolific scoring in February of 2020. When asked if Ovechkin could break the record, Bossy told ESPN, “A lot of people have been asking me if he can get to Gretzky’s goal mark, and my answer is that if he wants to, I think he can, if he stays healthy.” Bossy scored 60 goals in half of his 10 professional seasons, yet another seemingly unbelievable stat from the late Islander’s career. Ovechkin has reached that 60-goal plateau once, and put it into context how talented Bossy was. “Obviously it’s crazy stats, crazy numbers. I was lucky to get 60 one time,” Ovechkin said. “Those guys can score, those guys love to play hockey. It was a pleasure to watch how they played on the video tapes and I was lucky to meet him when he was alive and he was always smiling, how I said, and had always a good mood.”

Capitals milestones to watch for during the 2022-23 season

By Andrew Gillis
Caps milestones to watch for during the 2022-23 season originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonWhen the Capitals’ 2022-23 season opens in October, eyes across the league will be focused on Alex Ovechkin’s goal-scoring chase — and for good reason. Ovechkin, with 780 career goals, will enter the season just 20 goals shy of No. 800, 21 shy of tying second-place Gordie Howe and 22 shy of passing him altogether. If Ovechkin keeps up his goal-scoring pace, he’ll be in second place by midseason. But to put in perspective how dominant Ovechkin has been in Washington since 2005, he’s just seven goals shy of passing Howe (with 786) for the most goals scored by a player for one team in NHL history. In Wayne Gretzky’s nine-year career with the Oilers, he scored 583 career goals in 696 games played. Ovechkin has 780 in 1,274 games played. Additionally, Ovechkin can hold the record for most 50-goal seasons in NHL history with just one more 50-spot this season. He would pull out of a tie with Gretzky and Mike Bossy with another such season, which would be Ovechkin’s 10th of his NHL career. Finally, he’s just 28 games short of passing defenseman Sergei Gonchar for second and Alexei Kovalev for first on the all-time games played list for Russians. Gonchar played for six NHL teams in his 20-year career, half of which was spent in Washington, while Kovalev played in 19 NHL seasons. But the milestones are not just beholden to the Capitals’ captain, as a handful of other players are inching toward markers of their own. *Should Nicklas Backstrom return to regular season action, he’s just one goal shy of pulling into eighth all-time on the Swedish goal-scoring list. Though playing in a significant amount of regular season games feels unlikely, he’s 27 assists shy of moving into the top 40 for all-time assists. Just five players in the top 40 assists in NHL history are not in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and only two (Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon) are currently eligible for induction. The other three (Jaromir Jagr, Joe Thornton and Sidney Crosby) will certainly be selected in the future.*On the blue line, John Carlson is seven points shy of 600 for his NHL career. That figure will also move him ahead of Michal Pivonka and into fifth place all-time on the Capitals’ points list. *Other longtime Capitals, like T.J. Oshie, are 29 goals shy of 300 and 36 assists shy of 400. Dmitry Orlov needs 20 assists for 200 in his NHL career.*Evgeny Kuznetsov is just four points shy of 500 for his NHL career, and if he posts a 50-assist season, he’ll move into fifth-place all-time on the Capitals’ franchise assist list. Lastly, the milestones don’t stop on the ice. *Coach Peter Laviolette is six wins shy of passing Alain Vigneault for the eighth-most victories in NHL history. With a strong season in the 2022-23 season, he can put himself in a position near 800 career wins in the 2023-24 regular season, a mark that would leave him in fifth-place all-time. 
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