The biggest storyline of the 2024-25 NHL regular season was Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career goal-scoring mark. It made for exciting viewing and Virginia sports betting action in the final days of the season. The record fell April 6, when the Washington Capitals left wing tallied his 895th goal in a game against the New York Islanders.
Ovechkin confirmed that he will return for a 21st season after the Carolina Hurricanes eliminated the Capitals in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Many will watch to see when Ovi scores goal No. 900, but there’s another record set by another NHL legend to chance.
Most Goals In A Season By An NHL Player Age 40 Or Older
Player, team | Age (season) | Goals |
Gordie Howe, Red Wings | 40 (1968-69) | 44 |
Johnny Bucyk, Bruins | 40 (1975-76) | 36 |
Gordie Howe, Red Wings | 41 (1969-70) | 31 |
Teemu Selanne, Ducks | 40 (2010-11) | 31 |
Jaromir Jagr, Panthers | 43 (2015-16) | 27 |
This data is from hockey-reference.com. Stick with BetVirginia.com for the best Virginia sportsbook promo codes plus more sports coverage.
Can Ovechkin Join NHL’s 40 At 40 Club?
Only one player has scored 40 or more goals after turning 40, according to Hockey Reference data. That was Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, who reached 44 goals in 76 games with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1968-69 season. Ovechkin will turn 40 in September as he and his Caps teammates prepare to defend the Metropolitan Division title and make another run at the Stanley Cup. In the meantime, BetVirginia offers the latest regarding NHL betting on the four remaining teams in the playoffs.
Washington coach Spencer Carbery told reporters during Saturday’s end-of-the-season press conference he believes the Capitals captain can have another season like this past one, in which Ovechkin scored 44 goals in only 65 games. And that was after Ovi missed 16 games with a broken leg he suffered in mid-November.
“I don’t put anything past him, even being 40 years old,” Carbery said, according to RNMB.com. “…As Terrell Owens once said, ‘I would get your popcorn ready.’”
Will Alex Ovechkin Break Gordie Howe’s Over-40 Record?
Yes | +150 |
No | -150 |
It would not be all that shocking if Ovechkin scores 40 goals, especially if he stays healthy all season. The team has a dynamic offense and Washington Capitals odds should be strong again in 2025-26. Their 286 goals this past season were second-best in the NHL behind the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 292. Ovechkin also has a great on-ice partner in center Dylan Strome, who assisted on 23 of The Great 8’s goals this past season.
Another reason to believe Ovechkin has more than just a chance is Carbery. The Capitals’ second-year coach is the likely winner of the NHL’s Jack Adams Award, which goes to the coach deemed to have best impacted his team’s success. Carbery’s remarkable job managing Ovechkin’s ice time is one of the reasons why he’s up for the award.
Ovechkin’s 17:43 average ice time per game was the shortest of his 20-year career and nearly three minutes off his career average of 20:36. Perhaps it’s not coincidental that Ovechkin’s 18.6 shooting percentage was also a career best.
Our odds on Ovi scoring 40 next season – which might also be a prop at Virginia sports betting apps next season – would be -110 if the theoretical wager was just about Ovi scoring 40 goals next season. But, though he matched Howe’s 44 goals this past season in 65 games, anyone over 40 can tell you the body just isn’t the same as it was in their 20s and 30s. Wear and tear might catch up to Ovechkin late in the season as he gets closer to Howe’s record.
No Asterisk Necessary For Great 8
Assuming he stays healthy, Ovechkin will have up to six more games to match Howe’s record, though there should not be an asterisk next to Ovechkin if he breaks the record.
Howe played in an era when the league had just doubled in size to 12 teams, and nearly half of Detroit’s games were against expansion clubs in their second season. A majority of his goals, 23, came against those six clubs.
The NHL has increased the schedule to 82 games, and there are 32 teams now in the league. Despite that, Ovechkin faces a far better caliber of goalies from top to bottom than Howe did.
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Also check out NHL teams with the most individual awards since 2000 for another measure of how much Ovechkin has meant to the franchise over the past two decades.
USA Today photo by James Guillory
