Ovechkin can break Gretzky's NHL all-time goals record this season, Lindros says

TORONTO -- Eric Lindros says there’s no question that Alex Ovechkin will break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL all-time goals record. To the Hockey Hall of Famer, the only question is when.

“I think he might hit it this year, right?” Lindros said Sunday after the Hyundai Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic at Scotiabank Arena. “Like, if you look at his pace here, he's ripping them and he's scoring them in bunches.”

That is certainly true. Ovechkin scored two goals in the Washington Capitals’ 8-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday to give the forward 863 goals for his NHL career, 31 shy of Gretzky’s career mark of 894.

He has scored 10 goals in his first 14 games this season. It took him 45 games to reach double-digits in goals last season.

“That's regular Alex, right?” Lindros said. “You know, he'll miss a game, and he'll come back and he'll bang in two.”

Lindros has seen that firsthand. The first time Lindros faced Ovechkin was Nov. 6, 2005, while he was playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ovechkin, who would go on to win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, scored two goals in a 5-4 win at home. Three nights later, Ovechkin scored two more goals in a 6-4 loss in Toronto.

In the two seasons (2005-06, 2006-07) Lindros and Ovechkin simultaneously played in the NHL, Ovechkin scored five goals in their head-to-head matchups.

This season, the 39-year-old is averaging .714 goals per game, a rate that would see him pass Gretzky in 45 more games. That would be at the end of February, which is exactly what Lindros expects.

“So it's possible that it’s this year,” Lindros said. “I don't know, he might do it in like, late February.”

Lindros not only played in the Hockey Hall of Fame Legends game, but he was also one of the captains, going up against a team led by fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford.

With 2024 Hockey Hall of Famer Jeremy Roenick stealing the show with a dance move late in the Legends game, the fans who came to Scotiabank Arena had a blast during what is always a magical weekend in Toronto.

The members of the 2024 Hall Class -- Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Roenick, Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, David Poile and Colin Campbell -- received their Hall of Fame rings on Friday, took part in a fan Q&A on Saturday and will get inducted and make their acceptance speeches on Monday.

Sunday, the Legends Game saw many of the game’s greats, including Lindros, Hefford, Datsyuk, Weber, Darwitz, Mike Gartner and even saw 84-year-old Terry Harper -- a five-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman -- take part in the action.

“It's just fun. I mean, you're playing the best game in the world,” Lindros said. “Everyone loves coming back to Toronto when they’re playing, if you’re from here. To be back here and to be on the ice, it’s great.

“You walk in the room and you look at all the guys in there, the fun stories, and then the Hall of Famers that are so deserving of Monday’s induction. It’s great.”

Lindros, who had 865 points (372 goals, 493 assists) in 760 games for the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016 and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017, said the chase of Gretzky is “good for hockey.”

“I mean, he's doing real well, so, yeah, (I’m) pulling for him,” Lindros said. “I think everyone's pulling for him.”