Strome ready to assist Ovechkin on march to NHL goals record

BRAMPTON, Ontario -- Dylan Strome knows he has a chance to be a part of NHL history as early as sometime this season.

The forward had an assist on the 801st goal Alex Ovechkin scored in his NHL career, a goal that tied him with Gordie Howe for second on the NHL goals list on Dec. 23, 2022.

Now with Ovechkin only 41 away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record 894 goals, Strome admitted he has let himself wonder about what it would be like to assist on the goal that Ovechkin could score to tie or surpass Gretzky.

"Yes, of course I have thought about it,” Strome told NHL.com Wednesday at Hockey Night In Brampton, the third annual charity hockey game that included NHL players past and present and raised just shy of $14 million for the William Osler Health System toward building a second hospital in the city. “I think everyone has. Everyone remembers (Marty) McSorley to Gretzky for the 802 goal (when he passed Howe). It's history and (Ovechkin) talks about that a lot, it's part of hockey lore. I got an assist on (Ovechkin’s) Gordie Howe-tying goal but not many people will remember that one if he breaks the record but it would be really cool to be a part of."

While 41 goals would seem to be a significant gap to close in one season, Strome believes Ovechkin can reach the milestone this season.

"I definitely think so,” Strome said. “There's been a lot more seasons of 40-plus goals for him than there have been without 40-plus goals for him. Everyone counted him out throughout 40 games last year and he really took off in the second half, so I'd expect a lot of the second half ‘Ovi’ that we got last year. We are all waiting for it, and we'll be ready. I'll be looking to pass to him of course."

Strome is not the only one who feels the record is within reach.    

“Do I think he can score 42 goals this year? Yes, I do,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti on Monday. “I absolutely think he’s capable of that.”

To Strome’s point, Ovechkin has scored 40 goals or more in 13 of his 19 NHL seasons. Though he started last season slowly, scoring eight goals in his first 43 games, he finished the season on a tear with 23 goals in his final 36 games, a 52-goal pace over 82 games.

"It was impressive,” Strome said. “You can't count a guy out like that. He has one of, if not the best shots in the NHL. There's a few guys with really good shots but he's in the top five in my opinion. I see it every day. Any time a guy can shoot like that, it's up to guys around him to get him the puck and that's what we are trying to do."

Ovechkin finished with 31 goals last season, the 18th time in his 19 seasons that he has scored 30 or more goals. Strome assisted on 14.

"I think he's very, very humble and when it comes to what he's done in his career, he's very humble and he's very appreciative of his teammates,” Strome said. “I've noticed that the last couple years where even if it is a record-setting goal he gets, a 50th goal, his 800th goal, he's always thanking other people first and giving credit to other people first. Of course he thinks about the (all time) record. He's going to maybe be the greatest goal-scorer in the history of the NHL so we're in it with him and hopefully it's this year."

Ovechkin’s strong finish helped the Capitals go 18-13-5 in their final 36 games, leading to a surprise Stanley Cup Playoff berth. As late as Feb. 9, they were seventh in the Metropolitan Division and trailed the New York Islanders by five points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“Lots of people counted us out for sure last year,” Strome said. “For (the younger) guys who hadn't made the playoffs much, it kind of felt like what you were doing during the regular season was worth it. I've played almost 500 games in the NHL and had never made the playoffs before besides the bubble (in 2020) and we were the 12th seed in the bubble, so I don't feel like that even really counts. It meant what you are doing is working and we just need to keep going at it."

Though the Capitals were swept in four games by the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round, they have improved the team during the offseason adding forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Taylor Raddysh, Brandon Duhaime, defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy and goalie Logan Thompson.

Strome said the Capitals’ strong finish and active offseason have him eager to start the season.

"It was the most fun I've had playing hockey in a long, long time and that was making the playoffs,” Strome said. “Whether I can be a first or second-line center, whatever it may be, I just want to help the team win, that's the main thing. It was a lot of fun to be a part of last year so I'm excited to go back and try to do it again."

“Seven new guys on a team is a lot of guys, especially on a team that made the playoffs. It didn’t end the way we wanted to, only one team gets to be happy at the end of the season but a lot to build on and we’re excited about it.”