NHL Pick: Can Ovechkin break Gretzky’s Record? Yes (-150) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Wayne Gretzky is the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer but Alexander Ovechkin is within striking distance of usurping The Great One as the league’s goal-scoring king. But does he have enough gas left in the tank to complete the mission?
Below we will analyze the two NHL picks being offered at BetOnline to find out if there is money to be made on Ovie’s quest!
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The Countdown Begins
There have been very few players like Alexander Ovechkin and if his body can withstand the rigors of a few more NHL seasons, there may be nobody else in the history of the game that has done what he could very well do.
The task at hand is surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s 894 regular-season career goals and it is possible that the fleet-footed phantom, who has been prowling the ice for 18 years, could do just that as early as the end of next season.
Below we will take a look at two proposition bets being offered at BetOnline that will allow us to celebrate along with Ovechkin if that day comes to pass. There will also be others who are betting Ovie never breaks the record but will still be remembered as one of the all-time greats who came close to achieving NHL immortality.
Let’s analyze this question and see if we can make money on one of the league’s most fabled players.
Ovechkin to break Gretzky’s All-Time Goal Record?
- Yes -150
- No +100
Ovechkin played in 45 of the league’s 56 regular-season games during the 2020-2021 season and tallied 24 goals which, if extrapolated over an 82-game season, would have had him netting nearly 43 goals, just short of his 45+ goal average.
Last season he played in 77 games and scored 50 goals, and hit the half-century mark for the ninth time including one of those seasons, 2007-2008, being his highwater mark of 65 goals.
As of this writing, Ovechkin just buried his 800th biscuit and now has 20 goals over 31 games which means he is on a pace to score nearly 53 goals this season. Should that happen, the Russian sensation will be entering next season with 833 goals and 62 short of breaking Gretzky’s record.
Age Is Just a Number
At age 37, Ovechkin doesn’t look like he will be slowing down anytime soon. He will be 38 in September of 2024, just before the NHL season arrives, and even if Father Time begins to win his eternal battle, couldn’t we see Ovechkin scoring in the neighborhood of 35 goals?
That would bring the count to 868 goals entering the 2024-2025 season when Ovechkin is 39 years young. The target would then be 27 goals to break the record and that is eminently doable, assuming he sustains no catastrophic injuries like a torn ACL that would sideline him for an entire season.
Assuming the best and Ovechkin stays as healthy as he has throughout his career, it is hard to believe he won’t be the goal-scoring king when his career is over and he has taken his rightful place among the pantheon of the greatest to ever lace up the skates.
Alex Ovechkin Next Team After Washington
The clubs below represent only the top five destinations for Ovechkin to begin the 2023-2024 season. If you want a full list then go to BetOnline and you can see all of the other teams and their corresponding NHL odds.
- Florida Panthers +400
- New York Rangers +500
- Boston Bruins +600
- Tampa Bay Lightning +700
- Los Angeles Kings +700
As for Ovechkin suiting up in another uniform next year. Ah, that’s a hard no, he will remain with the Capitals certainly until he breaks the record and will likely retire as a member of the only professional team he has ever known. And if you don’t believe me then you can read what Caps’ owner, Ted Leonsis, said about tearing down the team and rebuilding.
“I’m not gonna do what I did last time and trade everybody,” said Leonsis, referring to the rebuild the Capitals undertook which allowed them to take Ovechkin with the first overall pick in the 2004 draft.
“I’m sure there’ll be an influx of some young players, but we’re not gonna rebuild the team,” he said. “To me, a rebuild is when you look the players, the coaches, the fans in the eye and say we’re gonna be really, really bad. And if we were really, really bad, I don’t think Alex would break the record.”
It would be a public relations disaster of the worst kind if Leonsis traded away the Capitals’ greatest treasure. And even if a teardown involving dealing Ovechkin ultimately manifested in a Stanley Cup, the number of years it would take to do so would be rife with Capitals fans screaming blasphemy and calling for a change in ownership.
Alexander the Great will skate into next season wearing the same jersey he has worn for nearly two decades and Caps fans couldn’t be happier.
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
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