Alex Ovechkin claims he's not focused on breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record

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Josh tupper
August 13, 2022 (10:35)

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Alex Ovechkin currently sits 114 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky for the all-time NHL goal scoring record. Gretzky finished his NHL career with 894 goals, putting him 93 goals ahead of Gordie Howe. While the narrative surrounding Ovechkin is that he wants to pass Gretzky's record, apparently to Ovi, that isn't a priority.

Last summer Ovechkin signed a 5-year $47,500,000 contract that carried him through until he was 40-years-old. It was widely considered that would give him enough time to close the gap between him and Gretzky. During an interview with Sport24, Ovechkin shared that breaking the goal scoring record his not a priority, or why he chose to sign for 5 additional seasons.

Interviewer: Is passing Gretzky the main goal for the rest of your career?
Ovechkin: For the rest of my career, my goal is to win the Stanley Cup again. I would like to do just that. And our personal records, including this one ... we will try. I'll try to score, and then we'll see.

Interviewer: They say that it will be very difficult for Washington now to win the Cup again.
Ovechkin: Our key players have performed well. But the new players that we received in the off-season will not spoil the pictures and will give us fresh blood.

So while narratives surround Ovechkin that he's simply motivated by going down as the greatest goal scorer of all-time, it appears his true motivation is hockey's Holy Grail. With the Capitals adding Dylan Strome, Darcy Kuemper and other solid pieces, could they challenge for a Cup again during the Ovechkin Era?

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Will Alex Ovechkin win another Stanley Cup?
Yes, he will get one more	34	20.7 %
Yes, he will get more than one more	20	12.2 %
No, the window has passed for the Caps	110	67.1 %
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