The 39-year-old Ovechkin, despite fracturing his fibula and missing nearly six weeks, shared third place in the NHL with 44 goals in 2024-25 alone (65 GP). Only one other player in League history has scored as many goals in a season at age 39 or older: Gordie Howe, who registered 44 at age 40 in 1968-69 (76 GP w/ DET).
Ovechkin’s record-setting campaign additionally saw him surpass Jaromir Jagr for the most game-winning goals in NHL history; extend his own marks for career 40-goal seasons, 30-goal seasons, power-play goals and overtime goals; tie Phil Esposito for the fifth-most hat tricks in League history; and move into 11th place in NHL history for career points.
The No. 1 overall pick from the 2004 NHL Draft also continued to build his legacy off the ice. Since 2005-06, Ovechkin’s rookie season, there has been significant youth hockey growth in the Potomac Valley (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). Hockey is offered to children year-round in local arenas, ball hockey rinks and schools.
In the past 20 years, hockey players in the Potomac Valley have increased by 71 percent, totaling more than 20,000, while youth hockey players (18 and under) have increased by 43 percent, surpassing 12,000. More than 9,000 players also have been introduced to hockey since the Capitals launched their Future Caps “Learn to Play” program in 2016, supported by the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund.
An additional 1 million students in Washington, D.C.-area elementary and middle schools participate in the Capitals’ “Hockey School” program annually. Available to students in Grades 1-8 at more than 1,600 schools, the initiative includes street hockey equipment, a custom written curriculum and staff training. This program also is supported by the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund.
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