Wayne Gretzky also has a strong case for greatest fantasy player of all-time; based on records tracked on records.nhl.com, Gretzky leads or is tied for 59 different NHL regular-season and playoff records, including popular fantasy categories like assists (1,963), points (2,857 in 1,487 games) and power-play points (890). Gretzky also ranks second in goals (894), 18th in power-play goals (204), tied for 22nd in game-winning goals (91) and fourth in plus/minus (+520).
But Ovechkin, who is 39 years old, has turned back the clock this season with one of the best goal-scoring seasons of his career, allowing him to surpass Gretzky in the exact same number of games (1,487). Despite sustaining a broken leg earlier this season, Ovechkin has scored 42 goals in 61 games, the third most in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (52 in 71 games) and William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs (44 in 76 games). Ovechkin has the most 30-goal seasons (19), 40-goal seasons (14) and is tied for the most 50-goal seasons (nine) in NHL history).
While Gretzky scored two goals in the final 21 games of his career at 38 years old, Ovechkin has scored 16 goals over his past 21 games to set the new goal record. He leads the NHL in goals since Jan. 30 (20 in 27 games), and his goals-per-game average this season (.688) is the fifth-best single-season rate of his 20-season career; his only seasons with more goals per game were in 2007-08 (0.79), 2008-09 and 2019-20 (0.71 each) and 2009-10 (0.69).
While fantasy hockey originated on most web-based platforms in the years following Gretzky’s final season in 1998-99, Ovechkin has surpassed Gretzky en route to NHL records in multiple standard categories, dominated in a key modern-day category (hits) and established himself as not only the new goal-scoring leader but also arguably the most consistent offensive force of the fantasy era.
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More NHL stats: Ovechkin | Gretzky
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