How Alex Ovechkin's Goals Record, and Lead-Up To It, Compares To Other Historic Feats in Sports History
How does Alex Ovechkin's Goals Record Compare to Other Historic Records in Sports? Christopher Babos, Jerry Coleman, Mark Medina and Jason Coburn help Chase weigh in on that topic.
When I turned on the Capitals/Hurricanes divisional battle on truTV a few weeks ago and saw the format TNT sports decided to show of the game, it really hit me. When my eyes were glued to a television screen that had a layout with one camera on the game, one camera permanently tracking Alex Ovechkin, and his all time stats compared to Wayne Gretzky’s and “The GR8 Chase” logo printed on the top of the screen, I truly started to appreciate how historic this record pursuit had become.
Go onto ESPN.com during the pursuit; the top game on the bar is Washington vs. their opponent, The GR8 Chase logo right on top of a picture of Ovechkin promoting the game. On Monumental Sports Network, Washington’s regional sports broadcasting center, there was a prominent effort put towards Ovechkin’s ice time and opportunities, and drastic change in enthusiasm from the longtime voice of the Caps—Joe Beninati—when number eight put the “bisket in the basket.”
And oh yeah, Washington was the top team in the Eastern Conference during this span. They had one of the best goaltending duos in the NHL. They had two of the best defensemen in the NHL. They had three 30+ goal scorers. And they were and still are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders…and no one seemed to care. In fact, in sports, it’s hard to imagine anyone caring to the extent that fans and analysts did about Ovechkin’s pursuit of hockey immortality.
So it made me think: has there ever been more passion, care, and devotion towards an individual player in sports history when they’re facing historic feats? Because Ovi’s goals record he recently overtook isn’t the only historic “impossible-challenge” an all-time great has embarked upon beating. But has it been the most publicized? And it is the most special, a very subjective term up for debate?
Three journalists, experts in their craft, have helped me answer that question. Christopher Babos is one of the best hockey columnists in the country. For The Hockey Writers, Babos might just be in his first season covering the Caps, but the meaning and popularity of the feat is radiant from his work with the team. He shared some insight into what this meant for Washington, what it meant for the greatest goal scorer to ever lace up, and what it meant for the NHL as a whole.
Jerry Coleman has been covering Baltimore sports for many years with many different platforms. After a long, successful career with 105.7 The Fan, Coleman is now a host at 100.7 The Bay and the host of the Baltimore Baseball Podcast alongside Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Bordick. He had the privilege of seeing the workings and the mastery of Cal Ripken Jr. and his consecutive games streak of what finished as 2,632 consecutive MLB games. Beforehand, Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games was known as a record that could never be broken. And Cal hit it out of the park, literally. Coleman shared some insight into what that record pursuit meant, and the impact it had and still has on the MLB and Orioles history.
And for more recent times, LeBron James recently surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most points in a single NBA career, and continues to set that bar higher for the next greats who may want to embark on that same journey. Mark Medina is one of the longest tenured NBA reports. A longtime guest on Spectrum SportsNet covering the Lakers, along with a beat reporting duty for five years doing so, and now with SportsNaut and Fox Sports Radio covering the NBA and particularly west coast squads, Medina keeps himself busy, adept in covering one of the world’s best sports at a national level. With a front-row-seat to LBJ’s greatness, he shares the prominence that record held over Hollywood and over the rest of the NBA.
This is not trying to debate how the greatness of each record compares to each other. ESPN does that for you; I won’t waste your time. They’re all extraordinary feats in their own ways. While these records are meant to be broken and most likely will be down the line, these are now viewed as “unbreakable” and “untouchable” feats, and we’re going to try and compare how the process in which these greats achieved them compare to each other. We truly try and figure out:
Is Alex Ovechkin’s Pursuit of the NHL’s All Time Goals Record The Most Publicized, Hyped, Covered and Coveted Record in Sports History?
First off, now that Ovechkin has the record, and we’re not longer in the heat of the moment with passionate emotion, let’s look back at this pursuit objectively. What we just witnessed was truly extraordinary. For weeks—not days, weeks—the entire NHL was overtaken by one record pursuit. In fact, once sports media publications realized that the record was coming soon, ESPN/Disney/Hulu and TNT took advantage by streaming these games nationally. ESPN got the the goal to tie it, the home celebration once he broke it, and Kenny Albert & TNT got the record breaker.
The NHL’s social media logo during this time: the GR8 Chase Logo. The Caps social media; all over it as well. TV stations and national podcasts got their piece of the pie too. It was the topic to cover. And the last time we saw something of that magnitude: Cal Ripken’s consecutive games record chase.
“There was radio and television which was all over it,” Coleman shared. “Newspaper was all over it [as well].” Coleman, a credentialed, experienced, beloved Baltimore sportscaster was pushed back to the auxiliary press box in left field of Camden Yards to fit in all of the reports who wanted to be on-site to experience the extraordinary feat when Ripken broke the record, he told me.
“[There] were plenty of writers in the press box,” Coleman remembers.
For the NHL, the record chase overtook the importance of Washington’s play, as well as the postseason and seeding pursuits of other NHL squads.
“If Ovechkin has done something I’ll definitely get that out there,” Babos shared. A lot of his coverage with The Hockey Writers revolved around Alex Ovechkin as he chased history, even as it overlapped with the chaos that ensues when team’s are fighting for postseason positions.
When LeBron broke Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record on February 7, 2023, there were still over two months left in the regular season for the NBA to be all over its coverage of other contenders. For Ovechkin, he broke it on April 6, Washington to clinch the Eastern Conference’s first seed jut four days later.
“[LeBron’s record] wasn’t one of those things that it sucked oxygen out of what it meant for the whole season,” Medina addressed, opposite as to what impact Ovi’s record had on the NHL. However, just like the NHL and MLB, the NBA’s long regular season opens up avenues for other conversation to overthrow the basketball taking place on a night-to-night basis.
“LeBron’s milestone moments supersedes the game[s] itself,” Medina claimed. That did compare to the madness that ensued when Alexander Ovechkin had his eyes set on goal No. 895.
But what makes that so notable is that the Lakers and Capitals were stories of their own right while their superstar ran towards untouched territory. LA was a contender who later went to the conference finals that season, and Washington was neck-and-neck with Winnipeg for the NHL’s President Trophy title during the pursuit.
When Cal Ripken Jr. lifted both of his hands in front of densely packed fans and photographers when he officially played his 2,130th consecutive game—tying Gerhig’s historic accomplishment—Orioles fans roared. The product on the field, however, didn’t correlate with Ripken’s prowess, Baltimore sitting 13 games below .500 when he broke the record.
“It seemed like the record superseded winning that season,” said Coleman.
One element that remained different in all three was how the torch was passed over. Medina shares that LeBron and Kareem’s relationship wasn’t always close, and tensions arose in the years prior to James’ record-breaking shot against OKC. “Some of it got a little frosty,” Medina said, and attributed that as a byproduct of Kareem’s critique over James’ opinions of the COVID-19 vaccine. While there appeared to be no tensions during the on-court ceremony, the relationship between the previous record holder and the new record holder couldn’t even compare to Ovechkin and Gretzky’s.
Wayne only had to attend two games to watch Ovechkin tie and later surpass his goals record, and attended many interviews, took many pictures, and put on a smile as a man genuinely happen for the Great Eight as he became the sole leader as the greatest goal scorer in NHL history.
“Wayne’s been very classy,” Coleman shared just a day before Ovechkin secured the record, but added on how, “Gehrig wasn’t around to see [Cal break his record].” Part of the prominence of Ovi’s record has been Gretzky officially shaking his hand, and claiming Ovechkin as the greatest goal scorer to ever live. But because of Gehrig’s passing, he couldn’t experience that with Cal, a missing component to the historic events that took place for Ripken and the O’s fan base.
Jason Coburn—in the top left corner of the Washington Post’s cover image the day after Cal tied the record—has been a die hard Baltimore Orioles and Washington Capitals fan throughout his entire life. He was also at an age old enough to truly experience and take in the extraordinariness of both records. Not to mention, not only was he at Cal Ripken’s record-tying game, he was at Ovechkin’s record-breaking goal game on Long Island as well.
“One was a home game, one was a road game, but in both situations, you had sports fans who could just appreciate [the greatness],” Coburn remembers. “The anticipation was different at the Caps game as you didn’t know if you were going to witness history, while at Cal’s game you did. Not knowing when or if Ovechkin was going to do it made the celebration more spontaneous.”
Coburn has been a part of both, yet finds it difficult to decide which one was more legendary.
“Both were records that people talked about for about four-to-five years up until history was made,” Coburn shared. “[They were] two records that most analysts thought could not be broken.
Having tickets for a good few weeks before Ovechkin was set to break the record against the Islanders, Coburn—one of the biggest Capitals and Ovechkin’s supporters on the planet—found himself wishfully hoping Ovi stuck at 894 career goals on that Friday night against Chicago.
“For Ovechkin, it was weird,” said Coburn. “Once he tied the record, I started cheering against Ovechkin for the first time in my life so selfishly I could see him score the next game.”
At the end of the day, all three records are “longevity records,” Coleman added. “[You] have to play a long time.” Not only does a singular player have to a play long time, but intertwined with that, they have to play at a consistent enough pace to reach the historic milestone.
“The fact that he's played a lot of seasons still at a high level reflects [LeBron’s] career,” Medina said.
Where the records differ, however, is that for Ovechkin and James, not only does their records reflect playing for a long time and their insanely effective conditioning habits, but it also puts into perspective how great they are at scoring. Not only do they have to play 20 seasons, but they have to play at a high level for 20 seasons.
Cal, “may have set record into hitting into [the] most double plays, a byproduct of playing every game,” Coleman said. However, Ripken’s record might be viewed as more untouchable down the line. Not for nothing, it was viewed as “the record that can’t be broken” before he broke such feat, and then played over 500 more games to cement the record as generally the most unbreakable in sports history.
For James, he’s used load management to his advantage and suffered substantial injuries over the final few seasons up until he claimed himself as the leading scorer in NBA history. Ovechkin, while generally staying on the ice, has missed time due to injury and illness since the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Ripken withstood all of his close calls to stay on the field for 2,630 consecutive games.
Coleman remembers a “bench-clearing brawl,” where Cal hurt his knee against Seattle. “Everyone thought that was going to be the end of the streak,” Coleman said. But yet, Cal came back the next game to continue the chase to the historic milestone.
When Ripken, out-of-nowhere in fact, decided he wanted to end the streak, Coleman had left the stadium for a quick bite to eat before seeing the headline all over local TV stations. Anything that had to do with Cal’s record: “that’s all everyone talked about,” Coleman shared.
Coleman also says that during road games, Cal, his family and some members of the team would have to stay at a separate hotel, fans and reporters lined up at regular meeting places to speak with The Iron Man. For Ovechkin and his teammates, Babos finds parallels.
“You’re not getting away from it,” he agreed. “Every day [Dylan] Strome is getting asked about Ovi’s chase. It’s a galvanizing factor, [and] brought the team together all season.”
However, Babos also mentions that while reiterating how it brings the team together, he also knows that it’s very hard for players to play their best when their teammate is receiving all kinds of attention they’ve never seen before.
“It would take a big weight [off their shoulders if Ovechkin breaks it],” Babos shared just days before Ovechkin lit the lamp for an 895th time in history. For LeBron and Cal’s records, though, for whatever reason, that element didn’t seem as apparent from what we know.
At the end of the day, these records are so coveted, so beloved, and so universally recognized because of sports’ fans, but also because of the individual fan base’s repping their star player. That’s the beauty of these records.
“These were two players that were synonymous with their teams,” Coburn explained. “In fifty years, when you think of the Orioles you’ll think of Cal Ripken, and when you think of the Capitals you’ll think of Alex Ovechkin.
Ripken spent his entire career with Baltimore, and Orioles legend Brooks Robinson gave him the phrase he coined as, “Mr. Oriole”. He won a World Series there, an MVP there, and spent all 2,630 consecutive games with the organization. When 16-year old Coburn and thousands of others got as close as they could to Ripken and stepped up with their retro-cameras, it’s because they wanted to feel the pleasure of when this superstar they’ve supported their entire life inscribed his name in history.
As a fan myself as well, alongside my father Jason and mother Meredith, in attendance at Ovechkin’s record breaking goal against the Islanders, I too felt this exact same feeling. Ovi has spent all 20 seasons with one team, created its culture, and reshaped the meaning of Washington Capitals hockey. He’s been a three-time Hart Winner, nine times has led the NHL in goals, and now scored 897 goals and counting with one organization. There is an element to that appreciation from a fan base that went into the immortal status Ovi and Cal reached when breaking these records, both ones that Coleman viewed as “untouchable.”
“There was definitely a sense of hometown pride for [Ovi & Cal] for sure,” Coburn added.
For LeBron, however, things are different. James, with a resume that speaks for itself, has done the dirty work with three different teams, won a championship with three different organizations, and cemented his legacy in a different way with each. He was the home-town boy to lead Cleveland to success they had never seen, and success they haven’t seen since. Then, he chased rings in South Beach and began the Big-3 era in the NBA. And then he went to Los Angeles, as the movie-creating Hollywood star to win one more championship and close out his tenure in the NBA right next to his son.
However, spending 15 years elsewhere, James isn’t beloved in LA like Ovechkin is in DC, and like Cal will always be in Baltimore. His accomplishments and impact in just seven seasons aren’t even comparable to some other Lakers greats.
[It’s been made] into this more respectful partnership than this full-blown love story,” Medina admits. “I think if he was with the Lakers his whole career, the moment would have been even better.” So James, with one of the greatest careers ever, was still respected and beloved by Lakers fans for his greatness. But when a player puts together just over 26% of his scoring with one franchise and then breaks the scoring record, the same flare won’t be generated.
Nonetheless, all of these records will never be forgotten. They all come with their own twist, their own storylines, their own appreciation, and their own immortal status. James, Ripken and Ovechkin will all go down as some of the best to ever do it at their respective sports. Until any of their records are broken, they’ll be viewed as untouchable, unattainable, and unbreakable.
Is Ovechkin’s record unlike anything we’ve ever seen? No. It’s greatness is comparable to the other two mentioned. The pursuit that led to it compares greatly to Cal Ripken’s feat, and the stratosphere it puts him in as a player compares to LeBron’s accomplishments.
Although, when Cal and LeBron broke their records, their respective sports were still at a peak stage. The MLB and NBA at that time were doing just fine. The NHL, however, for whatever reason has always been a step behind those two, as well as the National Football League. Alex Ovechkin’s record has brought attention to the game that it had never seen before, and provided more insight and meaning into his sport than Cal and LeBron brought into theirs.
Which one is the best? Which one is more unique? That’s for you to decide. The beauty of sports is that they are all memories to be held closed, and experiences to never forget for millions of fans for the rest of their lifetimes.
“As a sports fan, titles are hard to come by, but so is greatness,” said Coburn. “And seeing two of your own [reach greatness] are memories to be cherished forever. I saw the Cal Ripken game with my father. I saw the Ovechkin game with my wife and my son. And I think ultimately those experiences and those shared memories are why we are so passionate as sports fans.”
But with that being said, Ovechkin’s record and the build up to it is almost unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and might not be touched for a very, very long time.
Chase Coburn
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