Breaking news : Alex Ovechkin breaks NHL record for most calendar years with 40 or more goals

 

Ovechkin’s first goal after his return from a broken fibula, an empty netter against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 28, was his 40th marker in the 2024 calendar year. The goal pushed the Washington Capitals captain into sole possession of the most calendar years with 40 or more goals (regular season and playoffs) in NHL history.

 

Ovechkin has hit the mark 14 times during his career, passing Brett Hull (13) for the top spot. The Great Eight added a goal against the Detroit Red Wings a day later to close out 2024 with 41 total tallies.

Only nine players have ever scored 40 or more goals in a calendar year more than 10 times during their career. Ovechkin is the only present-day player on the list, with Hull, Mario Lemieux, and Luc Robitaille, who all retired after the 2005-06 season (Ovechkin’s rookie year), as the next most recent.

 

Mike Gartner joins Ovechkin as the only players on the list to record some of those 40-goal years while with the Capitals. Gartner is one of just five Caps to have a 50-goal season after he potted 50 goals during the 1984-85 campaign.

 

Ovechkin’s best-ever calendar year came in 2018 when he scored 69 goals (nice) in 104 games en route to winning the Stanley Cup with the Capitals. From a rate standpoint, 2020, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was his most prolific year, as he scored 28 goals in just 35 games (0.80 G/GP).

 

His worst calendar year is a tie between 2023 and 2005. He played in 2005 for just the first few months of his rookie season, scoring 23 goals in 36 games.