When looking directly at his regular season numbers, Alex Ovechkin’s 2023-24 season features career lows (in a full season) of 31 goals and 65 points (tied with his 2011-12 season, somehow).
At 38 years old and with more than 1,400 games under his belt, the dip in production seemed inevitable, but how it happened was something few expected.
Ovi tends to be relatively consistent over the course of a season, with occasional scoring lulls made up by bursts of goals. This season, however, it was only the first half where he lagged.
With a career low of eight goals in his first 43 games, Ovi was suddenly off pace to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record before his contract expires. Then, like when Popeye eats his spinach, Ovi returned to form, putting up 23 goals in his final 36 games, which is more in line with his career average of ~50 a season. Not bad for a 38 year old.
What happened in those 43 games? Was he recovering from an injury? Was he getting used to Spencer Carbery‘s coaching? Let’s not use the Nicklas Backstrom or Evgeny Kuznetsov excuse – Ovi has proven that he doesn’t need either of those guys to score goals.
Whatever the case, he was back on track, putting up the same goals-per-game totals as when he kept winning the Rocket Richard trophies. Plus, he again led the Capitals in goals, and was second in points to Dylan Strome, who had 65. (His -22 was the second worst of his career.)
With two more years left on his contract and needing only 42 goals to break Gretzky’s record, it again feels inevitable that he will. But that 43-game lull could very well happen again, and could be even longer next time. It won’t bode well for him or the Capitals, as his $9.5 million salary stays the same whether he puts up 50 or 0. Not only do we want Ovi to break Gretzky’s record, but the Capitals need him to break it to stay competitive in the coming years.
| Season | Age | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 20 | 81 | 52 | 54 | 106 | 2 | 52 | AR-1,AS-1,Calder-1,Hart-6 |
| 2006-07 | 21 | 82 | 46 | 46 | 92 | -19 | 52 | AS-1,AS-9,Hart-22 |
| 2007-08 | 22 | 82 | 65 | 47 | 112 | 28 | 40 | AS-1,Byng-9,Hart-1,Pearson-1,Richard-1,Ross-1,Selke-30 |
| 2008-09 | 23 | 79 | 56 | 54 | 110 | 8 | 72 | AS-1,AS-10,Hart-1,Pearson-1,Richard-1,Selke-50 |
| 2009-10 | 24 | 72 | 50 | 59 | 109 | 45 | 89 | AS-1,AS-9,Hart-2,Pearson-1,Selke-28 |
| 2010-11 | 25 | 79 | 32 | 53 | 85 | 24 | 41 | AS-2,Hart-14 |
| 2011-12 | 26 | 78 | 38 | 27 | 65 | -8 | 26 | AS-10 |
| 2012-13 | 27 | 48 | 32 | 24 | 56 | 2 | 36 | AS-2,AS-1,Hart-1,Richard-1 |
| 2013-14 | 28 | 78 | 51 | 28 | 79 | -35 | 48 | AS-2,Hart-23,Richard-1 |
| 2014-15 | 29 | 81 | 53 | 28 | 81 | 10 | 58 | AS-1,Hart-2,Richard-1 |
| 2015-16 | 30 | 79 | 50 | 21 | 71 | 21 | 53 | AS-2,AS-7,Hart-6,Richard-1 |
| 2016-17 | 31 | 82 | 33 | 36 | 69 | 6 | 50 | AS-3,Hart-12 |
| 2017-18 | 32 | 82 | 49 | 38 | 87 | 3 | 32 | 100great-1,AS-3,Hart-9,Richard-1,Smythe-1 |
| 2018-19 | 33 | 81 | 51 | 38 | 89 | 7 | 40 | AS-1,Hart-7,Richard-1 |
| 2019-20 | 34 | 68 | 48 | 19 | 67 | -12 | 30 | AS-3,AS-6,Hart-13,Richard-1 |
| 2020-21 | 35 | 45 | 24 | 18 | 42 | -7 | 12 | AS-9 |
| 2021-22 | 36 | 77 | 50 | 40 | 90 | 8 | 18 | AS-4,Byng-31,Hart-10 |
| 2022-23 | 37 | 73 | 42 | 33 | 75 | -16 | 48 | AS-7 |
| 2023-24 | 38 | 79 | 31 | 34 | 65 | -22 | 20 | |
| Career | 1426 | 853 | 697 | 1550 | 45 | 817 |
