In 1961, baseball player Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s single season home run record of 60. But Maris’s record came at a time when the baseball season was 162 games, while Ruth’s season was 154 games. So, the powers-that-be at the time added an asterisk to Maris’s record to note that he had extra games to get the record.
As Alex Ovechkin is aiming to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record, there will be no asterisks no matter what happens, as it’s widely known that Gretzky’s era had goalies made out of Swiss cheese. But Ovi still has the opportunity to get the record in the same number as games that Gretzky played – 1,487. Ovi has played 19 fewer entering Thursday’s game against St. Louis.
Records are always nice, but they’re even nicer when they’re done in comparable – or even more difficult – circumstances. There have been a few league records obtained by players who had an advantage over better players. While there are no asterisks by these records – nor should there be – what the second or third place player did is often more remarkable.
For instance, Patrick Marleau has played more NHL games than anyone, besting Gordie Howe. But Howe played an extra 419 games in the WHA – a league that eventually merged with the NHL – and retired at age 52. Howe also played in an era where there were 12 fewer games a season. Hats off to Marleau for the record but he retired at age 41, so he can’t hold a candle to Howe.
Here’s another example. Before Ovechkin became the all-time leader in power play goals, the record holder was Dave Andreychuk. While Andreychuk was a great player, his record came mainly due to his longevity, as he topped Brett Hull by nine goals – in 370 more games. Ovi eventually broke that, but again, longevity boosted Andreychuk past Hull for the initial record.
I cringe to think that one day, a player will come along who will break Gretzky and Ovi’s goal scoring totals while playing in potentially hundreds of more games. This player – while still needing to be a star – would have the longevity of Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, Mark Messier or Marleau, and may have to sign late-career contracts just to break the record.
Of course, in the cases where extra games are needed to get a record, there is another metric to consider – per-game averages. Both Gretzky and Ovi have averaged .6 goals a game throughout their careers. These aren’t records. First and second on the list are Mike Bossy (.76) and Mario Lemieux (.75). Even Austin Matthews is currently at .64 right now.
While those averages are impressive, Bossy only played ten seasons in his prime before retiring, thus evading a late-career slump. Lemieux, however, was at .882 through his first 13 seasons, even after surviving cancer and while suffering chronic back pain. Gretzky scored .82 goals a game in the first ten years of his career, while Ovi had .625. For Ovi, it’s his consistency that sets him apart from the others.
No matter how many games it takes Ovechkin to beat Gretzky’s all-time goal record, even if it happens in more than 1,487 games, he’ll be happy. But it would be nice if the record comes in the same number, or fewer games played. This will serve as a cherry-on-top for what was once thought to be an unbeatable record.
NHL Record or Not, Alex Ovechkin Is the Greatest Goal Scorer of All Time
