Capitals

Capitals

When Alex Ovechkin beat Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to score the 700th goal of his NHL career, he put himself in the rarest of hockey company. It was an achievement only seven men had done before him and all of them are either in the Hall of Fame or on their way to enshrinement in the next few years.

But the man atop that list, the most storied player of them all, remains head and shoulders above the rest of the sport with 894 career goals—93 more than anyone else. Wayne Gretzky is a name respected by hockey fans everywhere as the greatest player of all time. So when he speaks, his voice carries weight.

Ovechkin is the first player who has a chance to catch Gretzky’s record, which has stood for the last 21 years. Given he stays healthy, the 34-year-old should get close if he stays on the torrid pace he’s been able to maintain despite playing in his 15th season.

Gretzky has a more few years of comfortably resting at the top before Ovechkin can start making things interesting. For now, the Hall of Famer is all class when congratulating the Capitals star.

“Congrats on 700 Alex, @ovi8! You’re truly one of the all-time greats,” he wrote on Twitter. “See you at 800.”

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