Alex Ovechkin did the unthinkable this afternoon when he scored his 895th goal to surpass Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading scorer in goals.
Although the Washington Capitals lost 4-1 to the New York Islanders, it is difficult to overlook Ovechkin's achievement. Ovechkin scored 895 goals in 1487 career games while Gretzky scored 894 goals in 1487 career games.
And Ovechkin isn't done. The Capitals, for whom Ovechkin has played his entire 20-year career, lead the Metropolitan Division and have the second-best overall record in the NHL trailing the Winnipeg Jets by a single point. Washington, which won its lone Stanley Cup championship in 2018, has a legitimate shot for another title.
Ovechkin has one more year left on his current contract with the Capitals. If he continues to play at the level at which he is playing I don't think 1,000 career goals is inconceivable. Whatever his career goal totals, an argument can made that Ovechkin has surpassed the Great One as the greatest to ever play in the NHL.
Yet I have mixed feelings about Ovechkin's achievement. Ovechkin is an apologist for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Just take a look at his Instagram profile or the website he launched in 2017 called Putin Team:
The website of the Putin Team movement is [now] open: www.putinteam.ru! Through the site, you can become a member of a huge team. Of Putin’s Team, which unites people who are proud of their country and want to make Russia stronger. In our leader, we value [his] trust in and respect for people, his fairness [and] righteousness, and the fact that he really cares.
Everyone who supports those values is a member of Putin Team. If you want to participate in events with us, join us! Sign up on the website and follow us [on social media], it will be interesting!
And, of course, share this with your friends! Welcome to Putin Team!
I suspect the people of Ukraine would take a much different view of Putin Team.
To paraphrase Ronnie Spector's description of her ex-husband Phil Spector, "Great hockey player, lousy person."
Of course, Gretzky has lost much of his luster in Canada by his support of President Trump in a stunning parallel of Ovechkin's support of Putin. Indeed, Trump went as far as to say that Gretzky should become the next Governor of Canada.
It is possible to admire what both Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky have done on the ice while feeling absolute dismay as to how they lead their lives off the ice.
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