Alexander Ovechkin is closing in on a rare piece of NHL history, and the numbers around him are getting pretty wild.
He needs just 27 games to get to career game No. 1600.
Right now, Ovechkin has played 1573 NHL games, a total that puts him among only 13 other NHLers who have reached that mark in a career. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns leads all active skaters with 1579 games played, and he is 21 games away from 1600, a number he could hit this upcoming season.
If Ovechkin gets into 80 games this season, he would move past a string of all-time names on the games-played list: Ray Bourque at 1612, Larry Murphy at 1615, Scott Stevens at 1635, Dave Andreychuk at 1639, Chris Chelios at 1651, and Mark Recchi at 1652. That would put the Great 8 ninth all time in games played, depending on how many games Burns logs this season.
The Chelios comparison stands out most. Chelios has always felt like the kind of player who lasted forever - a warrior, a freak, someone who seemed to outlast everyone around him.
He came into the league with Montreal in 1983-84 and didn’t retire until after the 2009-2010 season, finishing with three Norris Trophies, seven All-Star selections and three Stanley Cups. He reached 1651 games over 26 seasons.
Ovechkin, if everything breaks right, could get there in his 22nd season.
Of course, the biggest variable is health. Hockey is a brutal sport, and players like Burns and Ovechkin are the exception, not the rule.
Ovechkin has never backed away from throwing his weight around, but he’s not 27 anymore. Even so, he has kept going.
Despite slowing a bit with age, he remains the greatest goal scorer to ever live and a difference-maker on the ice, with his 41st birthday only a few weeks away.
Until Father Time actually catches him, the bet is still on Ovechkin. He has been remarkably dependable, and even in 2024-25, while chasing Gretzky’s goal record and dealing with a broken leg, he missed only a few weeks and didn’t even need a cast.
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