Ovechkin has case for best fantasy hockey player of all-time

Alex Ovechkin is now the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, adding to his illustrious career resume and making him arguably the most well-rounded fantasy hockey player ever.

Ovechkin, who scored his 895th career goal against the New York Islanders on Sunday to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the most in League history, also has the most career shots on goal (6,852), power-play goals (325), game-winning goals (136) and overtime goals (27) of any player.

The 39-year-old also ranks third in NHL history in hits (3,735), which began being tracked by the NHL in 2005-06 (Ovechkin’s rookie season), and 11th all-time in power-play points (601), giving him generational totals in four of the five most-popular fantasy skater categories (goals, shots on goal, power-play points, hits).

Standard fantasy categories for season-long leagues are goals, assists, power-play points, shots on goal and hits, and Ovechkin has NHL records in two of those categories, along with being the all-time power-play goal leader and near the top of the hits category. The sixth most-popular fantasy category varies by league format, with many fans using game-winning goals, blocked shots, plus/minus and/or face-off wins.

Gretzky still has a strong case for greatest fantasy player of all-time; based on records tracked on records.nhl.com, Gretzky leads or is tied for 59 different NHL regular-season and playoff records, including popular fantasy categories like assists (1,963), points (2,857 in 1,487 games) and power-play points (890). Gretzky also ranks second in goals (894), fourth in plus/minus (plus-520), 18th in power-play goals (204), tied for 22nd in game-winning goals (91).

But Ovechkin, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft who won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals in 2018, has turned back the clock with one of the best goal-scoring seasons of his career, allowing him to surpass Gretzky's goal total in the exact same number of games (1,487). Ovechkin's goals-per-game average this season (.688) is the fifth-best single-season rate of his 20-season career; his only seasons with more goals per game were in 2007-08 (0.79), 2008-09, 2019-20 (0.71 each) and 2009-10 (0.69).

Despite sustaining a broken leg earlier this season, Ovechkin has scored 42 goals in 61 games, the third most in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (52 in 71 games) and William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs (44 in 76 games). While Gretzky scored two goals in the final 21 games of his career at 38 years old, Ovechkin has scored 16 goals over his past 21 games to set the new goal record and leads the NHL in the category since Jan. 30 (20 in 27 games). Ovechkin has the most 30-goal seasons (19), 40-goal seasons (14) and is tied for the most 50-goal seasons (nine) in NHL history.

While it's worth noting fantasy hockey originated on most web-based platforms in the years following Gretzky’s final season in 1998-99, Ovechkin surpassing Gretzky in goals and holding NHL records in multiple standard categories give him a strong case for best fantasy player of all-time. Ovechkin's dominance in a key modern-day fantasy category (hits) and his durability, in addition to the goal record, have made him the most consistent offensive force of the fantasy era.

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More NHL stats: Ovechkin | Gretzky