By Joe Pohoryles
The 2023 NHL All-Star Weekend stuck out to me in a big way. It hit me when 4-year-old Sergei Ovechkin stole the spotlight from the two biggest NHL stars of the past 20 years during the Breakaway Competition. The sequence earned a perfect score in what was one of the more wholesome moments in a weekend full of them.
It highlighted a point first brought up to me by The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir about a year ago when interviewing him for a school assignment, which I incorporated in the 10th installment of this series:
[Referencing Ovi’s fist pound through the glass with his son, Sergei, after netting a hat trick against Florida on Nov. 26, 2021] That’s a big thing for him. He really, really wants his two sons to remember him as a great player. Not just read in books and old newspaper articles about how great he was. He wants them to remember what Capital One Arena looks like when it loses their s*** over him scoring a hat trick… He might play seven more years, it would not surprise me. I think if he stays in the 20-goal range, he sticks around as long as he can.
My earliest memory was Jeff Fatt of The Wiggles giving me a high-five at a concert in Baltimore’s Royal Farms Arena. I was two years old.
My point here is Sergei (4) and his younger brother Ilya (2) are beginning to reach the age where they will start remembering what their father does in the NHL. Both were born after the Caps won the Stanley Cup in 2018, and not-so-coincidentally, this was the first All-Star Weekend Ovechkin attended since that championship season despite being voted into the game every year.
Sharing that Breakaway Challenge moment with Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin (and Roberto Luongo in net) is something Sergei definitely won’t forget, and it’s clear that Ovechkin returned to the All-Star festivities to create memories and have fun with his children.
So with El-Bashir’s insider speculation in mind, it’s worth wondering how far we can project past Ovechkin’s current contract in this goal chase. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself; I already projected Ovechkin will pass Wayne Gretzky exactly two years from now this month, but even if he slows down before then and it takes longer, it wouldn’t be surprising if he stays in the NHL beyond this contract because of his kids.
At the same time, I’d imagine Ovechkin, who raises his kids speaking his native language, will want to bring them back to Russia at some point, and finish his career where he started: Dynamo Moscow.
By the end of Ovechkin’s current contract, Sergei and Ilya will be eight and six, respectively. Maybe at that point, enough good NHL memories will be made and Ovi will be ready to return home. Just something to think about, although there’s a lot of time before we reach that point.
As for the main topic at hand, it’s perfect timing that LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last night to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Watching his jumper swish in and seeing the moment appreciated in its entirety — while cheesy and unnecessary to some — got me excited for what that moment could look like if/when Ovechkin’s time comes.
Ovechkin’s scoring rate slowed down before the All-Star break, scoring just three times in nine games since Jan. 8. He’s got 32 goals through 52 games. With 29 games left, he’s on pace for 49-50. If we factor in missing a few games down the stretch, it could be more like 47-48. Ending with 47 would leave Ovi at 827 in his career, just 68 away from breaking the record.
That would be accomplished by averaging 23 goals over the remaining three seasons in his contract. His goal scoring rate could be cut in half for the next three years, and he would still break the record.
A rejuvenated, post-All-Star break Ovechkin looking to keep his team in the playoff picture could be due for another spike, and I’ll have the chance to see his first game back in-person when the Capitals take on the Bruins in Boston on Saturday. I’ll see if I can get any more insight there for next time, but the biggest thing to look out for is the progress he makes with less than 30 games to go and a playoff spot on the line for the rest of the season.
Father Time may rear his ugly head and send Ovechkin’s production off a cliff in the coming years, but there’s no sign of it so far. Either way, Father Ovechkin seems to have an additional source of motivation now that he’s approaching the end of his career.
Cover Photo Credit: Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images
The Wildcard 