The Gr8 Chase Is Over: My Top 5 Favorite Moments of Alex Ovechkin's Career (So Far)

With Alex Ovechkin now the NHL's all-time goals leader, I thought it was an appropriate time to look back on some of his best moments throughout his hockey career. Throughout his remarkable career, Ovechkin has provided us with countless memories, from his ability to score highlight real goals to jaw-dropping hits.  Let's take a look back on some all-time great moments from this all-time great player, as he now sits atop the NHL's goal-scoring list.

#5: Ovechkin's Skills Competition Performance During The 2009 All Star Weekend

I think this is a forgotten gem from Ovechkin’s career. On a personal note, it was the first NHL All-Star Weekend I remember watching—and Alex Ovechkin made sure I’d never forget it. If I’m not mistaken, the 2009 NHL All-Star Skills Competition was my first real introduction to The Great 8, and he put on quite the performance.

I was almost six years old, and I remember think how funny it was to see someone wearing sunglasses, a bucket hat, and using two sticks to shoot. It thought it was hilarious. Ovechkin has never been one to shy away from the spotlight. Whether you were watching from home or lucky enough to be at the Bell Centre, he made sure to put on a show.

#4: Ovi Absolutely Crushing Jaromir Jágr at The 2010 Vancouver Olympics

Truly one of the greatest body checks in hockey history—and it was completely legal. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Ovechkin delivered one of the most powerful hits I’ve ever seen. Jágr, another one of the game’s all-time greats, was simply controlling the puck and heading up ice when, suddenly and out of nowhere, Ovechkin made his career flash before his eyes with one of the most iconic open-ice hits in hockey history. What made it even better was that the hit led to a turnover, which immediately resulted in a Team Russia goal. Just an all-time great play.

#3: Dueling Hat Tricks Game With Sidney Crosby

Over the years, we’ve seen some great rivalries in sports, but the one that will likely stand out for generations in the NHL is the twenty-year (and still going) battle between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. The Ovechkin-Crosby back-and-forth has been the closest thing hockey has had to a Larry Bird–Magic Johnson–type rivalry. And in 2009, when they met for the first time in the playoffs, they didn’t just give us an epic seven-game series—they delivered an unbelievable individual duel in Game 2.

The two best players in the world, not even in their primes yet, went blow-for-blow, trading goals one after the other as both recorded hat tricks in that game. Ovechkin’s Capitals got the best of Crosby’s Penguins that night, and it still remains one of the greatest individual one-on-one showdowns in NHL history.

#2: 895

After a years-long chase, on April 6th, 2025, Alex Ovechkin made hockey history by beating a record that seemed unbreakable. With his 895th career goal, Ovechkin overtook Wayne Gretzky at the top of the NHL’s all-time career goals list and can now officially call himself the best scorer in the history of the sport. A year after his worst season as a pro, Ovechkin has turned back the clock during the 2024-25 campaign. Despite suffering a broken leg and missing 16 games, he has played some of his best hockey in years and is having one of the most efficient seasons of his storied career. If he hadn’t missed that time due to injury, there is a very real chance Ovechkin would have taken home the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's top goal scorer, despite his age. After the puck hit the back of the net on that Sunday afternoon in Long Island, Ovechkin figuratively and literally slid into hockey immortality as he cemented himself as one of the game's all-time greats.

#1: Ovechkin Finally Lifts The Stanley Cup

Thirteen years into his career, Alex Ovechkin was known for two things: scoring goals and second-round playoff exits. Despite being one of the best players and the leader of one of the best teams throughout his career, Ovechkin and the Capitals could seemingly never get over the hump in the postseason.

Well, in 2018, the stars finally aligned. After years of heartbreak, tears, and frustration, Alex Ovechkin finally captured the one trophy that had eluded him for so long—the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin's Capitals took down the Vegas Golden Knights in five games to capture his and the franchise’s first championship. The Great 8 had a long journey filled with questions about whether he could ever get it done—and then he finally did. It was a moment of pure joy and redemption for Ovechkin.

The image of Ovechkin screaming and crying tears of joy never gets old, and truthfully, I still go back from time to time to watch what is, in my opinion, the greatest lift of the greatest trophy in all of sports.

Not just an all-time hockey moment, but an all-time sports moment.