“When I was breaking Gordie Howe's record, he was there,” Wayne Gretzky is now at Alex Ovechkin's record-breaking moment

Excellence passes through generations through generations. And this one here is a full-proof instance. When Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe ’s record back on 3/23/1994, Gordie Howie was present to witness it. And now, when Alex Ovechkin is a game or two away from breaking Gretzky’s record, Wayne Gretzky is present to witness the magic happen right before his eyes. Magic of passing excellence through generations through generations! It was Gordie Howe who passed down the excellence to Wayne Gretzky, and now Wayne Gretzky will be passing down the same excellence to Alexander Ovechkin!

Wayne Gretzky - 894 goals in 1487 games
Alex Ovechkin - 894 goals in 1486 games#Gr8Chase pic.twitter.com/UPNuT6ExyE

— NHL (@NHL) April 5, 2025

Wayne Gretzky shared with NHL.com, “When I was breaking Gordie Howe’s record, he was there. And I said two years ago that if Alex (Ovechkin) gets close to my record, I’ll be here. That’s the National Hockey League (NHL), right? (Jean) Beliveau to (Gordie) Howe, (Bobby) Orr, (Mario) Lemieux, (Mark) Messier, you pass it down. If somebody breaks Alex’s record, I hope Alex(Ovechkin) is there to shake his hand. But, right now, I hope Alex enjoys it, and he deserves all the credit and accolades he’s getting.”

Wayne Gretzky is a classy guy. Here he talks about Alex Ovechkin breaking his goal record and how he plans to be the first person to shake Ovi's hand, just like Gordie Howe did with him. 🤝#ALLCAPS #Gr8Chase pic.twitter.com/GWRIqUfBUD

— LoyalCaps 👮🏻‍♂️🇺🇸🏒🥅 (@dmddusseau) April 4, 2025

Walter Gretzky told his NHL legend son, Wayne Gretzky, to be proud of the guy who broke his record

1,788 goals scored between these two or also 894 apiece#Gr8Chase pic.twitter.com/wYL0R3Ocjw

— x - Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 5, 2025

Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe’s most-scored career NHL goals of 801 on 3/23/1994. The Great One doesn’t recollect much of what Gordie Howe told him, just one sentence, “I am proud of you.” But what stayed with the NHL legend was his father, Walter Gretzky’s words of pure wisdom. “My dad told me that same night, ‘Be as proud of the guy that breaks your record,’” shared Wayne Gretzky with NHL.com.

Gordie Howe poses with 11-year-old Wayne Gretzky: pic.twitter.com/GN1ZuIjPWo

— SI Vault (@si_vault) June 10, 2016

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, talks about Alex Ovechkin reaching his most-scored career NHL goals record of 894

“When I was breaking Gordie Howe’s record, he was there. And I said 2 years ago that if Alex gets close to my record, I’ll be here.”

Wayne Gretzky is in DC to continue to pass down hockey’s legacy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/x8GsIGCsHh

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 5, 2025

Wayne Gretzky expressed absolute delight and encouragement for Alexander Ovechkin. The Great One further shared with NHL.com, “Alex(Ovechkin) has been so great for the city of Washington. He’s been so great for the National Hockey League(NHL). He’s encouraged so many kids in his home country of Russia to play the sport of Hockey. He’s been nothing but a champion, and I’m so proud that we are tied! I can live with that for 24 more hours. I can still say I’m tied for the most.”




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