GR8EST GOAL SCORER

Sammy Brezovsky

Alex Ovechkin stands at No. 3 on the list for all-time NHL goals with the only competition in his way being NHL legends, Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky. It will be difficult to argue that he is the greatest goal-scorer of all time if he passes them. I'm here to tell you,

He already is.

First off, Gordie Howe, who currently sits at number 2, played 26 seasons with a goals-per-game average of 0.45. That average isn't even in the top 50. Gretzky and Ovechkin, however, blow that out of the water with respective averages of 0.60 and 0.61.

Aside from Brett Hull, who sits at only 5th all-time, they're the only two who are even close to the all-time record, with a goals-per-game average in the top 10. That unambiguously proves that it is only they who have a claim to the title.

The major difference between Alex Ovechkin and Wayne Gretzky, besides their teeth, is the eras they played in. Gretzky played in a goal-scoring era, reflected by a league average of 3.13 goals per game, which is a significant jump from Ovechkin's 2.89.

Gretzky's goalies performed substantially worse as well, with a career league average save percentage of .886, while Ovechkin's goalies performed far better, with a career league average of .910.

It's also worth noting that Ovechkin has also shown no signs of regression in his pursuit of lighting the lamp. In his last 10 years, Gretzky hit the 50-goal mark just once. In his last 10 years, Ovechkin has hit it 5 times, being within 2 goals in two other instances.

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention that Gretzky has had some of the craziest seasons in terms of goals. He had two seasons with over 80 goals, but he also had six seasons under 30.

Ovechkin's career-high was significantly lower, at 65, but he has yet to hit under 30 in a full season. In fact, as much as Gretzky's highs may demonstrate his reasoning, the simple fact is that his career median (40) is 10 goals lower than Ovechkin's, whose average season is a feat most players never achieve in their careers.

"The Great 8" demonstrated consistency once again by being the fastest player to ever go from 600 to 700 goals in just 154 games, doing so at the age of 33 and 34 - well past most NHL players' prime. This includes Gretzky, who at the same age and in roughly the same number of games, scored only 46 goals - less than half of what Ovechkin did.

His consistency of hitting the back of the net constantly, in an era where it wasn't as frequent, at a peak higher than anyone else for almost two decades proves that:

Regardless of the record, regardless of whether he scores 98 more, Alexander Ovechkin is the best goal-scorer of all time.