NHL Metropolitan

Alexander Ovechkin has put together one of the most distinguished careers in NHL history, and he added another milestone to his collection Friday.

The 37-year-old scored his 801st and 802nd career goals during the Washington Capitals' 4-1 home win against the Winnipeg Jets at Capital One Arena, tying and then passing the legendary Gordie Howe for second on the NHL's all-time scoring list.

Ovechkin gave the Caps a 1-0 lead with a snap shot at the top of the right faceoff circle in the first period before adding an empty-netter late in the third to grab second place by himself and cap the evening's scoring.

GOAL #801. OVI TIES GORDIE HOWE FOR SECOND ALL-TIME 🚨 https://t.co/TDMnwSWvYL

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 24, 2022

2nd place all-time in NHL goals now solely belongs to Alex Ovechkin 🏆

Legendary stuff 👏 https://t.co/bm1TiiSLle

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 24, 2022

Ovechkin now trails only Wayne Gretzky, who scored 894 goals in his career. Gretzky is also the all-time leader in assists with 1,963, over 700 more than the next-closest player in the category, Ron Francis (1,249).

Ovechkin won't be getting anywhere near either player in that category, with just 649 in his career.

As for whether he might catch Gretzky in goals, it's still a possibility. He's under contract with the Capitals through the 2025-26 season and has scored 46 or more goals in a campaign 12 times in his career, including 50 last year and 20 through 35 games this season heading into Friday.

It isn't out of the question that Ovechkin might catch Gretzky during his current contract. Granted, at some point, the Russian is going to slow down. And he may simply choose to retire before mounting a serious push for the all-time goals record.

One thing is for certain: If he does catch the Great One, that will be all she wrote for Ovechkin's career.

"You're probably never going to see me on the ice again," he joked during an ESPN interview in 2019 when asked what he would do if he surpassed Gretzky's record (h/t NHL.com). "Right away. See ya."

After becoming the third player in NHL history to score at least 800 career goals, Alex Ovechkin is marketing his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky.

Per ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the Washington Capitals star has trademarked "THE GR8 CHASE" as he goes after the NHL's all-time goals scored record.

Kaplan noted the first phase of Ovechkin's "THE GR8 CHASE" merchandise will be available to fans during Thursday's home game against the Dallas Stars.

"Ovechkin's family was heavily involved in the creation of the logo, as well as the trademark name," Kaplan wrote. "'THE GR8 CHASE' is a triple entendre, alluding to Ovechkin's nickname ('The Great Eight'), Gretzky's nickname ('The Great One') and Ovechkin's chase of history."

Ovechkin's hat trick in Tuesday's 7-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks gave him 800 for his storied career.

#Gr800

IT'S HISTORY, BABES! pic.twitter.com/ENTC23b2E4

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 14, 2022

Gretzky (894 goals) and Gordie Howe (801) are the only players ahead of Ovechkin on the all-time scoring list. He hit the 800-goal mark in 1,305 career games, while Gretzky scored his 800th in his 1,116th game.

If Ovechkin continues at his career pace, he could surpass Gretzky during the 2024-25 season. He signed a five-year contract extension with the Capitals in July 2021 that runs through the 2025-26 campaign.

Washington Capitals superstar winger Alexander Ovechkin made history Tuesday night, breaking the NHL record for most career goals scored on the road.

According to ESPN, Ovechkin scored twice in a 5-1 road win against the Vancouver Canucks, giving him the 402nd and 403rd road goals of his career and surpassing the record previously held by legendary Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.

Regarding the new mark, Ovechkin said: "It's always nice when you beat The Great One. It doesn't matter what kind of milestone it is. It's history."

The 37-year-old Ovechkin moved into third place on the NHL's all-time goals list last season, and he continues to inch closer to Gordie Howe for second.

Ovechkin's two goals Tuesday gave him 793, putting him just eight behind Howe.

On Nov. 5, Ovechkin set a record at Howe's expense, scoring his 787th career goal with the same team. Howe previously held the record with 786 goals scored as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

The two goals against Vancouver also inched Ovechkin ever closer to Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record of 894, which was set during a historic 20-year NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

While Gretzky's goal record once seemed unbreakable, it is appearing more and more likely that Ovechkin will pass him and perhaps reach the 900-goal mark.

Despite closing in on age 40 and having been an NHL player for 18 seasons, the Russian star is showing no signs of slowing down.

Just last season, Ovechkin recorded the ninth 50-goal season of his career, and his 90 points were the most he had since the 2009-10 season.

In 24 games this season, Ovechkin is producing at nearly a point-per-game pace with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points.

At that rate, Ovechkin is slated to finish with over 40 goals this season, which would put him well over 800 for his career and within striking distance of Gretzky in the next couple of years.

The all-time goals mark is likely the primary focus for the future Hall of Famer as far as records go, but the fact that Ovechkin is routinely surpassing Gretzky and Howe in the record books speaks to how special his career has been already.

Zdeno Chara's 25-year NHL career will come to an end Tuesday.

Chara announced on Instagram he will sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins to officially retire with the team he spent the bulk of his career playing for.

Zdeno Chara announces on Instagram that he is retiring after 25 seasons in the NHL.

He is signing a one-day contract to officially retire as a Boston Bruin. pic.twitter.com/NtOujBkUPl

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) September 20, 2022

Amid speculation about his future early in the offseason, Chara's agent, Matt Keator, told Matt Porter of the Boston Globe in June the 45-year-old was "going to take the summer with his family and assess where he's at physically, where his family's at, and make a decision in September."

A third-round draft pick by the New York Islanders in 1996, Chara made his NHL debut in 1997. He played for four different teams: the Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Bruins and Washington Capitals.

Chara was one of the best defensemen of his era. He made six All-Star appearances from 2003 to 2012, won the Norris Trophy in 2009 and won a Stanley Cup title with the Bruins in 2011.

After he spent 14 seasons in Boston from 2006 to 2020, the team informed him in his last year that he would not be re-signed. Chara decided to continue his playing career by signing a one-year contract with the Capitals.

However, he wasn't much of a factor with 10 points in 55 games. It was his lowest-scoring season since putting up nine points in 2000-01 with the Islanders.

The Isles brought Chara back on a one-year deal for the 2021-22 season.

Chara was named to the NHL's All-Decade second team for the 2010s. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic wrote this about the Slovakian star when he was named to the outlet's All-Decade squad:

"His career high of 52 points did come in 2011-12, but that's not what puts Chara in this elite company. It was his innate ability to completely shut down opponents using his long stick, smart positioning and knowing how to toe the line. He was a problem other teams had to solve, and it led to the Bruins scoring 57 percent of the 5-on-5 goals while he was on the ice in the 2010's, a mark unmatched by any of the other five defenders listed here."

Chara's history as a defenseman who is capable of scoring made him an intimidating presence on the ice for more than two decades. He will almost certainly be inducted into the Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.

Not everyone in the NHL goes to the cottage in August.

Some–like Nazem Kadri–spent their offseason sweating out where they would play next season and beyond. Kadri got to kick his feet up and relax Thursday after he signed a seven-year, $49 million contract with the Calgary Flames.

Kadri was supposed to wind up on Long Island, instead he’s headed for the Canadian Rockies. More importantly for the Flames, they found a way to complete a roster shakeup that was not planned for when they were eliminated from the playoffs by their bitter rival Edmonton Oilers at the end of May.

The salary cap-pushing Flames weren’t done there. They traded Sean Monahan and a conditional 2025 first-round pick (with some wild conditions) to the Montreal Canadiens for future considerations. Monahan, headed into the final year of his contract, has a $6 million cap hit which is plenty enough to help Calgary get under the upper limit.

Making the moves is one thing but making them work is something else entirely. That’s why we’re going to give snap judgments and decide who won and who lost out of all this.

Winner: Nazem Kadri

A staggering choice for a winner, right?

Kadri went from being a playoff liability for whatever team he played for to a key performer for the Colorado Avalanche in winning the Stanley Cup. It also helps he is coming off an out-of-this-world career season in which he had 87 points (his previous career-high was 61 in 2016-2017). It was the perfect storm of a season for a solid player heading into free agency and he came away with the bag.

He locked up a long-term deal and a payout that will give him the highest cap hit on the Flames this season (Huberdeau's eight-year, $84 million extension begins next season). Kadri will be 32 when the season begins, which means this deal will take him until he's nearly 39 years old and at the likely end of his career. If Calgary can recreate some of the Avalanche’s high-octane offense, it’ll lean into Kadri’s strengths and allow him the chance to recreate the success he had last year.

Loser: Lou Lamoriello

Kadri was supposed to be an Islander. The rumors and speculation all pointed in that direction, and it didn’t happen. After all, there was virtually no hints for nearly a month about what was going on with Kadri and when there’s radio silence, that generally points toward Isles GM Lou Lamoriello being involved.

Think back to last season when the only thing that pointed toward Zach Parise and Zdeno Chara signing with the Islanders was a lot of speculation. It wasn't until September that those signings were announced just ahead of training camp. The logic made sense that Kadri would be headed to Long Island because it followed a similar pattern.

Kadri is a big-name player available and would’ve addressed a need. He also would’ve made Isles fans a bit happier about the team which hasn’t announced a player move since they traded their 2022 first-round pick to Montreal for Alexander Romanov and a fourth rounder at the draft.

While it’s likely Lamoriello has made some moves and kept them quiet (they have a few RFAs to re-sign) silence is not golden and it's arguable the Islanders have not improved a roster that wildly underperformed last season.

Winner: Flames GM Brad Treliving right now

At the rate we’ve handed out W’s to Treliving we might have to get a championship belt made for him.

He had the unenviable position of watching MVP forward Johnny Gaudreau decide he wanted to go back East to be nearer to family and sign long-term with Columbus. That move set in motion Matthew Tkachuk wanting to leave town, which he turned into a blockbuster deal sending Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar. Swapping out Sean Monahan, who has been a disappointing player the past few seasons, for Kadri can only be seen as an upgrade at that position.

It would've been very easy for Treliving to strip it all down after Gaudreau left and Tkachuk wanted out, but it’s taken Calgary so long to get back to a position where they’re contenders in the Western Conference that giving up on that hope now would’ve been defeating for everyone involved. Where there’s a window of opportunity, closing it yourself means not being a GM for much longer. Taking a shot at winning it all earns a lot of credit.

Loser: Brad Treliving in four years

It’s not all rainbows and puppies for Calgary because there may be stormy times down the road.

The moves they’ve made this summer are vital to helping them get a shot at a Stanley Cup within the next two to three years. Further down the road is when things may get dicey.

In four years, their key players right now will be deeper into their 30s and under contract for big hits against the cap. Kadri ($7 million) will be 35, Huberdeau ($10.5 million) will be 33, Blake Coleman ($4.9 million) will be 34, Jacob Markstrom ($6 million) will be 36 and in the final year of his contract. The next contracts for a handful of players (including Andrew Mangiapane, Tyler Toffoli, Dillon Dube, Juuso Välimäki)–if they retain them–could (would?) come at a higher cost.

In general, GMs must keep their eyes further ahead in time to make sure their team can stay stocked with talent long-term. But the lure of the Cup is strong, and when they feel they’re close enough to taste it, the idea of having a host of players on the back-nine of their career becomes a “we’ll deal with it when we get there” situation. If Treliving is there to handle it, he’ll at least know what the plan is.

It's the middle of August, and Nazem Kadri is still a free agent. It's almost unthinkable, but it makes you wonder if he's signed with the one team that has a general manager who doesn't see it necessary to announce signings.

That team is the New York Islanders, and that general manager is Lou Lamoriello. There appeared to be some smoke when Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported an offer on the table for the former Colorado Avalanche center. However, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff extinguished that fire last week when he said that Kadri turned it down and is still talking to other teams.

There are fans in the New York area who are hoping that maybe Kadri is, in fact, an Islander already and that there will be a reveal in training camp. Anyone familiar with the way Lamoriello operates knows that he works in total secrecy. But this is a little shortsighted.

If Kadri had already signed a contract, it would have passed through the NHL Central Registry. I find it hard to believe that multiple insiders wouldn't find out about a transaction of that magnitude. Could he have a handshake deal in place with the Islanders? It's certainly possible.

But does it even make sense for this club? He would make the Islanders better, but it's not exactly a good fit.

Positional Fit

The Islanders already have three centers in Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Kadri, a Stanley Cup winner coming off an 87-point season, isn't signing with a team to play on the fourth line. He could move out to the wing, but two sources have told me that he isn't as effective there.

It's worth noting that he played on the wing during the Stanley Cup Final and did well there. The Avs wanted to minimize the impact on his injured thumb, so a move to the wing prevented him from having to take faceoffs.

He scored a goal in Game 4 of the Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning (although Jon Cooper probably still thinks it shouldn't have counted).

If moving Kadri to the wing is the plan, the Islanders will need to clear some salary-cap space. The logical candidate to be moved is winger Anthony Beauvillier, who does not have no-trade protection and has a cap hit of $4.2 million over each of the next two years.

You could make the argument for Pageau, but Lamoriello gave up a lot to acquire him in 2020 and is unlikely to give up on a player that took so much to get.

Pageau might not produce points at the same rate as Kadri, but he kills penalties, he's a better defender and he's two years younger than Kadri, who will turn 32 in October. His $5 million cap hit doesn't break the bank, and he's signed at that number through 2025-26.

Not to mention, Pageau has a limited no-trade clause.

Is Lamoriello looking for some blockbuster move like trading Barzal? I sincerely doubt it. Barzal is only 25 and a top center in the league. Ownership would be foolish to sign off on that trade.

But speaking of Barzal, we need to look at the salary cap.

Salary-Cap Fit

The Isles currently have a little more than $11 million in cap space this season, but they still need to re-sign restricted free agents Kieffer Bellows, Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson.

Barzal's bridge deal only runs through 2023, making him an RFA next summer. Scott Mayfield and Semyon Varlamov will be unrestricted free agents next summer, and goaltender Ilya Sorokin will be one in two years. Sorokin had the second-best save percentage in the league last season, and he makes this club a contender.

The Isles would be smart to keep Varlamov, a very good backup, around this year as well, considering how tough the goalie market is right now. They could probably trade him to the Vegas Golden Knights to clear cap space, but there aren't any good options for backups left on the market, and Bridgeport goalie Ken Appleby isn't the answer either.

That's a lot of business for Lamoriello to take care of, and he will need to plug some holes in the coming years.

Kadri might want $9 million per year, but getting that money on Long Island would mean the club would have to part with key talent. And even though he reportedly wants to play for a contender, the reality is that he might not be able to get that kind of money from one. The flat cap isn't going up by much anytime soon, and close to half of the league is already over the cap.

Is He Really Needed?

Isles fans see this as adding offense to a team that didn't generate a whole lot of it last season. New York's 2.79 goals per game was 10th-worst in the league. Adding a two-time 30-goal scorer would help with the quest for offense and could bring some excitement to the new UBS Arena.

Fans have every right to be frustrated by Lamoriello's seeming inaction this summer. He traded away a first-round pick for Romanov, who has shown promise but did struggle with the Montreal Canadiens. He fired a popular coach in Barry Trotz and promoted Trotz's longtime assistant, Lane Lambert. He whiffed on Johnny Gaudreau.

But this team was only a game away from the Stanley Cup Final last summer. The 2021-22 Islanders were undone by a brutal travel schedule, COVID-19 and injuries to key players. Trotz's defensive system doesn't really produce a lot of offense, but Lambert can now put his own stamp on the team by having them play in a way that facilitates more scoring.

This is a loaded Metropolitan Division, with the New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets looking ready to jump back into the postseason fray. The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes are still contenders, and the Washington Capitals should be a playoff team, too.

Adding Kadri but subtracting a young, cost-controlled player like Beauvillier or a backup goalie like Varlamov doesn't make this club that much better than it already is right now, especially if he has to move to the wing.

There are a lot of pros to adding someone like Kadri, but there might be just a few more cons for the Isles.

---

All salary cap info courtesy of CapFriendly.com

Carolina Hurricanes forward Max Pacioretty will undergo surgery to repair a torn Achilles on Wednesday and will be sidelined for six months, the team announced Tuesday.

If Pacioretty returns on schedule, he could make his Hurricanes debut sometime in February.

The Hurricanes acquired Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan from the Vegas Golden Knights last month in exchange for future considerations. The move was widely considered a salary dump for the Golden Knights, who freed up $7 million in cap space by trading the veteran winger.

"Adding offensive firepower and improving our power play were priorities this offseason, and Max certainly checks those boxes," Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a news release after acquiring Pacioretty. "This acquisition gives us an elite scorer and another veteran voice in our dressing room."

Pacioretty spent the last four seasons of his career in Vegas, tallying 97 goals and 97 assists for 194 points in 224 games. However, he only appeared in 39 games during the 2021-22 season due to various injuries, though he was effective when on the ice, notching 19 goals and 18 assists.

The 33-year-old spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Montreal Canadiens, which selected him in the first round of the 2007 NHL draft, before being traded to the Golden Knights for Nick Suzuki, Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick.

In 626 games with the Canadiens, Pacioretty tallied 226 goals and 222 assists.

With the Hurricanes, Pacioretty was expected to slot in on one of the team's top two lines. The franchise will now have to rely on Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Teuvo Teravainen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas to fill out the top six.

The Hurricanes will still be tough to play against without Pacioretty, but when he returns, they'll be legitimate title contenders.

The New York Islanders are playing the Mega Millions lottery to do something good for their fans, employees and charity organizations.

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, the Islanders spent $50,000 on 25,000 Mega Millions tickets for Friday's drawing.

If the team hits the jackpot, it will split the net winnings between full-season ticket members, suite holders, staff and Islanders Children’s Foundation charity.

Wyshynski also noted if the total winnings for the Isles come to less than $250,000, the entire amount will be donated to the team's Children's Foundation.

Friday's drawing is up to $1.28 billion, the third-largest in lottery history. The biggest jackpot ever was a $1.586 billion in the Powerball that was split by three different winners in January 2016.

This will mark the second time in Mega Millions history with a $1 billion jackpot. The first was a $1.537 billion pot that was won by a player in South Carolina in October 2018. It's the largest lottery prize ever won on a single ticket.

Per CNN's Paul P. Murphy, the cash value option is $742.2 million if there is a winner.

If you happen to win the Mega Millions and take the cash value option, you could theoretically purchase an NHL franchise.

Per a December 2021 piece from Mike Ozanian of Forbes, there are 17 clubs valued at less than $742.2 million. If you wanted to try finding another investor who can chip in some additional money, you can add the New Jersey Devils ($775 million valuation) to the list.

No one has won a Mega Millions jackpot since April 15, a streak of 29 draws. Per the Mega Millions' release, nine tickets did match all five white balls from Tuesday's drawing. One of those winners received $3 million because it included the megaplier. The remaining eight winners collected $1 million each.

The Columbus Blue Jackets traded for forward Patrik Laine during the 2020-21 campaign and made sure they kept him for more than just the remainder that season and the next one.

Columbus and Laine have agreed to terms on a four-year, $34.8 million contract extension through the 2025-26 season, the franchise announced Friday. The pact is worth $8.7 million annually.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement:

"One of our priorities this summer was signing Patrik Laine to a contract extension. He is a special player, one of the truly elite goal scorers in the National Hockey League, and he has fit in extremely well with our group since his arrival. He is an integral part of the team we are building in Columbus, and we couldn't be happier that he will continue to be a Blue Jacket for the foreseeable future."

The right wing was a restricted free agent after the 2021-22 season ended.

Columbus acquired Laine and Jack Roslovic in a blockbuster trade in January 2021. It sent the Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois and a third-round pick in the 2022 draft for the two forwards.

Not only does bringing Laine back make it more likely that the trade is seen as a success for the Blue Jackets, but it also helps reverse a troubling trend recently.

Columbus had a reputation under former head coach John Tortorella that it was unable to re-sign its marquee players. Most notably, Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and Matt Duchene all left after the team's 2019 playoff run in which it swept the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning and before losing to the Boston Bruins in a tightly contested second-round series that went six games.

There was also some apparent tension between coach and player with Dubois before Columbus traded the forward.

However, it is a new era for the Blue Jackets after they parted ways with Tortorella following the 2020-21 campaign, which was his sixth with the organization. They made the playoffs four straight years during his tenure but were just 18-26-12 in his last season and last place in the Central Division.

Laine had just 21 points in 45 games in his first season with Columbus and posted a career-worst plus-minus of minus-29.

However, he bounced back some in 2021-22 with 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points in 56 games.

The No. 2 overall pick of the 2016 draft will look to remain an impact player with this new deal. He wasted no time making an impression with 64 points in 73 games as a rookie. The 2017 All-Star selection posted 70 points in his second season, 50 points in his third and 63 points in his fourth.

Laine is known for his powerful one-timer and is someone who can score on the power play, draw attention to set up others and anchor the offense for stretches.

The Finn is just 24 years old and figures to be a key offensive contributor for Columbus with his new contract.

The Penguins and veteran forward Evgeni Malkin have agreed to a four-year, $24.4 million deal that will keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2025-26 season, the team announced Tuesday.

"Evgeni is a generational talent who will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NHL history," said general manager Ron Hextall. "His hockey resume and individual accomplishments speak volumes about him as a player, and we are thrilled to watch him continue his remarkable legacy in Pittsburgh."

The deal comes as no surprise as Malkin offered to take a pay cut of $20 million over three years to remain in Pittsburgh, according to Mark Madden of TribLive. His eight-year, $76 million deal expired after the 2021-22 campaign, and he was set to enter free agency on Wednesday had he not reached a deal with the Pens.

That said, there was some doubt the veteran would remain in Pittsburgh after his close friends and teammates told The Athletic's Rob Rossi that he was "devastated" by the lack of progress on an extension last week.

"He wants to play only in Pittsburgh," one of Malkin's friends told Rossi at the time. "He doesn't understand how it's at this point with him not being signed. He's said, 'They don't think I'm a good player—why?'"

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski also reported that Malkin was set to test free agency after he and the Penguins remained at an impasse in contract negotiations.

The 35-year-old has spent his entire 16-year career with the Penguins, which selected him second overall in the 2004 NHL draft. He has racked up 444 goals and 702 assists for 1,146 points in 981 regular-season games.

Malkin is a three-time All-Star, two-time Art Ross winner, the 2011-12 Hart Trophy winner and 2011-12 Pearson Award winner. He has also been a significant playoff performer for the Pens, tallying 67 goals and 113 assists for 180 points in 177 games.

While Malkin missed time because of injury during the 2021-22 campaign, the Russian still tallied 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 41 games. It was an improvement from the season prior in which he tallied just eight goals and 20 assists in 33 games.

Malkin is still a serviceable forward, and it's no surprise Pittsburgh re-signed him for another four seasons. He has helped the Penguins win three Stanley Cups and been instrumental to their success over the years.