What’s also interesting about all three stars the Kraken will face is that they’ve all stayed with the same team their entire career. Among the NHL’s dozen best point-getters all-time, Ovechkin, who sits 12th at 1,583, Crosby, Lemieux and Steve Yzerman are the only ones not to play for multiple teams.
One more thing to be in awe of when it comes to the trio, playing in an era of rampant free agency unseen in the NHL’s first 90 years.
For Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky, getting to play with Ovechkin for five seasons in Washington and also winning a Cup there in 2018 was something he still considers an honor.
“I remember when I got drafted and he called me at the draft,” Burakovsky said of his 2013 selection by the Caps. “He called me and said ‘Congrats! Looking forward to seeing you, man.’ I mean, at that point you get a little starstruck that Ovie is calling you.
“I mean, he’s always been Ovie and he’s one of the biggest faces of this sport. So, it was cool to be a part of that.”
Stephenson feels the same way. During the 2018 title run, he got put on a line with Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov for a decisive Game 6 of the second round of the playoffs against Crosby and the Penguins. The Capitals won 2-1 on an Ovechkin goal in overtime to advance to the next round.
“There have been a few games, maybe a handful, that I’ve played with him,” Stephenson said. “And yeah, you just can’t really believe that you’re in that position. Because it’s pretty special to say that you played on a line with somebody like that.”
Stephenson kept his distance from Ovechkin when breaking in with the Caps during the 2015-16 season after they drafted him in 2012. “With young guys, it was always better to be seen and not heard,” he said. “That’s what I was told and I tried to follow that as a guideline.”
But he said Ovechkin never made him feel as if he wasn’t a part of their group.
“He doesn’t make anybody feel like that,” he said. “You’re on the team – you’re a part of the team. There’s no arrogance or any of that with him. If you ask him for something, he’ll do it.
“I remember early in my first year I think I asked him to sign something for me and he did it. First time I’d met him. And he’s probably signed over a million different things.”
Like teammate Daccord, Stephenson plans to do his best against Ovechkin and the rest of the star-studded opponents the Kraken have upcoming – respectful of getting to share rarified ice with them while not wanting to help pad anyone’s stats.
Not that they need much help.
“I think it’s obviously a huge accomplishment,” he said of Ovechkin chasing down Gretzky’s mark. “I couldn’t be happier for him. I’ll tell you, as much as he probably wants to break the record, he has just as much fun playing. I think even if he does break the record, he’d still keep playing because he loves the job that is hockey and being at the rink.
“He’s just all-around kind of a world-class guy.”