"It was always the goal to score as many goals as I can," the Washington Capitals forward said at the NHL Player Media Tour on Friday. "But every year is harder and harder."
Ovechkin, who turns 34 on Sept. 17, doesn't show any signs of slowing down entering his 15th NHL season. He led the NHL in goals (51) for a League-record eighth time last season and said 50 goals is his objective again.
It would be his ninth 50-goal season and match Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the most in NHL history. With 50 goals, he would tie Mike Gartner for seventh in NHL history with 708 and would pass Luc Robitaille (668 goals), Teemu Selanne (684), Mario Lemieux (690), Steve Yzerman (692) and Mark Messier (694).
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Ovechkin, the No. 1 pick of the 2004 NHL Draft, is 13th in NHL history with 658 goals in 1,084 games. With 42 goals this season, he'd become the eighth player to score 700.
"It would be cool," Ovechkin said. "It's nice to be in that company and nice to be talked about in history."
As for Gretzky's NHL record of 894 goals, Ovechkin acknowledged last season he will try to break it but said Friday he's "still too far away" to focus on it. After repeatedly saying earlier in his career that Gretzky's record is unbreakable, Ovechkin is coming around to the idea that he might be able to do it.
"Well, there's always a chance, but again, I have to play the same way, I have to do the same thing," he said. "I have to use my chances and we'll see."
A big factor will be how long Ovechkin wants to continue playing. He reiterated Friday that he hasn't thought beyond the end of his contract, which has two seasons remaining. He would be eligible to sign an extension with Washington beginning July 1, 2020.
"We'll see what's going to happen in two years," Ovechkin said. "We'll see where we're at and, of course, I want to play until I can't play, you know? I don't want to be a guy who go out there and just, like, you know, play [like a] joke. If I'm going to be at the same level, yeah [I'll play]."