I know lots about hockey but nothing about playing the game. I know about players, playing rights, owning rights, contracts, how much penalties cost players, how their salaries are calculated. I worked on the NHL Player's Association database in 1999-2000.
Wayne Gretzky has hit the spotlight for two things. We won't go into the first reason. The second is someone reached his career goal record.
Alex Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 career goals. The news was on low mode a few weeks go - that this was a possibility, then turned to a probably, and now the headlines.
Alex Ovechkin skated over to his son Sergei, and then bowed to Wayne Gretzky in one of the suites. Gretzky was "so proud" to be on hand. It says he followed the games to be on hand for the event. If there's an 895, he will be in the building to witness more history. Sunday is the next opportunity.
It seems ironic that Ovechkin plays for the Washington Capitals.
Here's something. Ovechkin's goal song is "Shake, Rattle & Roll by Big Joe Turner. That's been played 41 times this season.
More from Wayne: "The integrity of the game," Gretzky said. "When I was breaking Gordie Howe's record, he was there. And I said two years ago that if Alex gets close to my record, I'll be here. That's the National Hockey League, right? (Jean) Beliveau to Howe, (Bobby) Orr, (Mario) Lemieux, (Mark) Messier, you pass it down. If somebody breaks Alex's record, I hope Alex 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."
"My dad told me that same night, ‘Be as proud of the guy that breaks your record,’" Gretzky said.
No comments:
Post a Comment