The Edmonton Oilers allowed Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin an opportunity to try on some of Wayne Gretzky&#8217;s equipment.
After the Capitals finished their practice at Rogers Place on Monday, their social media team shared photos of Ovechkin trying on Gretzky&#8217;s old glove and stick as well as one of his old jerseys.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
When in Edmonton on a historic chase, it&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gr8?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gr8</a> to pay respects to The Great One <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALLCAPS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ALLCAPS</a> <a href="https://t.co/NJdQTOeoVP">pic.twitter.com/NJdQTOeoVP</a>
&mdash; Washington Capitals (@Capitals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1881448661592490214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Judging by the design of the numbers on the back and the patch on the right shoulder, this appears to be one of the first jerseys Gretzky wore as a member of the Oilers. That along with the stick and gloves are among the many artifacts that are available for the public to view while on the concourse at Rogers Place.
The significance of this gesture was not lost on the Russian forward who you can tell was enthusiastic about getting the chance to try the gloves on. Having this moment coming close to the time Ovechkin breaks a record that was once seen as unbeatable is no doubt a symbolic gesture and one that the Oilers deserve full props for allowing it to happen.
Ovechkin sits 20 goals back of Gretzky at the time of filing to become the NHL&#8217;s all-time goal-scoring leader. His most recent goal on January 16th was also the 179th different goaltender he scored on in his career, breaking Jaromir Jagr’s record of 178. He won&#8217;t be able to break it on Tuesday when the Capitals and Oilers square off but Ovechkin no doubt has a good chance to get one goal closer to hitting the 895 mark and achieving immortality.
This isn&#8217;t the first time Ovechkin got to try some of Gretzky&#8217;s gear, as he received <a href="https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2020/04/16/wayne-gretzky-finally-gave-alex-ovechkin-a-game-used-stick-after-winning-the-stanley-cup-ovi-i-was-happy-like-a-little-kid-on-christmas-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gretzky&#8217;s stick that he used to score his 807th career goal</a> after Ovechkin won the 2018 Stanley Cup. The two became <a href="https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2020/04/21/wayne-gretzky-says-alex-ovechkin-was-obsessed-with-only-one-thing-during-their-dinner-together-in-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fast friends after having dinner together back in 2016</a> and Gretzky has long showed his support for the Great 8, eagerly anticipating the moment he gets to be there when Ovechkin breaks the record.
<blockquote>&#8220;He&#8217;s human. He&#8217;ll get a little bit nervous near the end, but he&#8217;s been nothing but positive for our sport and that&#8217;s most important, and he&#8217;s been great for the Washington Capitals,&#8221; <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/wayne-gretzky-positive-about-canadas-chances-at-4-nations">Gretzky told NHL.com&#8217;s Dan Rosen on December 9th about Ovechkin will do as he closes in on the record.</a> &#8220;He&#8217;s a bull. His shot is as good as anybody who ever played the game. I got to play with <a title="Jari Kurri" href="https://www.nhl.com/player/jari-kurri-8448569">Jari Kurri</a> and <a title="Brett Hull" href="https://www.nhl.com/player/brett-hull-8448091">Brett Hull</a>, and one of the greatest compliments I can give both of them, they never missed the net. If you miss the net you can&#8217;t score, and Ovechkin doesn&#8217;t miss the net. All the more power to him.&#8221;
&#8220;He&#8217;s been tremendous this year. I know how hard it is at that age, it gets tougher and tougher, and he&#8217;s a trooper. Good for him.&#8221;</blockquote>
The Oilers will look to slow down Ovechkin&#8217;s pursuit of immortality for another night when they take on the Capitals on Tuesday with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.

The Edmonton Oilers allowed Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin an opportunity to try on some of Wayne Gretzky's equipment.

After the Capitals finished their practice at Rogers Place on Monday, their social media team shared photos of Ovechkin trying on Gretzky's old glove and stick as well as one of his old jerseys.



https://twitter.com/capitals/status/1881448661592490214?s=42

Judging by the design of the numbers on the back and the patch on the right shoulder, this appears to be one of the first jerseys Gretzky wore as a member of the Oilers. That along with the stick and gloves are among the many artifacts that are available for the public to view while on the concourse at Rogers Place.

The significance of this gesture was not lost on the Russian forward who you can tell was enthusiastic about getting the chance to try the gloves on. Having this moment coming close to the time Ovechkin breaks a record that was once seen as unbeatable is no doubt a symbolic gesture and one that the Oilers deserve full props for allowing it to happen.

Ovechkin sits 20 goals back of Gretzky at the time of filing to become the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader. His most recent goal on January 16th was also the 179th different goaltender he scored on in his career, breaking Jaromir Jagr’s record of 178. He won't be able to break it on Tuesday when the Capitals and Oilers square off but Ovechkin no doubt has a good chance to get one goal closer to hitting the 895 mark and achieving immortality.

This isn't the first time Ovechkin got to try some of Gretzky's gear, as he received <a href="https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2020/04/16/wayne-gretzky-finally-gave-alex-ovechkin-a-game-used-stick-after-winning-the-stanley-cup-ovi-i-was-happy-like-a-little-kid-on-christmas-day/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gretzky's stick that he used to score his 807th career goal</a> after Ovechkin won the 2018 Stanley Cup. The two became <a href="https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2020/04/21/wayne-gretzky-says-alex-ovechkin-was-obsessed-with-only-one-thing-during-their-dinner-together-in-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fast friends after having dinner together back in 2016</a> and Gretzky has long showed his support for the Great 8, eagerly anticipating the moment he gets to be there when Ovechkin breaks the record.
<blockquote>"He's human. He'll get a little bit nervous near the end, but he's been nothing but positive for our sport and that's most important, and he's been great for the Washington Capitals," <a href="https://www.nhl.com/news/wayne-gretzky-positive-about-canadas-chances-at-4-nations">Gretzky told NHL.com's Dan Rosen on December 9th about Ovechkin will do as he closes in on the record.</a> "He's a bull. His shot is as good as anybody who ever played the game. I got to play with <a title="Jari Kurri" href="https://www.nhl.com/player/jari-kurri-8448569">Jari Kurri</a> and <a title="Brett Hull" href="https://www.nhl.com/player/brett-hull-8448091">Brett Hull</a>, and one of the greatest compliments I can give both of them, they never missed the net. If you miss the net you can't score, and Ovechkin doesn't miss the net. All the more power to him."

"He's been tremendous this year. I know how hard it is at that age, it gets tougher and tougher, and he's a trooper. Good for him."</blockquote>
The Oilers will look to slow down Ovechkin's pursuit of immortality for another night when they take on the Capitals on Tuesday with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.

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