A mural honoring Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin was unveiled Tuesday in D.C., just two days after he broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time regular season NHL goals record with 895 goals.
The mural, titled “G.O.A.T – Gr8est of All Time,” and painted by Baltimore native and Caps fan Brandon Hill, is displayed on the 18th Street NW side of the Jubilee Housing building at 18th Street and Columbia Road NW in Adams Morgan.
Ovechkin is called “The Great 8” for his jersey number; the moniker is itself a play on Gretzky’s nickname of “The Great One.” The Capitals first announced the mural last month.
“Shake, Rattle and Roll your way down to @AdMoBID to check out the latest and Gr8est tribute to #Gr8ness in the District,” the Capitals team account posted Tuesday on X, referencing Ovechkin’s current goal song, Big Joe Turner’s 1954 song “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”
Shake, Rattle and Roll your way down to @AdMoBID to check out the latest and Gr8est tribute to #Gr8ness in the District
(: Brandon Hill / https://t.co/c7CGKs5i0o) pic.twitter.com/osG8wod9Cv
— x – Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 8, 2025
Ovechkin appears in the mural wearing a black Capitals throwback jersey with the “Screaming Eagle” logo, firing off a slapshot. Other details include a Capitals 50th anniversary logo, “OVI” “STAY GR8” written on the “V” in “OVI,” and the three stars of the D.C. flag on the “I” in “OVI.”
“I mean how many hundred thousand slapshots has he hit in his lifetime? We’re just seeing the tip of the tip of the iceberg. What we’re celebrating is repetitive motion. I think that’s what painting is, is repetitive motion … Doing something, but doing it a million times,” Hill told WDVM-TV.
The Russian left-winger broke the record Sunday on the road against the New York Islanders. In the second period, and with the Capitals playing with a man advantage, Ovechkin lined up in his left circle “office” and fired off yet another slapshot past Ilya Sorokin for his first career goal against his countryman.
Sorokin became the 183rd goalie Ovechkin has scored on in the regular season; Ovechkin passed Jaromir Jagr for most goalies scored on in January, when he scored on his 179th unique goalie.
Gretzky, who had held the record after he scored his 802nd of 894 career regular season NHL goals in 1994, was at the game to congratulate Ovechkin and participate in a ceremony honoring the achievement.
