Gretzky, Ovechkin to square off in NHL 20 for coronavirus relief
Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.
Wayne Gretzky and Alex Ovechkin will do battle on April 22 in a charitable series of NHL 20 in a clash dubbed "The Great One versus The Great Eight Showcase," the two confirmed to Scott Allen of The Washington Post.
The best-of-three series will be streamed on the Washington Capitals' Twitch channel and raise money for the Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation and the Edmonton Food Bank to benefit the coronavirus relief effort.
Gretzky came up with the idea after seeing a video of Ovechkin and his son playing NHL 20.
Some @EASPORTSNHL father and son bonding, the Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) way. #HockeyAtHome
- NHL (@NHL) April 1, 2020
(: IG/aleksandrovechkinofficial) pic.twitter.com/YfaL4m0W20
"There's been so much talk about the goal record, so there's a nice link between Alex and myself," Gretzky told Allen. "I thought we could do something that people could watch and help raise money for those who need it."
Ovechkin has long been the front-runner to catch Gretzky's all-time goal mark of 894. The 34-year-old Capitals sniper became the eighth player to reach 700 goals earlier this season.
"We have a very good connection," Ovechkin said. "We always stay in touch. It doesn't matter if there's a milestone coming up, he's always reaching out to me and saying congrats. Before my 700th goal, I was a little down and he texted me and said, 'Don't worry about it, it will come.' It's nice of him. He's a great person, and to have a relationship like that with The Great One, it means a lot to me."
Gretzky and Ovechkin won't be alone in their battle, as the former will team up with his son, Tristan, and the latter with John "JohnWayne" Casagranda, the first esports professional signed by an NHL team.
Copyright (C) 2020 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.