Alex Ovechkin leaped toward equaling Wayne Gretzky’s goals record after scoring a hat trick against The Great’s former team, the Oilers. That means he is still on track to snatching the record in April. Naturally, an iconic Capitals play-by-play announcer lamented about possibly missing out on the opportunity to call that record-breaking goal. “It’s gonna hurt,” he said.

“We want to be there for all of it, leading up to 894 and 895. Desperately,” expressed Joe Beninati of the Joe. B & Locker duo, told Elliot In The Morning. Thankfully, the NHL has heard Beninati, and the Washington Capitals games’ rights-holder, Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s pleas. So the League has granted MNMT an exclusive opportunity in a huge broadcasting move.

What is it you ask? MSE answered all the questions in their press release. “If Ovechkin records a historic goal during a national telecast, MNMT platforms will release recorded video and audio of Beninati calling the significant moment… The network will then air the full MNMT game broadcast for Capitals fans to enjoy on MNMT 24 hours after the national broadcast,” they revealed.

Yet, you might wonder why the NHL extended such honors to MNMT and Joe Beninati? Play-by-play announcers such as Joe Beninati have become local icons, whose voices fans have loved hearing for years. Just how popular? An incident from early February, when Alex Ovechkin and Co. took on the Panthers, would serve as the perfect example.

Craig Laughlin, the other half of the iconic Joe. B and Locker duo underwent heart surgery. PA announcer Byron Hudtloff announced the news of the successful surgery as it came in during the game, and the entire Capital One Arena erupted in cheers. Not just the fans, but even the Capitals players tapped their sticks in acknowledgement. Plus Joe. B himself sees it as a lifetime opportunity. “Having the chance to call this exceptional moment in hockey history is a profound honor for me and our entire live game crew,” Beninati said.

The MSE President Zach Leonsis also explained why Beninati is the perfect candidate. “After 28 years in our broadcast booth, Joe’s voice has become synonymous with Capitals hockey, and he deserves to call these once-in-a-lifetime goals,” said the president. However, the excitement surrounding Alex Ovechkin’s goals has transcended the telecasting realm.

The Alex Ovechkin effect on ticket prices

While the NHL is making special deals with MNMT for the four upcoming games that will be nationally telecast, there are rumors of Ovechkin’s chase hiking up ticket prices. And these won’t be minor mark-ups either. If the Washington Times is to be believed, then ice hockey fans could be looking at the most expensive tickets in NHL history.

TickPick’s head of content, Kyle Zorn, told The Washington Times about the possible prices when Alex Ovechkin gets within touching distance of Wayne Gretzky’s record. “I imagine the cheapest ticket, when it becomes obvious that he’ll have the opportunity to break the record, will be in the $450-500 range, though it could exceed that into $700 or $800,” said Zorn.

If that sounds far-fetched, then you may want to take another look. As per the report, the average pre-booking ticket prices have already increased 25%, with the cheapest ticket prices for upcoming games already climbing by 30%. However, the upcoming April 2nd game against the Carolina Hurricanes has seen the biggest rise in prices.

As per Victory Lane, the cheapest ticket prices of the Capitals vs. Canes game are up from $82 to $159. That’s a 94% increase. So don’t be surprised if the ticket prices truly climb to never-before-seen prices as Alex Ovechkin chases down the all-time NHL goal scoring record.