Alex Ovechkin scored the 894th goal of his career against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. The milestone tally tied Ovechkin with Wayne Gretzky for the NHL’s all-time goals record.

Ovechkin’s unbelievable achievement brought a deluge of congratulations from the hockey world, including a message from future Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara. The former Washington Capitals rearguard delivered his words in an Instagram post featuring photos of him and Ovechkin when the two were teammates on the Caps during the 2020-21 season.

“What else to say ..Many thought it’s IMPOSSIBLE and yet ..INCREDIBLE AND VERY IMPRESSIVE,” Chara writes. “Congratulations to @aleksandrovechkinofficial for this GR8 achievement and making new history with tying @waynegretzky record.

“Many more goals to come ..new @nhlhistory to be written ..I am still in awe and can’t describe how amazing and how hard this is in the @nhl and how this is ever be broken ..but again..@aleksandrovechkinofficial did it. Glad I had the honor and privilege. Congratulations Ovi!”

Chara also posted a shorter message of congratulations to his Instagram story.

Chara played 55 of his incredible 1,680-game NHL career with the Capitals. The hulking Slovakian defender spent most of his career with the Boston Bruins but also made stops with the Caps, New York Islanders, and Ottawa Senators.

“Obviously, you know if someone tell me two or three years ago I’m gonna play with Lundqvist on one team and Chara on another team, I would say, ‘Are you guys crazy?’” Ovechkin said in 2021. “It’s interesting thing. I’m looking forward to see him, talk to him, play with him. He’s a legend, and it’s great for our team.”

While with the Capitals, Chara was beloved by his teammates and became just the 13th player in NHL history to play in 1,600 career games.

Big Z announced his retirement after playing the 2021-22 campaign with the Islanders, his 24th in the NHL. He has since taken up endurance sports, completing several marathons and his first Ironman race last summer.