Without a doubt, the Washington Capitals’ captain Alex Ovechkin will go down in history as possibly the greatest Russian-born athlete of all time.

“The Great 8” Ovechkin has been working hard to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s (also known as “The Great One”) all-time goal record. He just made a surprising move, though.

Sports.ru reports that Ovechkin has asked Rospatent, Russia’s Federal Service for Intellectual Property, to register a well-known proverb. He has also submitted an application to register the logo for his global hockey academy.

It is still unclear if the application is for a copyright or a trademark. The expression cannot be used without Ovechkin’s approval if it is accepted. According to the article, he will have the sole rights, which implies he may make earnings from this intellectual property.

On October 26, 2006, Ovechkin initially spoke the statement in a post-practice press conference. Ovechkin answered when asked how he was feeling:

“I’m okay. The Russian machine never breaks.”

This assertion seems to be true given that Ovechkin keeps scorching the NHL with goals like he’s still in his early 20’s. It will be intriguing to watch how the narrative turns out and if the patent indeed is granted to him.