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RedArmy

Is Crosby the best player in the world?

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http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=11236&hubname=nhl

is Crosby really the best? I mean its not deniable he is very good, but why has the media been so obsessed with him as the best, as Gretzky. He was out performed by Ovechkin stat wise so far and in his Rookie year as well. Is it because he is well rounded? or is just because he is the best Canadian young player?

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http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=11236&hubname=nhl

is Crosby really the best? I mean its not deniable he is very good, but why has the media been so obsessed with him as the best, as Gretzky. He was out performed by Ovechkin stat wise so far and in his Rookie year as well. Is it because he is well rounded? or is just because he is the best Canadian young player?

That's it. The hockey media has always preferred Canadian players to European ones. Ovechkin could be leaps and bounds better than Crosby, but he wouldn't get the props due to his being a Euro.

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yea that is what I figured. it is soo annoying... no one even bothers to talk about Malkin and the fact that he is queitly leading the league and pens... People do talk about Ovechkin just because of the 48 goals, but still. I agree there is always bias against Euro players. I really sort of can't stand watching crosbey interviews, because they make him out to be Gretzky or Jordan. I don't know if Crosby has proved himself to be even as good as Stevie Y was at his age, but people already crown him as the best right now.

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I don't know what you mean by Ovechkin has outperformed him. His rookie year? Yes.

Ovechkin had more points his rookie year, but since then he hasn't. He has more points than Crosby now, but Crosby is injured.

When Crosby last played a game, he was tied with Vecavalier with 63pts, to lead the league. Crosby played two or three less games. He was top of the league with his points per game average. I don't like comparing the two because I do like both of them. But you have to remember, Ovechkin came to the NHL at 20 from the Russia Super Elite League. Most would say the top Euro league. Playing against guys good enough for the NHL and guys who used to be in the NHL. Crosby came from the Q, playing junior hockey against guys slightly older than him. So Sid's jump from the Q to the NHL was much more of a change than Ovechkin's jump from Russia to the NHL. Hockey purists don't forget that, and realize how special he is to come to the league and play at such a high level as a rookie and to get better so quick.

The idea of even talking about Crosby as possibly being the league's best player adds to the arguement. When is the last time in the NHL you could even consider a player at 18, 19, or 20 being the best in the world, or close to the best? Probably not since Mario or Wayne. Lindros? When he came in he was good, but most wouldn't say he was the best in the world. Better than Wayne or Mario? No.

They like to focus on Crosby becaue he is Canadian, no doubt. Any country would love to have their player be the best in the world. Just as the USA is proud of players like Modano.

What is great about Crosby though, is how he performs on such a high level every night and at such a young age. Assuming this injury he has doesn't bother him again, and he doesn't get hampered by another injury, the thought of how good Crosby WILL BE in five, six, or seven years down the road is something to look forward too. People question whether he is the best right now, he isn't even in his prime yet. He is compared to guys like Heatley, Thornton, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Iginla, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, and even Malkin. Only three of those guys are under 25. Most players hit their price 25-28 or so.

The media does favor him. Is he boring to listen to in interviews? Sure. A lot of players are. Because he gets interviewed more than any other player he would appear to be the most boring player. He does a lot of interviews for FSN Pittsburgh and talks to the media after each practice. He is actually pretty funny, him and Colby Armstrong making fun of each other in interviews, for example (Now that Colby is traded....eek). They don't tend to show that stuff on mainstream networks.

The doesn't always work in his favor. When the league picks you as the future of the game, the savior, the next Gretzky, you can't always say what you want. You sort of have to keep it simple and clean. They want to promote this guy to everybody, to get anybody to watch the sport. It hurts a guy like Ovechkin no doubt, because he has such a awesome personality and is really funny, especially with his broken english. Imagine if Crosby were to tell the press, "All I want is to score goal." I wouldn't doubt if Crosby or another Canadian player said that it would come off looking selfish, but when Ovechkin says it it's pretty funny. And it really is. I'd love to see Ovechkin host SNL, he is really a unique and funny personality. It's a shame he isn't promoted as much as Sid. On the other hand, it's not Sid's fault he isn't promoted as much. He doesn't ask for the media attention. People hold it against him though for a reason why they don't like him or why he sucks.

But is Sid the best player. Much like Mario vs. Wayne, it's all opinion. You'll find people who think Sid is the best player right now, like me, and others would wouldn't even put him in the top 10. I think winning a Art Ross Trophy with lackluster teammates is very impressive. He did not play with Malkin all the time last year, less than half the season, so to collect more points than anyone, playing with guys like Armstrong, Talbot, Recchi, Christenson, LeClair, and whatever nobody's they had wit him last year not named Malkin is impressive.

Great players make guys around them better. Crosby was able to perform with below average players. People are surprised that Richards numbers dropped since the big contract. His best linemate Modin got traded, and Richards numbers dropped. He couldn't really find chemistry with anybody except Vinny and St. Louis, and they wanted to avoid having the big three on one line because they would be a one line team, easier to shut down. He appears to have some decent linemates and picked up 5 assists in his first game with Dallas, and I believe only one goal was a PP goal. Great players need great linemates, but to be a step above a great player, you can make your linemates better.

I do agree though, that Malkin isn't talked about all that much now that he is leading the league. Maybe they feel it's only temporary. When Lecavalier gets his game back maybe he'll pass him, or when Ovechkin gets out of his slump, he'll pass him. But Malkin is in a slump too. He at one point had 30pts in 15 games without Sid. I think he only has 2pts his last 4 or 5 games. Malkin was always this good. But before he didn't play first line when him and Sid were separated, and also, when he did play with Sid he played wing. Malkin said it's tough for him to play wing, he prefers center. So to put them together, one of them has to play wing. They are both better centers than wings.

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I thought Ovechkin would hit 60 this year, but he's been ice cold lately. Crosby is the best player, and he'll only get better defensively and as a goal scorer. People just hate him so much for being the league's poster boy that they're skewing his actually playing ability to be worse than what it is.

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No. Crosby is the most HYPED player in the world.

I still believe that Ovechkin is better...but not given the same consideration and supporting cast as Crosby and so it doesn't show. But that's just my opinion.

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This season, I would argue that Ovechkin has easily been the biggest offensive threat. But I wouldn't say either Ovechkin or Crosby has been the best overall forward in the league this year. Henrik Zetterberg has been among the scoring leaders all year, and is far better defensively than any of the other guys who have been up there and are there with him right now. So while I don't consider Crosby the best forward, nor the best offensive threat..I would say that you are crazy if you don't put him as one of the ten best players. If we assume top players are weighted evenly by position across the top 12 this season, we'd end up with Z, Ovechkin, Crosby, Lecavalier, Alfredsson, and Datsyuk at forward, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Phaneuf, and Chara on defense, and we'll say Leclaire and Luongo (both pretty interchangable with Brodeur, Osgood, Giguere, Thomas or Nabokov) in goal.

Do you think Crosby is one of the two worst players I listed? No? Then he's a top ten player. Especially considering the fact that Heatley, Spezza, Iginla, and Malkin all merit strong consideration for a top-ten spot as well.

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Lidstrom's the best player in the world.

Yes. You can't make any kind of convincing argument that there's another defenseman that measures up to Lidstrom. I personally believe Crosby's better than Ovechkin, but you can go back and forth on that. Crosby and AO are probably more talented than Lidstrom. But Lidstrom's got the experience and the know-how, and stands head and shoulders above anybody at his position. The best hockey player in the world, right now, is Nicklas Lidstrom.

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Yes. You can't make any kind of convincing argument that there's another defenseman that measures up to Lidstrom. I personally believe Crosby's better than Ovechkin, but you can go back and forth on that. Crosby and AO are probably more talented than Lidstrom. But Lidstrom's got the experience and the know-how, and stands head and shoulders above anybody at his position. The best hockey player in the world, right now, is Nicklas Lidstrom.

Plus, I'll take a defenseman that can play thirty minutes a game over a forward that plays around twenty minutes any day of the week. Defensemen are more important than forwards.

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Sure you'll take a D man that plays 30 minutes a night over a forward that plays 20.

But come on, any forward would love to play 30 minutes a night. But teams tend to have four forward lines, and three sets of D (typically). Some teams have a extra D or extra forward that goes out every so often.

Could a forward play 30 minutes a game? Sure, most of them are in great shape, some better than others. Playing forward you skate a lot more than D. But a guy like Ovechkin, Crosby, Kovalchuk, etc, these guys have the endurance to skate 30 minutes a game. You just can't really give forwards 30 minutes of ice, because you're going to have one line that will hardly get out there.

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Okay, of course TSN would right that Crosby was the best player in the world, but TSN is also a little biased, don't you think?

Crosby is good no doubt... but he still doesn't have as much experience as other players as in.. he's not as smart as them. Scoring points doesn't necessarily mean your the best. Making mistakes, turnovers, stupid plays... Sure he has good puck control but does he think as well on the ice as other players? No.

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Last time I checked, Crosby is not the Detroit Red Wings captain...

Haha, for my whole last post this was the only thing going through my mind. Lidstrom would kick Crosby's ass. Yzerman... would kick Crosby's ass.

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