Crosby vs Ovechkin

[norrisnick 1]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/10/02/...by_or_ovechkin/

Jim Kelley's take.

So just who is the best player in the NHL right now?

Well, if you want the definitive answer to that question you better take a look at...

[seeinred 1,488]

Cool article. I expected him to say a different player at the end of the article though.

[Earthhuman 8]

Lots of guys jumping on the Zetterberg bandwagon lately.

[edicius 3,269]

What a twist!

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Great article. He should've told the truth about the Sid-Ovi debate, though. Ovi's better.

Edit:

But no one beats Zetter!

Edited October 4, 2008 by Drake_Marcus

[WingsFanInDC 0]

Great article. He should've told the truth about the Sid-Ovi debate, though. Ovi's better.

Edit:

But no one beats Zetter!

Last night i saw some of the sickest puck handling ever. Ovie had 2 defensemen on him and either he had a string on the puck or he's just using the force, but after 20 seconds or so, one of the flyers finally got a hold of the puck by "falling" on it.

Needless to say, the crowd gave Ovie some positive feedback on his puck handling skills. Sooo Wow!

Edited October 4, 2008 by WingsFanInDC

[Yellowknife Redwing 57]

I guess I'm officially a part of a dying breed by thinking that Datsyuk is still a better player than Zetterberg and still the most complete player in the NHL today

[dereklai 0]

.

Edited August 22, 2017 by dereklai

[jawbreaker 0]

Crosby is the best player hands down... wait... we are talking about hockey, not diving. Ovechkin all the way. Datsyuk is the most complete player right now. Hank is close, but I would give Pavel a slight edge.

[edicius 3,269]

Okay, let's ask a slightly different question... Who's the best one-two punch in the NHL or, if you so desire, the world? Zata/Dats, Crosby/Malkin, etc.?

[BeeRYCE 2]

I had first overall pick in a fantasy draft the other day... I picked CROSBY.

[BeeRYCE 2]

Okay, let's ask a slightly different question... Who's the best one-two punch in the NHL or, if you so desire, the world? Zata/Dats, Crosby/Malkin, etc.?

I'd say Crosby/Malkin is better, but by some point whether it's end of this season or next, we could be talking Lecavalier/Stamkos.

[toby91_ca 620]

I'd say Crosby/Malkin is better, but by some point whether it's end of this season or next, we could be talking Lecavalier/Stamkos.

I don't think Stamkos is going to be as good as quick as Crosby and Ovechkin were, or probably ever for that matter.

I really think this year will be an interesting year in terms of whether anyone really distances themselves. We'll see how Zetterberg and Datsyuk do and I'm thinking that we may see more of Ovechkin and Crosby on the PK and perhaps starting to establish themselves as all around players. It's a bit unfair at this point to compare those two to Zetterberg and Datsyuk in terms of maturity and two-way ability, etc. I think that will come with time and Datsyuk and Zetterberg weren't even in the league at Crosby's age (perhaps just starting at Ovechkin's age).

I've noticed that Crosby and Ovechkin have been getting some pretty signficant PK time during the pre-season (both have SH goals I think), but I wonder if that is just preseason or if we'll actually see it carryover to the regular season.

[Booster313 138]

I believe that Ovechkin has a slight edge on Crosby. As for Zetterberg being the best in the NHL he's right there with them. So is Datsyuk.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I don't think Stamkos is going to be as good as quick as Crosby and Ovechkin were, or probably ever for that matter.

I really think this year will be an interesting year in terms of whether anyone really distances themselves. We'll see how Zetterberg and Datsyuk do and I'm thinking that we may see more of Ovechkin and Crosby on the PK and perhaps starting to establish themselves as all around players. It's a bit unfair at this point to compare those two to Zetterberg and Datsyuk in terms of maturity and two-way ability, etc. I think that will come with time and Datsyuk and Zetterberg weren't even in the league at Crosby's age (perhaps just starting at Ovechkin's age).

I've noticed that Crosby and Ovechkin have been getting some pretty signficant PK time during the pre-season (both have SH goals I think), but I wonder if that is just preseason or if we'll actually see it carryover to the regular season.

I don't buy the "this stage in their development" excuse with Crosby or Ovi anymore. They're both 3 year pros entering their 4th year having won an MVP and scoring title each. They've established that they've moved past the point of needing that excuse. Many players enter the NHL as defensively responsible. If you haven't worked on that aspect of the game then that's a choice- they've both played hockey nearly their entire lives, and elite hockey for a good half of that.

Moreover- if you're going to laud Crosby, Malkin and Ovi for their scoring you HAVE to include the fact that they've forgone at least some defensive responsibility to rack up those points. You can't sit there and say Crosby is the Jesus Christ of scoring and in the same breath tell us he could be a great defensive player if he worked on it. If he wants to be an elite defensive player he'll have to play defense sometimes when he'd normally be saving energy for an offensive rush. There's a very real trade off. Datsyuk and Zetterberg could both have scored more points if they ignored some of their defensive responsibilities, no one could intelligently argue with that.

Edited October 4, 2008 by Drake_Marcus

[toby91_ca 620]

Datsyuk and Zetterberg could both have scored more points if they ignored some of their defensive responsibilities, no one could intelligently argue with that.

You most certainly could argue with that. I think you need to recognize that both of these guys took years in the NHL to develop into the players they are today (both offensively and defensively). They've both had their strongest offensive years at the same time as their strongest defensive years. I don't want to get in an argument of what could happen offensively if you ignore defensive responsibilities, but you can certainly argue both sides of that one.

In terms of players coming into the league defensively responsible, there's no question about that. Crosby has been defensively responsible since day one, but you'd have to be blind not to see that he has improved in that area each year and there's no reason to think he won't improve more with maturity and PK experience. Ovechkin isn't quite as defensively responsible yet, but he's no liability either. I think that's simply the difference between a centre and a winger.

Some players enter the league more advanced in the defensive area, but those players are normally the lesser skilled guys who wouldn't be in the league if it weren't for their defensive play.

I don't think there are many players out there that haven't improved defensively with years of experience in the league. I can think of a few that were absolutely horrid defensively early in their careers, but have improved with experience. Some guys never do however.

Edited October 4, 2008 by toby91_ca

[dicksmack 33]

I had first overall pick in a fantasy draft the other day... I picked CROSBY.

Well then that settles it...

[Drake_Marcus 890]

You most certainly could argue with that. I think you need to recognize that both of these guys took years in the NHL to develop into the players they are today (both offensively and defensively). They've both had their strongest offensive years at the same time as their strongest defensive years. I don't want to get in an argument of what could happen offensively if you ignore defensive responsibilities, but you can certainly argue both sides of that one.

In terms of players coming into the league defensively responsible, there's no question about that. Crosby has been defensively responsible since day one, but you'd have to be blind not to see that he has improved in that area each year and there's no reason to think he won't improve more with maturity and PK experience. Ovechkin isn't quite as defensively responsible yet, but he's no liability either. I think that's simply the difference between a centre and a winger.

Some players enter the league more advanced in the defensive area, but those players are normally the lesser skilled guys who wouldn't be in the league if it weren't for their defensive play.

I don't think there are many players out there that haven't improved defensively with years of experience in the league. I can' :huh:t think of a few that were absolutely horrid defensively early in their careers, but have improved with experience. Some guys never do however.

Yeah- I'll give you that much. Crosby's never been bad on defense, but he certainly isn't good. He's an average defensive player, and a great deal of that's because he's a very, very high end skater. He's certainly better than Malkin defensively, but doesn't put the mental and physical effort into backchecking that he needs to. You can tell based on his body language that he sees his responsibility drop as the puck goes into the defensive zone. That's an attitude thing, so I can see why you'd argue he can be a much better defensive player. Certainly, if you threw Ken Hitchcock behind the Pens bench I'm sure Sid would suddenly be very energetic about backchecking. Regardless, it's not something any player should be immune to criticism of. I'm sure you're watching the Sens-Pens game right now, so you must've seen the interview with him during the last intermission. When asked what he wants to improve he said his shooting!

I can confidently say that Crosby's shot is fine. It's not perfect, but certainly isn't his most flawed area. After watching Zetterberg and Pavel's superior defensive play, I was sure he was going to say defense.

I will say that Pavel's gotten much better defensively year to year, and certainly Z has as well (but not quite as drastically as Pav).

Still- you can't blame Red Wing players for coming later to the NHL when it's an organizational choice. Who knows if Z or Dats could've stepped in earlier. Last person to walk in as a kid on the Wings and blow everyone's face off was Feds.

[dicksmack 33]

Datsyuk is my favorite NHL player but I'd have to say Zetterberg is the best player in the world right now and I'd have lots of company...

[toby91_ca 620]

Yeah- I'll give you that much. Crosby's never been bad on defense, but he certainly isn't good. He's an average defensive player, and a great deal of that's because he's a very, very high end skater. He's certainly better than Malkin defensively, but doesn't put the mental and physical effort into backchecking that he needs to. You can tell based on his body language that he sees his responsibility drop as the puck goes into the defensive zone. That's an attitude thing, so I can see why you'd argue he can be a much better defensive player. Certainly, if you threw Ken Hitchcock behind the Pens bench I'm sure Sid would suddenly be very energetic about backchecking. Regardless, it's not something any player should be immune to criticism of. I'm sure you're watching the Sens-Pens game right now, so you must've seen the interview with him during the last intermission. When asked what he wants to improve he said his shooting!

I can confidently say that Crosby's shot is fine. It's not perfect, but certainly isn't his most flawed area. After watching Zetterberg and Pavel's superior defensive play, I was sure he was going to say defense.

I will say that Pavel's gotten much better defensively year to year, and certainly Z has as well (but not quite as drastically as Pav).

Still- you can't blame Red Wing players for coming later to the NHL when it's an organizational choice. Who knows if Z or Dats could've stepped in earlier. Last person to walk in as a kid on the Wings and blow everyone's face off was Feds.

To be honest, I see Crosby working pretty hard in both ends, it's not for lack of effort, I'm confident he'll improve. Also, everytime I watch their games, whoever the TV guys are (today's case, MacLean, Hrudey and Milbury) they all say he needs to be out there on the PK. I've wondered why he wasn't out there more. I figured last year he wasn't due to his injury and it looks like they'll be sending him out there more based on today's game (along with Malkin) we'll see.

I watched most of the game today, but I didn't see the interview, I'm disappointed now because they eluded to it being quite revealing...what did that mean? That said, I'm not surprised he said his shot. He said defense and faceoffs last year. I've seen people criticize him for not shooting more. Maybe he'll work on shooting more than improving his shot. He certainly doesn't have an overpowering shot, but it's good enough to score some goals.

[VM1138 1,921]

I don't see why everyone concedes that Crosby is a great leader. I don't watch all their games, but I've never seen him lead. During the finals in fact, he did several things that were counter-productive. I don't see him lifting his team on his back and inspiring people. He's an excellent player, but Ovechkin and Zetterberg are better all around players and leaders in my book. If Zetterberg can have another standout year, and last year wasn't a fluke, then he'll be seriously considered with Crosby and Ovechkin by even the ignorant masses.

[Guest LivingtheDream]

The writer is on to something so simple that like most simple things, eludes so many. Being "the best" is one thing, while having what it takes to win it all is something else. Let the rest of the world have these silly debates. While doing so they completely miss what Detroit learned from Scotty and we have all seen demonstrated from Stevie Y to Hank and Pavel. The way to lead a team to the Cup is to play a complete game, both ends of the ice.

[12Newf 0]

here is another good one on the same subject.

The Star - Damien Cox: Ovechkin or Crosby?