akustyk 84 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 Your point is? I think Malkin is the best player in the league. I don't think there's a clear advangtage to any of those guys to call them absolutely the best. they are all damn great and different. I'd rather enjoy the fact that I can watch all of them than waste my time arguing who is the best. and Crosby in my opinion definitely has the case for the best of the NHL title. for the same logic people here loved Stevie Y - it's not just the scoresheet but also his influence on the team spirit. Sindy was a beast in playoffs. of course Malkin helped his case but it doesn't take away from Sindy's leadership and production. truth being said I'm also on the "dump the Gary&Sindy love affair" bandwaggon because I'm thoroughly disgusted by the way the league is shoving Sindy into my throat and portraiting him as the ultimate messiah - head and shoulders above prophet David, Jesus, Mahomet and Tom Cruise it's a slap to the face of fans who started watching the NHL prior to Sindy era (basically everyone outside Pittsburgh I guess ) and to other quality players. there's also the topic of most entertaining player to watch. and Ovie wins this category hands down. and guys like Semin (did you see his sick goal yesterday?) or Kane, Datsyuk or Malkin are high in this ranking too. none is close to Ovie though. not at all. Ovechkin 's the biggest gift to the NHL in this decade and he himself sells the league to much further extent than Sindy does. now if only Bettman ever realized this fact... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltgator333 3 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 Could you imagine a Malkin Datsyuk Ovechkin line. I'd pay good money too see that. Especially if the competition's up to the task of trying to stop them.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dat's sick 1,002 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 Thing is Ovechkin basically always scores, even on bad days the dude does something spectacular... a player like zetterberg needs to be on the top of his game to even come close to ovechkins abilities... or make us WOW at him, Ovechkin is always WOW You can't compare Hank to Ovie. They are completely different players, with completely different skill-sets. Hank does a lot of things better than Ovechkin, but when it comes to being flashy no one in the league comes close to Ovie. Personally I'm starting to feel just as tired of hearing about Ovechkin as I am of hearing about Crosby. People need to realize there are other great players in the league, whether their name is Getzlaf, Parise, Datsyuk, Malkin, Backstrom, Iginla or Kovalchuk. It's like every time Ovechkin scores it's the most beautiful goal ever, and every time he makes a deke it's insane, every time he makes a pass it's...oh, wait, he never passes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Carman 387 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 Honestly I hate choosing a best player, I think there are about 5-6 players that are about equal in their contributions to the team every given night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevieY'sguy 1 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 You can't compare Hank to Ovie. They are completely different players, with completely different skill-sets. Hank does a lot of things better than Ovechkin, but when it comes to being flashy no one in the league comes close to Ovie. Personally I'm starting to feel just as tired of hearing about Ovechkin as I am of hearing about Crosby. People need to realize there are other great players in the league, whether their name is Getzlaf, Parise, Datsyuk, Malkin, Backstrom, Iginla or Kovalchuk. It's like every time Ovechkin scores it's the most beautiful goal ever, and every time he makes a deke it's insane, every time he makes a pass it's...oh, wait, he never passes. I agree that you can't compare Hank to Ovie because they are two totally different players with different skill sets....Which is exactly why it makes no sense to compare Crosby to Ovie... Ovie scores more goals (mainly because he shoots about 30 times a game but that is neither here nor there), is faster, hits more, and has a better shot, . Crosby is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, is a better two way player, relies more on his smarts than his physical gifts and is more of a team player and leader. It's just not your classic apples to apples comparison.... For those who insist on comparing and want to look at purely statistics and judge who is a better player strictly by the numbers (cough, DrakeMarcus, cough) : coming into this season Crosby had a higher career points per game average, Ovechkin had 2 Hart Trophies to Crosby's 1, Crosby had 7 postseason series victories to Ovie 1, and Crosby had 1 Stanley Cup in 2 appearances while Ovie has 0 in 0....and until Ovie gets a real leader on his team or decides to start playing more team hockey he will score goals until he is blue in the face but will never win a Cup....sadly enough, but for as brash as he is, he's probably ok with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dropkickshanahans 463 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) favorite non-wings players: Alexander Ovechkin (obvioulsy) Mike Richards Milan Lucic If any of them ever for any reason became Wings i wouldn't know what to do...i'd be so happy! Same as me almost, except Scotty Nieds is my third favorite non-wing player. I could just imagine how great we'd be with Lidstrom and Niedermayer. I'm also going to the game this Saturday. I was debating on either going tomorrow to watch us against Chicago, but I can't pass up the opportunity to watch Ovechkin on a day off of work. Edited October 7, 2009 by dropkickshanahans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akustyk 84 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 speaking of Ovechkin... how do you like the Top-10 Ovechkin off the ice moments on TSN.ca? can this get any better? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lomekian 201 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 speaking of Ovechkin... how do you like the Top-10 Ovechkin off the ice moments on TSN.ca? can this get any better? LEG-END! Best Player? Maybe not....most exciting player and most entertaining player.....by a very significant distance. The anticipation when he gets the puck...I find i have an involuntary intake of breath...because you know for all his lousy defense and questionably decision making at times, absolutely anything is possible. SOMETHING will happen...... For the NHL to be realising his poster potential is only a good thing....he is instant wow! On the SC87 debate, great player, but as the playoffs proved again, I'd much rather him on the ice against the wings than an on form Malkin (or even Staal actually), as he's smart but he's not a bull, and we player better against smart! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stactum 4 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 I tried and tried not to hop on Ove bandwagon, but i can't. The kid is a f-in magician, I was watching the Flyers v Caps game a few days ago, and he straight out embarassed Chris Pronger. Right, and in game with Boston he straight out embarrassed Milan Lucic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stactum 4 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 On the SC87 debate, great player, but as the playoffs proved again, I'd much rather him on the ice against the wings than an on form Malkin (or even Staal actually), as he's smart but he's not a bull, and we player better against smart! I didn't maybe quite understood what were you trying to say, but I kind of felt that Malkin was a bigger reason they won the cup last year, Crosby was more or less a passenger on the team and a lot of goals he scored were set up by Malkin. Crosby showed up during PIT-WAS series, but the rest was Malkin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lomekian 201 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 I didn't maybe quite understood what were you trying to say, but I kind of felt that Malkin was a bigger reason they won the cup last year, Crosby was more or less a passenger on the team and a lot of goals he scored were set up by Malkin. Crosby showed up during PIT-WAS series, but the rest was Malkin. We agree...i was suggesting that given that crosby relies more on smarts than strength or outrageous skill, its a better match-up for us, as we find him easier to play against than Malkin and Staal, given our comparative lack of size at the back end, and that we play a fairly smart team game.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HOCKEY MATTERS 167 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 Think Shanny will find a home. Or do I have to mention Ovie, without reference to Howe to derail this thread? I'm betting this will be my 3rd post deleted from this thread for pointing out that it has gone off topic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
auxlepli 17 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 Jesus. That Ovechkin really draws them stories. Next week's headline: "Ovechkin pets cat, Bossy approves." Yeah you're right. The NHL PR corps should just close up shop and not produce any more stories. Heaven forbid they should right a story about the second leading NHL goal scorer ever meeting one of the premiere players of today. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doggy 130 Report post Posted October 8, 2009 Yeah you're right. The NHL PR corps should just close up shop and not produce any more stories. Heaven forbid they should right a story about the second leading NHL goal scorer ever meeting one of the premiere players of today. Very angry man. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites