Why exactly do you think Malkin is an underrated as he is?

[Dipsy Doodle]

It's a combination of OP Options 1-3.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I would add that while I think some of Malkin's injury woes have certainly had to do with... less than ideal... reffing, the majority of his problems in that area stem from, frankly, being a bit of a yutz when it comes to resting and recuperating. Yes, yes... I know... if the doctors say you are good to go, you are good to go yadda yadda. But we all know how many times he's come back from having his arm practically dangling at his side to playing top minutes in pressure packed situations in far too little time. It's very admirable on one hand and very stupid on the other.

I also suspect that sometimes he doesn't take his offseasons seriously enough. But that's kind of a player by player thing so I won't really go too far down that road.

 

[The GM]

He lacks intangibles

 

[Gurglesons]

He's the 2nd best player of his era. If he were on any other team...he'd be praised non stop.

But I think he likes living in the shadow of Crosby.

Ovie is a better player.

His consistency and playoff performances overcomes Malkin’s injury / second line advantage.

 

[TheStatican]

Ovie is a better player.

His consistency and playoff performances overcomes Malkin’s injury / second line advantage.

He's had a better career & stats and it's close but Ovie is not the better player.

He was for Malkin's first 5 years (0.45 vs 0.63 ggp 1.19 vs 1.29 ppg) but certainly not the last 7 (0.50 vs 0.58 gpg, 1.19 vs 0.96 ppg) where even with all his injuries Malkin has actually outscored Ovechkin despite playing in nearly 100 less games!

 

[Gurglesons]

He's had a better career & stats and it's close but Ovie is not the better player.

He was for Malkin's first 5 years (0.45 vs 0.63 ggp 1.19 vs 1.29 ppg) but certainly not the last 7 (0.50 vs 0.58 gpg, 1.19 vs 0.96 ppg) where even with all his injuries Malkin has actually outscored Ovechkin despite playing in nearly 100 less games!

Ovechkin will have an argument for being the best goal scoring winger to ever play the game when his career is over.

Malkin at best will be a top 10-20 forward and that is with another Art Ross and something like a Smythe / Rocket / etc.

Obviously, Malkin is an insanely talented player. He is simply not in the Crosby / Ovechkin realm. I’d argue there are around maybe 5-7 players
in history that are.

 

[ColePens]

It pisses me off when people don't give Geno is due respect, same with Phil, but ultimately I just don't give a shit what the "pundits" think. We are blessed. It's been a treat to watch. I'm going to love it every second. It's a dream for anyone who loves hockey.

 

[PensandCaps]

Ovie is a better player.

His consistency and playoff performances overcomes Malkin’s injury / second line advantage.

Malkin is the better player... Better PPG...makes everyone around him better. Great in the playoffs, damn good defensively..and plays the more important position.

Malkin has the clear edge. And Ovi isn't that consistent. He has like 4 years where he has been under a PPG.

 

[Ryder71]

Malkin is the better player... Better PPG...makes everyone around him better. Great in the playoffs, damn good defensively..and plays the more important position.

Malkin has the clear edge. And Ovi isn't that consistent. He has like 4 years where he has been under a PPG.

Yep, Malkin has easily passed by AO, it's not even close at this point. As far as Sid goes, that's a more compelling debate but I myself could make good arguments for both. This season however Geno is head and shoulders above both such players.

 

[Gurglesons]

Yep, Malkin has easily passed by AO, it's not even close at this point. As far as Sid goes, that's a more compelling debate but I myself could make good arguments for both. This season however Geno is head and shoulders above both such players.

There is literally three or four players in history that have put up as many 40+ goal seasons as Ovie.

He is flat out going to be the best Russian of all time.

 

[Al Smith]

Because he's Russian and has always been overshadowed by Ovie, he plays on the same team as Sid, so has also been overshadowed by Sid, and his English has never been very good. Edit: I should add as a corollary to being Russian, he's often perceived as "dirty" or "cheap", whereas if he were Canadian, he'd be "gritty" or "a guy who will do whatever it takes to win".

I was perusing the 100 Greatest List again recently with Geno's omission in mind. Don't want to spend too much time on it, but he's clearly better than many on that list, and when it came down to it, they chose good old Canadian boy(s). (Seriously, Toewes, Jacques Lemaire and Bob Gainey)? Seeing Gilbert Perrault on the list (and did deserve to be) made me think of Geno; for anyone old like me who saw GP, Perrault and Geno were kind of the same in their skill level, but Perrault had the benefit of having two All-stars on his line for years. He also never won a Conn Smythe, Hart, or an Art Ross, and if I recall correctly, never played the two way game that Geno plays (often).

 

[Gurglesons]

Malkin is the better player... Better PPG...makes everyone around him better. Great in the playoffs, damn good defensively..and plays the more important position.

Malkin has the clear edge. And Ovi isn't that consistent. He has like 4 years where he has been under a PPG.

Ovechkin basically has 10 seasons win 40+ goals if you count the lockout. I don’t know how you are more consistent?

 

[TheStatican]

Ovechkin will have an argument for being the best goal scoring winger to ever play the game when his career is over.

Malkin at best will be a top 10-20 forward and that is with another Art Ross and something like a Smythe / Rocket / etc.

Obviously, Malkin is an insanely talented player. He is simply not in the Crosby / Ovechkin realm. I’d argue there are around maybe 5-7 players
in history that are.

Your misunderstanding the difference between better player and better career, it's understandable since many people refuse to consider those concepts separately.

It's the Lemieux vs Gretzky argument. If Lemieux and Malkin weren't injured as often as they were they'd have a very good case for having the better careers verse their peers. As is that's clearly not the case and yes it's very unlikely that Malkin will be able to catch up to and pass either Sid or Ovie when it comes to career accomplishments/recognition at this point and therefore he won't be considered a better 'player' then Ovie for instance. Where as the stats and the eye test I might add, clearly indicate otherwise.

Lemieux at his absolute peak is considered by many to be best player to ever play the game. Where as looking at his career he is recognized by most to only be the 4th greatest player. There's just as strong of an argument to be had that Malkin at his peak is the best player in the post lockout era and the only player who is able to dominate games in the same manner and degree in which Lemieux did, just not nearly as often of course.

 

[Tom Hanks]

I think he is less talked about, more than underrated.

Fans, teammates and coaches (including the opposition) definitely rate him highly.

Injuries have affected his total numbers which may quiet some of the talk too. Maybe others think because we have Crosby he’s not important (that’s pretty dumb though).

 

[Treent1]

Ovechkin basically has 10 seasons win 40+ goals if you count the lockout. I don’t know how you are more consistent?

Ovechkin was absolutely monster 2007-2010. After that he's been your stereotypical floating sniper.

 

[Gurglesons]

Your misunderstanding the difference between better player and better career, it's understandable since many people refuse to consider those concepts separately.

It's the Lemieux vs Gretzky argument. If Lemieux and Malkin weren't injured as often as they were they'd have a very good case for having the better careers verse their peers. As is that's clearly not the case and yes it's very unlikely that Malkin will be able to catch up to and pass either Sid or Ovie when it comes to career accomplishments/recognition at this point and therefore he won't be considered a better 'player' then Ovie for instance. Where as the stats and the eye test I might add, clearly indicate otherwise.

Lemieux at his absolute peak is considered by many to be best player to ever play the game. Where as looking at his career he is recognized by most to only be the 4th greatest player. There's just as strong of an argument to be had that Malkin at his peak is the best player in the post lockout era and the only player who is able to dominate games in the same manner and degree in which Lemieux did, just not nearly as often of course.

That comparison doesn’t work.

Not to mention we’ve literally seen the domination Ovechkin can do first hand. He’s outplayed Malkin head to head every playoff series aside from ‘09 where you could make a small argument that Malkin sparks our come back.

Ovechkin is literally at worst the 3rd best goal scorer of all time.

The argument is more like Gretzky versus Orr. Gretzky is the better player.

 

[Gurglesons]

Ovechkin was absolutely monster 2007-2010. After that he's been your stereotypical floating sniper.

I hate this argument. He’s paid to score and he does it better than basically any player in league history outside of Gretzky and Bossy

 

[EightyOne]

I hate this argument. He’s paid to score and he does it better than basically any player in league history outside of Gretzky and Bossy

1v1, first to 3 goals....geno vs ovi...who wins? thats who the better PLAYER will be.

 

[Gurglesons]

1v1, first to 3 goals....geno vs ovi...who wins? thats who the better PLAYER will be.

Ovechkin? All the dude does is score.

I can see the argument that Malkin has stretches of insanely dominant play and the fact he plays a position that allows him to dominant more but Ovechkin has literally dominated goal scoring in the league since 2006.

 

[EightyOne]

Ovechkin? All the dude does is score.

I can see the argument that Malkin has stretches of insanely dominant play and the fact he plays a position that allows him to dominant more but Ovechkin has literally dominated goal scoring in the league since 2006.

I feel Malkin is better defensively than Ovechkin is better offensively. They can both lay a hit. They can both shoot. If I am making a team, I take 18 Genos over 18 Ovis any day of the week. Either team is likely to score 23 goals a game though hahahah.

 

[Ryder71]

There is literally three or four players in history that have put up as many 40+ goal seasons as Ovie.

He is flat out going to be the best Russian of all time.

He is better at scoring goals and has been healthier. Beyond that Geno is a far better playmaker more accomplished in the post season, more PPG and plays a harder position (center). AO is one dimensional, Geno is clearly the better all around player. Again it's not even close at this point. AO gets the hype but that doesn't make him the better player. You're buying the hype. When you look at everything, Geno has accomplished so much more.

 

[canadianguy77]

I hate this argument. He’s paid to score and he does it better than basically any player in league history outside of Gretzky and Bossy

After his first 5 or so years, he evolved to become a newer version of Brett Hull. Hes a marketing gimmick.

His team actually suffers in order to try and feed him one timers that aren't even very accurate.

He's almost always had better linemates than Crosby and Malkin have had throughout their their time in the league, and has still struggled to maintain ppg status for much of his career.

Malkin and Crosby are both a tier above Ovechkin. But certain fans of his don't ever want to talk about the elephant in the room. And that is for many years now, his team has been instructed to feed him opportunities at their overall expense.

 

[TheStatican]

That comparison doesn’t work.

Not to mention we’ve literally seen the domination Ovechkin can do first hand. He’s outplayed Malkin head to head every playoff series aside from ‘09 where you could make a small argument that Malkin sparks our come back.

Ovechkin is literally at worst the 3rd best goal scorer of all time.

The argument is more like Gretzky versus Orr. Gretzky is the better player.

Injuries have a lot to do with that, Malkin was a shadow of himself during the entire 16' run. The rest is basically a wash.

But more importantly your making another common mistake in player comparisons, placing far too much value in the few series where the two player your comparing played against each other and placing more value in that than their entire playoff resumes. It's a team sport afterall, Malkin and Ovechkin aren't playing each other 1 on 1 out there.

I'm not one of those who slams Ovechkin for his playoff performances, he's been pretty good in them all things considered and anyone who says otherwise is flat out wrong. But Malkin's clearly been better. That fact that Ovechkin has been more productive of the two in when their teams played each other is of little relevance when determining who has been the better playoff performer. End results aside;

Ovie has had 5 two+ goal games(5%) 23 two+ point games(24%) 6 three+ point games(6%) in 97 total games.
Malkins had 9 two+ goal games(6%) 46 two+ point games(31%) 16 three+ point games(11%) in 149 total games.

What matters is not that Malkin has had more offensively dominate games overall, but rather that he's had a higher percentage of them. And while neither of them would be considered defensive stalwarts, Malkin is easily the better defensive player. He has been better both offensively and defensively in the playoffs as a whole.

 

[ColePens]

Re: Ovy

Why not just celebrate that he's one of the best goal scorers and the best goal scorer of this era? Celebrate it. He's a heck of a talent. Geno/Sid are vying for a different category. Those 2 are trying to be the best hockey players of the era and all time. I'm telling you I think Geno is still significantly underrated in the all-time picture.

 

[PenguinSpeed]

Ovechkin basically has 10 seasons win 40+ goals if you count the lockout. I don’t know how you are more consistent?

NHL Points Per Game, All Time

Crosby- 1.29- 6th All Time
Malkin- 1.19 13th All Time
Ovi- 1.12 19th All Time

NHL Playoff Points Per Game, All Time

Crosby 1.108, 12th All Time
Malkin 1.05, 19th All Time
Ovi- .92, unranked in Top 50 All Time

NHL ERA Adjusted Points Per Game, All Time

Mario Lemieux- #1 All Time, 1.68 Points Per game
The Great One, #2 All Time, 1.66 Points Per game
Crosby, #3 All Time, 1.48 Points Per game
Malkin, #6 All Time, 1.31 Points Per game
Ovi- #7 All Time, 1.28 Points Per Game

-The only 2 players born AFTER 1975 to average at least 1 point per game in the regular season and playoffs are Crosby and Malkin. That's it, End of List.

-Ovi is clearly behind the Penguins Big 2. And the Penguins Big 2 have not only eliminated Ovi and Washington 3 different times in the playoffs, they won the Stanley Cup 3 times to Ovi's 0.