Did Ovechkin become close to what Lindros was supposed to be ?

[Whaleafs]

Physically they are almost the same size and weight. The difference being Lindros towered over most in his early days, Ovechkin looks more average as the average size of players has increased since then. But they both used those frames to throw heavy hits which was a big part of their games, separating themselves from most other superstars and giving them the “whole package” of talents.

Ovechkin is obviously more of a shooter with more goals than assists but the spread in only by about 100, and Lindros was about 100 assists more than goals over his career.

So did Ovechkin end up becoming what Lindros was supposed to be if he hadn’t had his major injuries?

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[daver]

Lindros was considerably more physically imposing. I think Lindros' offensive game was more balanced than OV's.

 

[MadLuke]

Peak Lindros when he played was pretty much what was Lindros supposed to be no ?

The what if do not really lie there, Ovechkin feel different than Lindros, Lindros was a 3-4 shot a game center, peak Ovy a 5 even 6 shot a game (he lead the league in shot almost all the seasons he played), Ovechkin almost never fought in is career, Lindros did over 15 time some seasons.

 

[Whaleafs]

Was it ? I’m looking at his games played the first decade of his career and I’m not seeing many 70s and no 80s per season.

 

[Rexor]

Physically they are almost the same size and weight. The difference being Lindros towered over most in his early days, Ovechkin looks more average as the average size of players has increased since then.

It's not true, average height of NHL players has been stagnating since mid-90's and average weight has even decreased.

 

[JackSlater]

Not really. Ovechkin has a big hitting game but he isn't nearly the physical threat that Lindros was. I've long suspected that either Lindros was actually heavier than his listed weight or he just had a freakish level of muscle relative to his body, which would match the stories regarding Lindros being told to stop lifting, because of how powerful he was even compared to the large players of his day. Stylistically pretty different players as well, with Lindros being much more of a cycle player and Ovechkin much smarter positionally. Younger versions of Lindros and Ovechkin were more similar than later versions and would probably have been great linemates.

 

[Whaleafs]

It's not true, average height of NHL players has been stagnating since mid-90's and average weight has even decreased.

Yes it is

NHL Player Size From 1917-18 to 2014-15: A Brief Look

 

[Rexor]

Yes it is

NHL Player Size From 1917-18 to 2014-15: A Brief Look

Well, the article is proving my point.

 

[MadLuke]

Yes it is

NHL Player Size From 1917-18 to 2014-15: A Brief Look

Look at the years on the X-axis, since the late 90s it didn't go up even down.

 

[unknown33]

Yes it is

NHL Player Size From 1917-18 to 2014-15: A Brief Look

I don't get it? You posted a link that disproves your point.

 

[Whaleafs]

Well, the article is proving my point.

Look at the years on the X-axis, since the late 90s it didn't go up even down.

I don't get it? You posted a link that disproves your point.

The average height in the league during the whole duration of Ovechkin’s career is greater than or equal to the average height of the league during Lindros’ first 5 seasons. Hence where I said “in his early days” and from those days the average size has gone up, like the raw numbers say in the article. Like holy f*** this is not difficult.

 

[The Panther]

I don't think of their respective styles as very similar.

Maybe early in his career, Ovechkin was a big more Lindros-like in that he carried the puck aggressively more and threw his weight around more. But even then, he was more of a goal-scorer, which Lindros wasn't really. Lindros had a more balanced offensive game, being more a typical center in that he dished to teammates a lot and was a playmaker. Ovechkin had/has a significant physical element, but it's not physical with a nasty/dangerous edge like Lindros, who would frequently destroy people.

 

[Passchendaele]

Ovechkin doesn't look 6'3" to me. Lindros did look 6'4", though.

Ovechkin is probably closer to 6'1".

 

[MadLuke]

The average height in the league during the whole duration of Ovechkin’s career is greater than or equal to the average height of the league during Lindros’ first 5 seasons.

It would need to be significantly higher to explain why Lindros would have looked bigger than Ovechkin.

Lindros in say 96-97
Height average: 73.1 inch
weight: 203.6 pound

Last year in the nhl
73.1 inch
201.2 pound

So looking a footage of Ovechkin now and comparing it to footage of Lindros in 96-97 they would look similar ?

 

[ted2019]

I've seen Lindros up close and personal during his stay in Philly. I was 6'5" 235 lbs. then. Eric was maybe an 1/2 of inch shorter and had I'd say, 15 lbs. on me. I was more muscular, but Eric was thicker throughout his body. Also, Eric could do it all out on the ice. He played defense, incredible forechecker and was basically a menace to society on skates. Eric was a tremendous player and had the strength of Paul Bunyan with players literally hanging off of him and he was still able to pass the puck or get a quality shot on net. As someone else said, Eric would fight. He would fight heavyweights like Scott Stevens, Marty McSorley, Derian Hatcher , Ken Daneyko, Chris Simon, Lyle Odelein , Stu Grimson and many others. According to dropyourgloves.com, Lindros was 32-2-10 in the NHL ( only losses was to McSorley & Hatcher).

 

[BenchBrawl]

I've seen Lindros up close and personal during his stay in Philly. I was 6'5" 235 lbs. then. Eric was maybe an 1/2 of inch shorter and had I'd say, 15 lbs. on me. I was more muscular, but Eric was thicker throughout his body. Also, Eric could do it all out on the ice. He played defense, incredible forechecker and was basically a menace to society on skates. Eric was a tremendous player and had the strength of Paul Bunyan with players literally hanging off of him and he was still able to pass the puck or get a quality shot on net. As someone else said, Eric would fight. He would fight heavyweights like Scott Stevens, Marty McSorley, Derian Hatcher , Ken Daneyko, Chris Simon, Lyle Odelein , Stu Grimson and many others. According to dropyourgloves.com, Lindros was 32-2-10 in the NHL ( only losses was to McSorley & Hatcher).

Damn, you're a mountain.

To answer the thread, I don't see the comparison at all.Ovechkin is physical, but not really "intimidating" the way Lindros was.Lindros was probably the first and only forward of his type where he just consistently ran over people like a train, was willing to back it up with his fists, and was a superstar #1 center inside that package.Who else did that?

If I try to find the closest thing to Lindros both stylistically and level of play, the best comparison I can find is Newsy Lalonde.But the fact I need to go back to the 1910s, and that Newsy was less physically intimidating than Lindros tells me Lindros was a very rare kind of player.Is there a better comparison than Lalonde for Lindros? Both centers, superstars, very physical, sometimes dirty.I feel Lalonde is a better comparison than Messier and Trottier, and I can't think of anybody else among centers.

Say what you will about the way Eric Lindros' career turned out, but he did leave a deep mark in the hockey community's imagination/subconscious, a bit in the same way Mike Tyson left a deep mark in the boxing community.I see a lot of parallels between Lindros and Tyson, where their career value might not be what it should have been, but where their peak level of play and their extremely intimidating presence made them archetypes in their respective sport.

To make another completely silly comparison, Lindros was like the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation.He came into the league and his brutality, ruthlessness and dominance really forced you to adjust and deal with him.He was a sort of enemy you never encountered before.Like the Borg, he also ignored his enemies completely (by skating with his head down).

Ovechkin doesn't embodies anything like that.

 

[Big Phil]

Look, Lindros irritates me as a former player now. He has literally said he wants the NHL to turn into a league without hitting because of his past concussions. So I try to pretend the current Lindros doesn't exist in this universe of ours and try instead to remember him from his playing days.

Ovechkin for the first few years in the NHL was like a bull in a china shop, but while he would throw a good hit he was more of an aggressive puck chaser than physical on the level of Lindros. Like others have said, Lindros fought all over the place and didn't pick his spots either. Grown men bounced off of him when they tried to hit him. He scared you when he didn't even have the puck. So their styles were different in many ways. Both skated well for big men, Ovechkin more explosive though.

But here is an example. It is 2004 and Lindros is well past his due date. He also had toned down his physical play and become a little more cautious and perimeter-like. In other words, he wasn't the old "88" anymore. However, he fought Joe Thornton who at the time played a much more physical game early in his career. He just obliterated Thornton in that fight. I would say that it literally was the point where Thornton changed his game a bit to focus a little bit more on playmaking and less on physical play. Thornton hasn't fought a lot since that Lindros fight in 2004. A couple of bouts he had with guys that can throw them, Getzlaf, Benn, Wilson etc. But Doughty, Toews and Kadri are not heavyweights.

So here is my question, could Ovechkin physically destroy someone to the point where it almost makes them examine their style of play?

 

[Troubadour]

only losses was to McSorley & Hatcher)

To my eyes he lost one to Pilon as well, might be a tie, but I would give it to Rich.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

I don't think we'll ever see a man physically dominate like Lindros back in the day. I know the point totals are off, but would other posters say (possibly) that Ryan Getzlaf is a similar example? Could be only me

 

[wetcoast]

Lindros was considerably more physically imposing. I think Lindros' offensive game was more balanced than OV's.

Pretty much this.

 

[sr edler]

According to dropyourgloves.com, Lindros was 32-2-10 in the NHL ( only losses was to McSorley & Hatcher).

He also lost to Chris Gratton and Elvis Stojko.

I agree Lindros had a whole different dimension to his game than Ovi though. Not Selke, but strong defensively, good on face-offs and a different type of physicality.

 

[streitz]

I don't follow Ovechkin and have never been interested in this era of the nhl, but isn't he not a fighter?

He also lost to Chris Gratton and Elvis Stojko.

I agree Lindros had a whole different dimension to his game than Ovi though. Not Selke, but strong defensively, good on face-offs and a different type of physicality.

I have a hard time believing Lindros lost to Gratton who was an actual trash/fake tough guy and about 20 pounds lighter.

 

[streitz]

Damn, you're a mountain.

To answer the thread, I don't see the comparison at all.Ovechkin is physical, but not really "intimidating" the way Lindros was.Lindros was probably the first and only forward of his type where he just consistently ran over people like a train, was willing to back it up with his fists, and was a superstar #1 center inside that package.Who else did that?

I started to comment before I read the last part of this paragraph. That being said I'm aware he was a winger but I really don't see how Neely doesn't fit that bill.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Completely different types of players, so no.

 

[ted2019]

I started to comment before I read the last part of this paragraph. That being said I'm aware he was a winger but I really don't see how Neely doesn't fit that bill.

Neely wasn't the playmaker Lindros was.