Do You Consider Ovechkin Generational?

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T REX

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Feb 28, 2013
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I see Crosbys name brought up for the infamous discussion of the next generational player after Lemieux but wouldn't Ovechkin have a case?

We're talking about a guy who had McDavids speed (or close to) but had strength and a better shot to back it up.

I'm, gonna say yes. He's arguably one of the best goal scorers of all time.

McDavids speed? BUWAHAHAHAHAHA.

No.
 

SlickHands

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Apr 11, 2014
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He is clearly a generational player. Mario was still generational, even though his era overlapped with Gretzky's. Crosby is a generational playmaking center and a solid goal scorer too. Ovechkin is a generational goal scorer (arguably top 2-3 all time) and a very underrated passer and driver of play. Ovie's also one of the most physical skill guys around. Both generational. The inclusion of one does not exclude the other.

Although, we all knew where this topic would go.
 

Fixxer

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Jul 28, 2016
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I'm 31 years old and I feel blessed that I was able to see him play in his first five seasons. Best individual player I ever witnessed. Drove to the net, shot with power, hit everyone in sight.. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Crosby is more of a Playmaker (or Elite Grinder as some say), although there were a few years where he was more of a scorer (he always adapted a LOT to stay on top or near it). Now.. why am I bringing Crosby into the discussion. LOL Both are GREAT!!
For me, it's 100% yes! Dominated, barely missed any games. He has his flaws, like every player, but .. he's now the Russian players with most "Goals" and/or "points".. I know he recently passed Sergei Fedorov.
-- My favorite goal of his.. against my favorite team. lol
 
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Shaman464

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As for is Ovie generational? As I have said before, in order to be fair to all players, all players to make the NHL are now Generational(tm), as part of the "No Player Left Behind" program.

Seriously. The term is meaningless. He's one of the best goal scorers to play the game. That is a fact. Whether or not someone uses the contrived term 'generational' doesn't change that.
 
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LokiDog

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Ovechkin is absolutely generational. He very well may be the greatest goal scorer of all time. Currently he has a great argument, even if he retired tomorrow, as the greatest era adjusted goal scorer the game has ever seen but he also has a genuine chance to break records and be THE greatest goal scorer of all time, depending really simply on how long he chooses to stay in the NHL. He’s honestly become criminally underrated around here because this conversation itself is absurd. Whether he goes down in history as THE greatest goal scorer or simply one of the top three or four greatest of all time, that is still very clearly generational.
 

SlickHands

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Steve Yzerman started his career the same time as Mario, and has a few more career points. So are they equal?

You always use your self-serving arbitrary comparisons. Ovie is a 3 time MVP and has owned the Richard for the better part of his career. He's in the conversation for top 2-3 players for his era in almost all circles. That your comparison is Mario and Yzerman shows your intense bias to every one of the Crosby/Ovechkin debates (this is coming from a Wings fan who loves Yzerman).
 
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Caps8112

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Gretzky is also 700 career assists above second place on the all time list.

Gretzky was a true offensive jauggernaut. Not just at scoring goals. Ovechkin is currently 123rd all time in assists. That’s not a slam on Ovechkin. But his game is scoring goals. It isn’t a complete offensive game. I won’t touch on the defensive side of the game.

They only player that has ever come close to touching Gretzky as a complete offensive player was Lemeuix.
I see your point with gretzky and assists but he is almost the outlier. Ovi being 123rd all time is crazy since most on this site wont even give him credit as a decent playmaker. 123rd all time for a non play making non center. Think about that. On top of that he is the greatest goal scorer ever. Not directed at you but only on hf is being a goal scorer, the most basic concept in hockey, a negative thing. Crosby is amazing but when he is done he will be number 1 in no category. Ovi might not either but he has a shot at it
 

ujju2

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Apr 9, 2016
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Absolutely? I've never seen anyone claim he's not. I'm sure 99% of people would agree that Ovi is a generational player. Not sure why this thread exists.
 

admiralcadillac

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Oct 22, 2017
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Wait so one of the top 3 goal scorers of all time is not generational? Why is this even a question?

No one has come even remotely close to his goal scoring talent since he's entered the league.
 
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kanucks25

Chris Tanev #1 Fan
Nov 29, 2013
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Some of the posts in this thread are laughable. The mental gymnastics some perform to minimize Ovechkin's accomplishments... utterly ridiculous.

If the greatest goal scorer of all time (era-adjusted) isn't unanimously considered "generational" then I don't know what life is anymore.
 

Hockey4Lyfe

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Feb 26, 2018
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I see your point with gretzky and assists but he is almost the outlier. Ovi being 123rd all time is crazy since most on this site wont even give him credit as a decent playmaker. 123rd all time for a non play making non center. Think about that. On top of that he is the greatest goal scorer ever. Not directed at you but only on hf is being a goal scorer, the most basic concept in hockey, a negative thing. Crosby is amazing but when he is done he will be number 1 in no category. Ovi might not either but he has a shot at it

Crosby won’t be number 1 but he will potentially be top 5 in assists per game and points per game. On top of everything he has won.

That all on top of no one has a clue what will happen with both of these guys. How will they decline? Or on the flip side, how many more points will they get?

Crosby has a solid chance to move up the leaderboards a bunch in the coming years. It would take a monumental injury for Crosby to not eventually eclipse 1,000 career assists which would be top 10 all time.

If he closes out near the top and is top 5 in assists and points per game, his legacy is cemented in stone.

Only Lemieux, Gretzky and Orr are top 5 in both categories.
 
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Shaman464

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Some of the posts in this thread are laughable. The mental gymnastics some perform to minimize Ovechkin's accomplishments... utterly ridiculous.

If the greatest goal scorer of all time (era-adjusted) isn't unanimously considered "generational" then I don't know what life is anymore.

He is not better than Gretzky. And if you're going to play that game, there are a few guys who played in the 40s through the 60s who would be better than Ovechkin because of 'era adjustments'.

One example is that in Ovie's best season he out scored the next guy by 40% (53 to 38). In Howes best season he out scored the next best goal scorer by 53%. That's a pretty significant difference.
 
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Shaman464

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All that needs to be said.

One of the best. Not the best. And maybe not so good to overcome his position, his lack of playmaking, and other flaws for some people to consider him to be head and shoulders better than other players of his generation.
 

MartinS82

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May 26, 2016
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Name something Crosby has done individually that Ovechkin hasn't done? Other than leading the league in assists that one time there isn't anything.

You say he is simply a better overall player but there is nothing to back it up except what you see on the ice. Ok, what I see is Ovechkin can run you over to score a goal, or a shoot a puck through you if needed. He could beat any player with his speed for ten years and is still pretty damn fast. Pretty damn good overall skill if you ask me.

So what now?

Enjoy your guy and appreciate the other guy, because in a few years both will be gone and our franchises will probably be fighting for 1st overall picks rather than the Stanley Cup.

I prefer Crosby (partly because I am a Penguin fan, partly because I am also a Coach, so I dream of players like him). If I was a Capitals fan, I'm sure I'd like OV better.

These two players, probably more than any two that came before will always be compared to each other. At this point, if you praise one, you are in a way praising the other, since OV winning whatever award meant he had to beat out one of the best all time players, and vice versa.
 

pezpunk

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May 3, 2013
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One of the best. Not the best. And maybe not so good to overcome his position, his lack of playmaking, and other flaws for some people to consider him to be head and shoulders better than other players of his generation.

you sound like someone who has rarely watched him play. his playmaking ability is vastly underrated. absolutely not a "flaw" in his game. he has more points than Crosby, after all.

and yes, he is the best goal scorer of all time. not "one of".
 
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Shaman464

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you sound like someone who has never watched him play. his playmaking ability is vastly underrated. absolutely not a "flaw" in his game. he has more points than Crosby, after all.

and yes, he is the best goal scorer of all time. not "one of".

I've watched him extensively. He is not the best of all time. I pointed out in another post for his era he's not even doing what Howe did in his generation. He also has never scored 92 goals.

And I am not saying he doesn't have playmaking abilities. I am saying that for being called a generational player, his playmaking isn't nearly as good as others of his generation, and his goal scoring isn't actually that much better than others that its unprecedented.
 

filinski77

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Feb 12, 2017
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Crosby won’t be number 1 but he will potentially be top 5 in assists per game and points per game. On top of everything he has won.

That all on top of no one has a clue what will happen with both of these guys. How will they decline? Or on the flip side, how many more points will they get?

Crosby has a solid chance to move up the leaderboards a bunch in the coming years. It would take a monumental injury for Crosby to not eventually eclipse 1,000 career assists which would be top 10 all time.

If he closes out near the top and is top 5 in assists and points per game, his legacy is cemented in stone.

Only Lemieux, Gretzky and Orr are top 5 in both categories.
Crosby is currently 6th in points/gp (1.29) - considering he isn't scoring at a 105 point pace anymore, that's going to significantly drop, and he'll safely fall out of the top 10 in per game rankings.

Same goes for assists.
 
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