Jaromir Jagr From 1998-2001 Or Alex Ovechkin From 2007-2010?

[moropanov]

I think Ovechkin but it made me think. Ovechkin was more dominant in 2008 tournament than Jagr was in 1998 olympics.

Oveckins never been anythink good in national team he wouldnt make team Finland's Skoda kup roster he's been that terrible usually guys lke Juhamatti Aaltonen Leo Komarov Petri Kontiola Antti Pihlström have been better hockey player at international level for sure!

 

[psycat]

The fact that the poll is close on a forum that is the stronghold of recency bias should tell you all you need to know. Jagr was clearly a step above(and that's not a slight towards Ovechkin there are 2, arguably 3, players who peaked higher than Jagr offensively- not counting Orr).

 

[authentic]

The fact that the poll is close on a forum that is the stronghold of recency bias should tell you all you need to know. Jagr was clearly a step above(and that's not a slight towards Ovechkin there are 2, arguably 3, players who peaked higher than Jagr offensively- not counting Orr).

This forum also loves the 90s superstars though so it's a tough call to say one has a definite advantage in bias.

 

[Zuluss]

For best three years you can go either way, but Jagr's all around offense dominance lasted way longer than the window provided.

True, but outside of his best 7 dominant seasons, all of which were indeed close to his 1998-2001 level, Jagr has nothing besides the 2nd All-star team in injury-shortened 96/97 and a couple marginal top10 finishes in points.

Ovechkin, on the other hand, visibly dropped off after 2007-2010 (though even his off-peak play was enough to win Hart in 12/13 and be the best skater in 14/15) - but Ovechkin was one of the best LWs pretty much every year of his career.

Just look at their All-star team voting finishes:
Jagr 7x 1st, 1x 2nd
OV 8x 1st, 4x 2nd, 2x 3rd
and OV is not done yet.

The fact that the poll is close on a forum that is the stronghold of recency bias should tell you all you need to know. Jagr was clearly a step above(and that's not a slight towards Ovechkin there are 2, arguably 3, players who peaked higher than Jagr offensively- not counting Orr).

The close poll reflects the confusion caused by the strict comparisons of three-year peaks.
I think voters generally remember that Jagr's consecutive peak was 4 years, not 3, and that Jagr stayed at close to his peak level for 7 seasons - and since the poll asks to compare peaks, Jagr gets extra points for that despite the poll asking to compare best 3 years vs. best 3 years.

If you ask me "Did Jagr have a better peak than Ovechkin?", I would say "yes, because Jagr's peak lasted longer".
That does not mean that Ovechkin's one-year or three-year peaks were lower (they were not) or that Ovechkin's career value is lower (it is not). But using "Jagr", "Ovechkin", and "peak" in one sentence causes a knee-jerk reaction "Jagr>OV".

 

[scott clam]

True, but outside of his best 7 dominant seasons, all of which were indeed close to his 1998-2001 level, Jagr has nothing besides the 2nd All-star team in injury-shortened 96/97 and a couple marginal...

Jagr was scoring at the same clip as Mario Lemieux in '97 before he got injured, and by that time he was stronger even strength and 1 on 1. The year before he also lead the league at even strength, and the year before that he has his first Ross. To say nothing of his fifth and final scoring title. So Jagr's true "peak" is in fact much longer than Ovechkin's.

It's a testament to Jagr's greatness that you can cherry pick 3 years for a player like Ovechkin(or Crosby) and Jagr still holds up, while also being dominant for so much longer.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I voted Jagr, but now I'm not so sure. The problem with Jagr is, he had that incredible seven-year prime, but he was injured in the 3rd and 6th seasons - so he never had three consecutive years at/near his peak, while being uninjured.

I'd actually take Jagr's 1998 season over 2001 (he was barely scoring a point per game, and seemed completely disinterested, before Lemieux returned). Using these years, playoffs are a wash (40 pts in 28 games for Ovechkin versus 37 pts in 26 games for Jagr). Also using these years, Jagr finishes 1st in Hart voting among forwards all three years (Ovechkin was 1st, 1st and 2nd to Malkin). Jagr is about 17% ahead of the next highest-scoring player (Ovechkin was 12% ahead).

It's close, but if we're talking about best three consecutive seasons, I think Ovechkin narrowly takes it. Best four, five, six or seven seasons all go to Jagr - so it depends on how you define the question.

 

[Brucelenok]

Why ppl talk about Jagr about 6,7 consecutive seasons while ignoring Ovi's rookie and sophomore seasons?

 

[Zuluss]

Jagr was scoring at the same clip as Mario Lemieux in '97 before he got injured, and by that time he was stronger even strength and 1 on 1. The year before he also lead the league at even strength, and the year before that he has his first Ross. To say nothing of his fifth and final scoring title. So Jagr's true "peak" is in fact much longer than Ovechkin's.

It's a testament to Jagr's greatness that you can cherry pick 3 years for a player like Ovechkin(or Crosby) and Jagr still holds up, while also being dominant for so much longer.

I am not cherry-picking anything, the OP asked to compare their 3-year peaks, and this is what I am doing.
If you want to go off-topic and bring up the fact that Jagr's 7-8-year prime was better that Ovechkin's - fine, I will also bring up the fact that Ovechkin's prime is 14 years and counting.

 

[scott clam]

I am not cherry-picking anything, the OP asked to compare their 3-year peaks, and this is what I am doing.
If you want to go off-topic and bring up the fact that Jagr's 7-8-year prime was better that Ovechkin's - fine, I will also bring up the fact that Ovechkin's prime is 14 years and counting.

Sorry, I should've made myself more clear, I'm not accusing you of cherrypicking. I know it's OP who made it three years, and that's fine.

Ovechkin is still very much in his prime, but his dominant peak is long over.

As I said before, for best three years I really think you could go either way. Both players would dominate either era.

 

[tony d]

Jagr 98-01

 

[scott clam]

Why ppl talk about Jagr about 6,7 consecutive seasons while ignoring Ovi's rookie and sophomore seasons?

Ovi had a phenomenal rookie season and a somewhat disappointing sophomore season, if only because of the ridiculously high standard he set the year before. I believe he really benefited from that extra year in Russia.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Ovechkin.

 

[authentic]

I think the poll results are correct, they are extremely close, best left winger vs. best right winger.

 

[moropanov]

Extremely close right yea.. Jagr should win 100-0 no sane person would say Ovechkin being better at hockey than Jagr. In reality Ovechkin isnt even better than Danis Zaripov. Ovechkin is Nail Yakupov with better shooting nothing more.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Extremely close right yea.. Jagr should win 100-0 no sane person would say Ovechkin being better at hockey than Jagr. In reality Ovechkin isnt even better than Danis Zaripov. Ovechkin is Nail Yakupov with better shooting nothing more.

Yakupov is better than OV, he was just ruined by Oilers management.

 

[daver]

I see Jagr/OV like Sakic/Yzerman, really close in terms of peak/prime level of play and accomplishments. Similar players (offensively gifted players who were notably lax on the defensive side of things) with some major differences in some areas most notably Jagr's puck protection vs. OV's hitting. Both are a bit lacking in their playoff resumes compared to their respective peers when they played and in all-time rankings.

 

[wetcoast]

Jagr won the art toss by 11, 20, 2 (missed about 15-20 games), 3 points (him and sakic were miles beyond 3rd place) in the 4 years from 97/98-00/01. Voters didn't really like jagr back then so he didn't have the hart's that he maybe should have gotten for just how amazing he was in his prime. Offensively jagr had no peers in his prime while ovechkin had Crosby and malkin as equals.

Pretty much this as Jagr led the NHL in goals, assists and obviously points in this stretch.

He was simply better.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Easily Jagr