Ovechkin after 30, what can he do?

[Mulletman]

So Ovechkin is turning 30 before next season starts. Many here on HF Boards think that a hockey player is basically done after turning 30. How will Ovechkin measure up against what other superstars have done after turning 30? Here's a list of what some superstars have done after turning 30:

1. Gordie Howe 415 goals
2. John Bycuk 374 goals
3. Teemu Selanne 338 goals
4. Brett Hull 328 goals
5. Mark Messier 309 goals
6. Mike Gartner 297 goals
7. Marcel Dionne 293 goals
8. Brendan Shanahan 276 goals
9. Daniel Alfredsson 274 goals
10. Mark Recchi 267 goals
11. Dave Andreychuk 267 goals
12. Jaromir Jagr 265 goals (and counting...)
13. Joe Sakic 250 goals
14. Ron Francis 245 goals
15. Dino Ciccarelli 237 goals
16. Luc Robitaille 234 goals
17. Mike Knuble 228 goals
18. Mats Sundin 217 goals
19. Stan Mikita 217 goals
20. Steve Yzerman 211 goals
21. Sergei Fedorov 201 goals
22. Mario Lemieux 196 goals
23. Wayne Grezky 188 goals
24. Keith Tkachuk 178 goals
25. Jari Kurri 127 goals
26. Olli Jokinen 106 goals (and hopefully still counting...)
27. Pavel Bure 54 goals
28. Peter Forsberg 51 goals
29. Eric Lindros 27 goals
30. Alex Ovechkin 0 goals (at the moment...)

Click to read more...

 

[Love]

He will never score again.

 

[MilanKraft*]

Selanne so underrated...

 

[Caps Circle]

30: 50+
31: 45-50
32: 45-50
33: 40-45
34: ~40
35: 35-40
36: 30-35
37: 30-35
38: ~30
39: 25-30
40: ~25
Total: ~350-400 is probable, I'd say. If he plays into the 40's, I could see him scoring 25 goals a year just on the power play.

 

[Shakey Rustie]

What will his empty net minutes look like?

 

[AINEC*]

Bout tree fiddy

 

[Wayne Primeau]

So Ovechkin is turning 30 before next season starts. Many here on HF Boards think that a hockey player is basically done after turning 30. How will Ovechkin measure up against what other superstars have done after turning 30? Here's a list of what some superstars have done after turning 30:

1. Gordie Howe 415 goals
2. John Bycuk 374 goals
3. Teemu Selanne 338 goals
4. Brett Hull 328 goals
5. Mark Messier 309 goals
6. Mike Gartner 297 goals
7. Marcel Dionne 293 goals
8. Brendan Shanahan 276 goals
9. Daniel Alfredsson 274 goals
10. Mark Recchi 267 goals
11. Dave Andreychuk 267 goals
12. Jaromir Jagr 265 goals (and counting...)
13. Joe Sakic 250 goals
14. Ron Francis 245 goals
15. Dino Ciccarelli 237 goals
16. Luc Robitaille 234 goals
17. Mike Knuble 228 goals
18. Mats Sundin 217 goals
19. Stan Mikita 217 goals
20. Steve Yzerman 211 goals
21. Sergei Fedorov 201 goals
22. Mario Lemieux 196 goals
23. Wayne Grezky 188 goals
24. Keith Tkachuk 178 goals
25. Jari Kurri 127 goals
26. Olli Jokinen 106 goals (and hopefully still counting...)
27. Pavel Bure 54 goals
28. Peter Forsberg 51 goals
29. Eric Lindros 27 goals
30. Alex Ovechkin 0 goals (at the moment...)

Your list is inaccurate - Iginla has scored 265 goals since he turned 30 - not including 12 in the playoffs

 

[Mulletman]

Your list is inaccurate - Iginla has scored 265 goals since he turned 30 - not including 12 in the playoffs

The list only has retired players and Jagr, since he's a legend with over 700 goals. Iginla will probably still score another 100 goals in his career...

 

[Wayne Primeau]

The list only has retired players and Jagr, since he's a legend with over 700 goals. Iginla will probably still score another 100 goals in his career...

And Olli Jokinen...

 

[Mulletman]

And Olli Jokinen...

The NHL doesn't see the value in Olli and the word is he will never play another game in the NHL. Sadly...

 

[Doctyl]

Nothing

 

[Regal]

He has basically everything you would want to be an extremely productive goalscorer as he ages. Obviously it's tough to predict 10+ years in the future, but he should be near the top of this lost barring some significant injury problems.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

30: 50+
31: 45-50
32: 45-50
33: 40-45
34: ~40
35: 35-40
36: 30-35
37: 30-35
38: ~30
39: 25-30
40: ~25
Total: ~350-400 is probable, I'd say. If he plays into the 40's, I could see him scoring 25 goals a year just on the power play.

I second this. Ovi has a shot at 800 goals.

 

[Beville]

Speak fluent Canadian.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

Somewhere between Sakic and Bycuk.

He doesn't really use his speed to score much anymore, doesn't take many hits, and is incredibly durable. So I think his body and game will hold up for a while yet.

I think the main limitation will be his return to Russia. He's a very proud Russian, and if he wins a Cup before his contract is up, I think he's going home after it expires.

 

[Nylanders Flow]

That shot of his ain't going anywhere, he'll be racking them up til he retires. He'll get at least 300 more imo.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Somewhere between Sakic and Bycuk.

He doesn't really use his speed to score much anymore, doesn't take many hits, and is incredibly durable. So I think his body and game will hold up for a while yet.

I think the main limitation will be his return to Russia. He's a very proud Russian, and if he wins a Cup before his contract is up, I think he's going home after it expires.

His mother said that he should retire once his contract with the Caps expire. I think he'll retire if he wins the Cup before his contract expires. If he doesn't win the Cup before his contract expires with the Caps, he will probably sign one-year deals with one of the top contenders until he wins the Cup.

Ovi likes it here but also misses Russia, we'll see how it goes. Unlike Jagr, he doesn't seem very interested in breaking NHL records and moving up the all-time list of top scorers.

 

[glovesave_35]

I don't know about goal totals or any of that, but Ovechkin will score a lot more goals before his career is finished. Right now he is a sort of power forward/sniper hybrid. I think eventually he will have to lean toward the sniper part of his game but he has the skill and shot to be able to score 30 goals a season probably until he decides to hang 'em up.

 

[NeedleInTheHay]

He's getting old, he'll start to regress soon.

 

[glovesave_35]

Ovi likes it here but also misses Russia, we'll see how it goes. Unlike Jagr, he doesn't seem very interested in breaking NHL records and moving up the all-time list of top scorers.

Might have to wait until he's a little closer to breaking them to really know. Not saying you're wrong, but it's easy to say you're not interested in those things when they are quite a ways away rather than within your grasp.

Regarding Russia, are you saying he has a deep yearning to play good years in front of Russian crowds or just that he wants to live in Russia? Seems like he could retire around 40 and move back home and have a great second chapter to his life.

 

[Marlowe Syn]

His mother said that he should retire once his contract with the Caps expire. I think he'll retire if he wins the Cup before his contract expires. If he doesn't win the Cup before his contract expires with the Caps, he will probably sign one-year deals with one of the top contenders until he wins the Cup.

Ovi likes it here but also misses Russia, we'll see how it goes. Unlike Jagr, he doesn't seem very interested in breaking NHL records and moving up the all-time list of top scorers.

Well good to see he'll honor his NHL contract then. If he does play out the balance of his contract and then retires. I see a solid 250-275 more goal from him.

 

[Voight]

I second this. Ovi has a shot at 800 goals.

I third this.

He just loves the game of hockey and I'd put money on him having Jagr-like longevity. He legitimately enjoys playing the game and won't stop until he's forced too.

 

[vippe]

I think 300+ if healthy is a given. But who knows.. anywhere between 250-400 is possible.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

No more goals

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Might have to wait until he's a little closer to breaking them to really know. Not saying you're wrong, but it's easy to say you're not interested in those things when they are quite a ways away rather than within your grasp.

Regarding Russia, are you saying he has a deep yearning to play good years in front of Russian crowds or just that he wants to live in Russia? Seems like he could retire around 40 and move back home and have a great second chapter to his life.

He doesn't seem very interested about breaking records and making history, even now. This was his reaction to setting a new record for most goals by a LW :
"It’s a good time for us right now," Ovechkin said. "We have a chance, and we have to keep it going."

Doesn't look like a guy who plays to break records, I doubt he'd put his health on the line in the twilight of his career just to beat a record.

As for Russia, I think he'll retire around 40 from the NHL and play his last season as a pro for Dynamo Moscow. When he went back for the lockout, he was having a blast playing for his childhood team in his hometown with his friend Backstrom.

I could see him pushing to 43 or 44 years old in the NHL if he can stay healthy the rest of his career.

Well good to see he'll honor his NHL contract then. If he does play out the balance of his contract and then retires. I see a solid 250-275 more goal from him.

I meant to say that Ovi could retire at the end of the contract if he won the Cup before.