Ovechkin is 31 now

[Rebels57]

OV gets so much unwarranted hate. Great career thus far.

He's a 1st ballot HOFer and one of, if not the greatest goal scorer of all-time.

 

[Regal]

And because his birthday misses the draft cutoff by two days he missed getting to play in the 2003 season.

I tend to think that the full lockout likely helped him as much as it hurt in terms of missed games. The crackdown on obstruction and extra powerplays made scoring easier for the first couple years, and likely allowed for an easier transition for skilled young players. Pre-lockout a lot of the top talent coming out of the draft struggled in their initial seasons with a league where speed and skill were repressed.

 

[Stuckinthe2ndround*]

I tend to think that the full lockout likely helped him as much as it hurt in terms of missed games. The crackdown on obstruction and extra powerplays made scoring easier for the first couple years, and likely allowed for an easier transition for skilled young players. Pre-lockout a lot of the top talent coming out of the draft struggled in their initial seasons with a league where speed and skill were repressed.

Ovechkin would have flourished in any era, including the DPE.

 

[Holtbyisms]

He is declining already

http://www.espn.com/nhl/statistics/player/_/stat/points/sort/goals

 

[Holtbyisms]

OV gets so much unwarranted hate. Great career thus far.

Could agree more. Not sure why, everybody should be fortunate to see someone of his talents play the game. I'm no Crosby fan (obviously) but I can appreciate greatness when I see it. Crosby is fun to watch. I say it all the time, how lucky we all are to see the two of them playing in their primes. Both otherworldly talents that we might not see anything comparable in our life time.

 

[Regal]

Ovechkin would have flourished in any era, including the DPE.

No doubt, but the transition might not have been as quick. Regardless, that's not the main point. Even if he transitions as well as he did, he likely only ends up with around 35 goals, considering the league leaders were at 41 in 03-04, he finished 3rd in '06, and he would have been a year younger. If we assume that the obstruction crackdown and subsequent PP increase would not have happened without the league needing to hard-sell their product after a lost year, he likely made up most of those potential goals over a few seasons from the increase in scoring after the lockout