Ovechkin number of 1st place Richard Trophy finishes

[JasonRoseEh]

He beat Draisaitl by 1 goal. It's over. Good run, but he's done. I'd say he has a better shot at 50 assists than 50 goals now.

And as the playoffs showed us, he mailed in the final 15 or so games aside from big contests against the Bolts. The proof is in the pudding, he was night and day a better player once the postseason hit.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

He beat Draisaitl by 1 goal. It's over. Good run, but he's done. I'd say he has a better shot at 50 assists than 50 goals now.

Draisaitl shot at 5.6% above his career average shooting percentage and Ovechkin shot at 2.5% above his career shooting percentage. I think you're seeing what you want to see if you honestly think Ovechkin's run as the league's top goal scorer is done because Draisaitl was within 1 goal of him.

 

[illpucks]

And as the playoffs showed us, he mailed in the final 15 or so games aside from big contests against the Bolts. The proof is in the pudding, he was night and day a better player once the postseason hit.

Yeah, and it also showed that he has no desire to win rockets. He is happy doing well in the playoffs and that's it.

 

[Hippasus]

Laine was supposed to overtake him, and he still might, but after the season he had I wouldn't bet on it happening very soon.

Drai isn't gonna shoot at 21% again next year.

If Matthews can stay healthy he's the best bet IMO. But it mostly depends on Ovechkin's performance, rather than the challenger's.

People keep talking about Draisaitl's shooting percentage as unsustainable, but he had a lot of tap-ins and his one-timer is still improving. His goal total next season depends largely on how much he is seen as the primary shooter by his team as well as how much he plays with McDavid. So far he's the guy.

 

[Snippit]

People keep talking about Draisaitl's shooting percentage as unsustainable, but he had a lot of tap-ins and his one-timer is still improving. His goal total next season depends largely on how much he is seen as the primary shooter by his team as well as how much he plays with McDavid. So far he's the guy.

Nobody sustains 20 though. It just doesn’t happen in the NHL.

 

[illpucks]

Draisaitl shot at 5.6% above his career average shooting percentage and Ovechkin shot at 2.5% above his career shooting percentage. I think you're seeing what you want to see if you honestly think Ovechkin's run as the league's top goal scorer is done because Draisaitl was within 1 goal of him.

I think he's done because Matthews will play a full season next year.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Nobody sustains 20 though. It just doesn’t happen in the NHL.

Yup. I can’t explain why but it just doesn’t happen.

I think he's done because Matthews will play a full season next year.

Matthews was 7th in goals per game this year.

 

[Zuluss]

The thing that probably went unnoticed is that this past season was the third time in OV's career when he did not lead the league in shots (came in 3rd after MacK and Kane). The other two times were his wrist injury season (16/17) and his down season (11/12).

Ovechkin was always a volume shooter and that's how in the past he fended off all high-percentage contenders having a career year. He just kept putting the puck on the net, and he did not need to be luckier than them, the law of large numbers was on his side. This season he needed to post his own career-best shooting % to win the Rocket by a single goal.

So the current, 33-year-old, Ovechkin is finally mortal among mortals, and from now on he will need some luck to win (or some bad luck of the other contenders). I think luck will bow his way one year or another, he will be in the running for 2-3 years more, so I voted 9. Though 10 would indeed be nice to see.

 

[Icebreakers]

I said one more but at the same time wouldn't surprise me totally if he won 5 more. He's the best of all time at what he does.

5 more? I'd be surprised if he played 5 more seasons. Ovi will be 39 in 5 years.

 

[JasonRoseEh]

Yeah, and it also showed that he has no desire to win rockets. He is happy doing well in the playoffs and that's it.

I have no idea how you got this correlation. He won the rocket and coasted to the postseason, if you think that Ovechkin suddenly doesn't want to score goals I don't know what you're watching. Are you just arguing for the sake of arguments sake here because you're just making things up at this point.

 

[Hippasus]

The thing that probably went unnoticed is that this past season was the third time in OV's career when he did not lead the league in shots (came in 3rd after MacK and Kane). The other two times were his wrist injury season (16/17) and his down season (11/12).

Ovechkin was always a volume shooter and that's how in the past he fended off all high-percentage contenders having a career year. He just kept putting the puck on the net, and he did not need to be luckier than them, the law of large numbers was on his side. This season he needed to post his own career-best shooting % to win the Rocket by a single goal.

So the current, 33-year-old, Ovechkin is finally mortal among mortals, and from now on he will need some luck to win (or some bad luck of the other contenders). I think luck will bow his way one year or another, he will be in the running for 2-3 years more, so I voted 9. Though 10 would indeed be nice to see.

His shooting percentage being high could mean he's more selective or shooting better in some way. He could also increase his shooting volume again. You might be right, but I think it's also possible his high goal scoring days might not be behind him.

 

[Hippasus]

Nobody sustains 20 though. It just doesn’t happen in the NHL.

It used to happen more regularly (say the 90s), goalie equipment has recently gotten smaller, the game has recently trended toward more speed and offense. A lot can change in the near future.