Sidney Crosby has been one of the most dominant sport athletes of the past 20 years

[Sempiternal]

I have been more impressed with Alex Ovechkin's athleticism, performance and career stats.

 

[metalan2]

Maybe if Crosby played every game of every season he wouldn’t be a PPG player every season?

The grind is part of your career.

Also averaging 46 goals per season over your (almost) 15 season career is way more impressive to me.

And not for nothing but Ovechkin has been better than Crosby more seasons than he has not, so how does that square up with him being “better”?

Ovechkin has never had a better season than Crosby. You could make an argument that one of his was equal early on.

 

[RorschachWJK]

This thread is testament to the level of delusion of super-homers. It appears some people are under the influence of hallucinogenic substances.

 

[Deluded Puck]

Consistently great never really dominant.

This is it.

There's not been that obvious wide chasm between him and his peers in the same way you've seen with Messi, M. Schumacher, Lebron, Pre-2008 Tiger, Floyd Mayweather, Federer/Nadal/Djokovic, Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Rossi, Bolt, Phelps.

He's been at the tip of what has been tremendous generation of hockey players, and as harsh as it is, it does count against him that a team-mate who plays in the same position also has collected hardware in this league (and also had a dominant season).

 

[mad4comp]

Ovechkin has never had a better season than Crosby. You could make an argument that one of his was equal early on.

I'll assume you were kidding.... Ovechkin has had multiple seasons better than Crosbys...

 

[Deluded Puck]

Because they're able to drive at an average speed more than double what you'd go for on a highway, in tight corridors, without killing themselves?

I'm guessing though

People think single seater racing is no different to driving an family car, driver fitness/weight is a huge factor, to be able to withstand the forces and heat.

 

[psycat]

This is it.

There's not been that obvious wide chasm between him and his peers in the same way you've seen with Messi, M. Schumacher, Lebron, Pre-2008 Tiger, Floyd Mayweather, Federer/Nadal/Djokovic, Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Rossi, Bolt, Phelps.

He's been at the tip of what has been tremendous generation of hockey players, and as harsh as it is, it does count against him that a team-mate who plays in the same position also has collected hardware in this league (and also had a dominant season).

To me Crosby is a "generational compiler" if that makes sense. Arguably(i am not so sure I would rank him above Ovechkin all the time but then again he is pretty great himself) the best player in the game but often eclipsed by other players peak seasons. Or simply put I am not convinced Crosby at his best was any better than Forsberg, Sakic, Malkin etc at their best he is just incredibly concistently great, perhaps more so than any other forward ever except Howe.

I suppose Wayne also might have a case but he suffers simply from the fact that he set very lofty standards for himself, as good as he was in the 90s the difference was obvious- Crosby just chugs along. The "Bourque/Lidström" of forwards so to speak.

 

[Hatfield]

5 championships he lead his teams to. Face of the league for over a decade. Back to back Conn Smythes. 5th GOAT

5? Are you really counting the Olympics? That’s almost like citing Michael Jordan’s “Dream Team” gold medals as evidence of his greatness.

Also, most people seem to agree that at least one of his Conn Smythes are undeserved.

 

[daver]

5? Are you really counting the Olympics? That’s almost like citing Michael Jordan’s “Dream Team” gold medals as evidence of his greatness.

Also, most people seem to agree that at least one of his Conn Smythes are undeserved.

And most people agree he had one, maybe two other Cup runs that were better than his "deserved" Conn Smythe.

 

[edog37]

5? Are you really counting the Olympics? That’s almost like citing Michael Jordan’s “Dream Team” gold medals as evidence of his greatness.

Also, most people seem to agree that at least one of his Conn Smythes are undeserved.

those are part of the equation since Ovechkin was also involved. And in regards to the Conn Smythes the league disagrees. Its MVP of the entire playoffs, not the Final. Point is, Crosby gets it done when it counts the most.

 

[edog37]

I'll assume you were kidding.... Ovechkin has had multiple seasons better than Crosbys...

how does that post-season head to head check out?

 

[OmazingGrace]

How long did it take you to put all that effort into the first post?

 

[Midnight Judges]

I find it a little odd that the alleged 3 best tennis players of all time just so happen to be playing right now, and all three of them have amazing unprecedented longevity in an era where a 41 year old woman is setting records for swimming whereas in previous generations athletes peak at 25 and are done by 35. Helluva coincidence.

 

[Midnight Judges]

how does that post-season head to head check out?

Great question! Head to head Ovechkin has outperformed Crosby in the playoffs by a decent margin:

Ovechkin: 14 G, 15 A, (23 primary points), 29 points in 22 games, plus 6
Crosby: 11 G, 13 A, (16 primary points), 24 points in 21 games, plus 5

Head to head in the playoffs Ovechkin has more points than Crosby

Ovechkin also outscores Crosby when his line matches up directly with Sid's:

Crosby vs Ovechkin - On-Ice Stats

Ovechkin is also the best individual playoff performer of this generation on a per game basis:

Top Offensive Players Since 2005, Using an Objective Scoring System

 

[txpd]

Crosby and Ovechkin. Ovechkin and Crosby. Magic and Bird. Williams and DiMaggio

 

[edog37]

Great question! Head to head Ovechkin has outperformed Crosby in the playoffs by a decent margin:

Ovechkin: 14 G, 15 A, (23 primary points), 29 points in 22 games, plus 6
Crosby: 11 G, 13 A, (16 primary points), 24 points in 21 games, plus 5

Head to head in the playoffs Ovechkin has more points than Crosby

Ovechkin also outscores Crosby when his line matches up directly with Sid's:

Crosby vs Ovechkin - On-Ice Stats

Ovechkin is also the best individual playoff performer of this generation on a per game basis:

Top Offensive Players Since 2005, Using an Objective Scoring System

And yet, Ovechkin has only beaten Crosby once. I’ll go with the winner & the far more complete player.

 

[Sam Spade]

And yet, Ovechkin has only beaten Crosby once. I’ll go with the winner & the far more complete player.

I'll go with the team that had Malkin AND Crosby.

 

[Hatfield]

those are part of the equation since Ovechkin was also involved. And in regards to the Conn Smythes the league disagrees. Its MVP of the entire playoffs, not the Final. Point is, Crosby gets it done when it counts the most.

I know it's for the entire playoffs but I've seen Crosby disappear for multiple rounds, including in his Conn Smythe years. He's been lucky to squeak through and win Cups by having Malkin and other players step up.

No argument here as to whether Crosby is a great player. Sometimes he's also clutch. But the question of whether he's been "dominant" is completely different. I think you have to reserve that description for players like Gretzky and Orr, at least when it comes to being THAT MUCH BETTER than everyone else over the course of a decade or more.

 

[Reindl87]

In which universe is 2 Art Ross Trophies and 2 Hart Trophies in 15 years "dominant"? He was one of the best hockey players over that decade. But he was far from dominant.
As for the team success. Well actually there are a couple of Canadian players that have a similar resume. Heck even some swedish players are close in that regard.

Gretzky was dominant, Late 80es-mid ninetees Lemieux was dominant. 94-2001 Jagr was dominant. But Crosby? Not really. Far too many injuries, far too few trophies to showcase.

 

[edog37]

Three years old & still accurate...

There's no denying Crosby's status as one of the best in NHL history

 

[Sam Spade]

Three years old & still accurate...

There's no denying Crosby's status as one of the best in NHL history

Nothing wrong with this article at all. It has nothing to do with the premise of this thread though.

 

[Curufinwe]

In which universe is 2 Art Ross Trophies and 2 Hart Trophies in 15 years "dominant"? He was one of the best hockey players over that decade. But he was far from dominant.
As for the team success. Well actually there are a couple of Canadian players that have a similar resume. Heck even some swedish players are close in that regard.

Gretzky was dominant, Late 80es-mid ninetees Lemieux was dominant. 94-2001 Jagr was dominant. But Crosby? Not really. Far too many injuries, far too few trophies to showcase.

Flyer fan here asking what the hell is wrong with you?

 

[Slimmy]

In which universe is 2 Art Ross Trophies and 2 Hart Trophies in 15 years "dominant"? He was one of the best hockey players over that decade. But he was far from dominant.
As for the team success. Well actually there are a couple of Canadian players that have a similar resume. Heck even some swedish players are close in that regard.

Gretzky was dominant, Late 80es-mid ninetees Lemieux was dominant. 94-2001 Jagr was dominant. But Crosby? Not really. Far too many injuries, far too few trophies to showcase.

Even some of those trophies have reputation bias written all over it. And Stanley cups? Malkin has the same amount. Crosby owes him one of those Conn Smythes, in my mind. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to play for team Canada, either.

 

[txpd]

those are part of the equation since Ovechkin was also involved. And in regards to the Conn Smythes the league disagrees. Its MVP of the entire playoffs, not the Final. Point is, Crosby gets it done when it counts the most.

Seriously? Canada's team and the Russian team are like Boston and Ottawa. There is no good reason why Canada was even pushed in Vancouver. That was embarrassing. If team USA had won that game, it would have been the most epic failure in Olympic hocley since the Russians lost in 1980.

 

[txpd]

Three years old & still accurate...

There's no denying Crosby's status as one of the best in NHL history

That was before the Capitals cup won by going thru Crosby. Crosby remains great. No question.