The dude is criminally under appreciated in some circles round these parts....Not that I don’t understand the frustration, you see a guy display a skill that is super elite and wonder why he ONLY pots 35 a year. He possesses perhaps the most dangerous wrist shot in the history of the sport. Makes you wonder, why he’s not utilizing that every single night. Well, let me try to explore why.
He has never had an elite playmaker by his side. What would Ovi be without Backstrom? I’m sure he’d still get his, but the frequency would diminish.
He has never played in a system that let him get up and down the ice consistently, trading chances with the opposition. We’ve never had the roster to do this successfully like Tampa or Toronto. We play a controlled grind. And he still breaks games open just by being THAT damn good.
(This is purely speculation) He picks his spots in a less than nuanced manner, as he’s been conditioned to consider the team first at all times. But his understanding of what this means might never be fully developed in a way that marries his production with wins. To my mind, his thinking is too compartmentalized and mechanical to ever break through to put his whole talent together in a fluid manner. It’s like he reaches into the bag and only pulls out one trick at a time.
He’s not a perfect player. But man, are we really going to complain because we know there’s more in there? I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to watch him play on a nightly basis AND watch him be a pivotal piece of a Stanley Cup team. Too bad he got hurt. Hope to see him return to this version of himself next year, even if he’s not always appreciated
