Who wins the Rocket this year? Ovechkin or the field

[Porkleaker]

I could see Draisaitl contending again

 

[Satire]

Can't believe you didn't list Crosby, he always surprises us

Crosby hasn't been top 20 in goals for about 3-4 seasons now. Even when he was I believe in was in the 30s range.

I'm not saying he can't do it, I am just saying there's probably a solid 10-15 guys better than him at putting the pucks in the net.

[Note] This is not the same as saying there are 10-15 guys better than him. Crosby is quite easily still a top 5 player in the league.

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Crosby hasn't been top 20 in goals for about 3-4 seasons now. Even when he was I believe in was in the 30s range.

I'm not saying he can't do it, I am just saying there's probably a solid 10-15 guys better than him at putting the pucks in the net.

[Note] This is not the same as saying there are 10-15 guys better than him. Crosby is quite easily still a top 5 player in the league.

Crosby won the rocket in 16-17....

 

[Nathaniel Skywalker]

Crosby will take it

 

[Homesick]

Barring injury to either himself or McDavid and I think Draisaitl takes it this year

 

[Paralyzer]

Only one guy leading the league now. James Neal. He will win the Rocket Richard

 

[Oilers Propagandist]

Yes, because that's how Ovie has become the greatest goal scorer of his generation. By scoring empty net goals.

I don’t want to come off as someone disparaging your post because I’m definitely not, but watching a caps game is history, best goal scorer we’ve ever seen and probably will ever see in our lifetime.


As for the thread I think Drai takes it this season. He is looking better than last year.

 

[Mc5RingsAndABeer]

Field.

Last year Ovechkin beat out Draisaitl by 1 goal when he had 4 empty netters to Draisaitl's 0...and I think there are players this year with better goal-scoring ability/situations than Draisaitl. Edit: I should preface this by saying that I don't think 4 ENG is anything out of the ordinary.

I do think Ovechkin is the greatest goal-scorer of all time but he's getting old.

 

[deckercky]

I could see Draisaitl contending again

He could, but his shooting percentage was sky high, and if Neal keeps scoring, McDavid and Drai will likely work to keep him scoring at the expense of their own goalscoring.

 

[Jeti]

Anyone who bet on James Neal this summer at a million to one odds has to be feeling pretty good right now.

I'd like to see Ovechkin keep racking them up. It'd be really cool to see him break the all-time goals record, so I'm cheering for that.

He's averaged 49 goals per 82 games over his career. He'd have to keep that pace for almost 5 full seasons to break the record, but you'd have to think if he can get within 100 of the record by age 37 (~130 over the next 3 seasons, totally reasonable for him) he'd stick around for 3 more seasons as a PP specialist at worst and still get it.

 

[filinski77]

Correct, but still the most greedy empty net chaser in league history! The caps put him out there everytime even though they have far better players to use protection a lead, its greedy. Empty netters should not count in individual stats.

This is a ridiculous take.

Ovechkin had 4 ENG's last year, notable players with 4 or more were: Kane, Mackinnon, Tkachuk, Radulov, Marner, Aho, Bergeron

2017/2018 he only had 3, notable players with 3 or more: Tavares, Debrincat, Aho, Crosby, Radulov, Rantanen, Barkov, Malkin, Kopitar, Seguin, Eichel

Ovi does not get any type of added benefit from ENG's compared to other stars in the league, he's played in the last few minutes because he deserves to be out there to protect a lead.

 

[Dondini]

I hope it’s Ovechkin, but I would bet on the field. At some point Ovechkin has to slow down. 34 is starting to creep up there a bit But it wouldn’t surprise me. He’s gonna score 30+ a year in this league for as long as he wants to play

 

[IPW]

 

[DearDiary]

Crosby hasn't been top 20 in goals for about 3-4 seasons now. Even when he was I believe in was in the 30s range.

I'm not saying he can't do it, I am just saying there's probably a solid 10-15 guys better than him at putting the pucks in the net.

[Note] This is not the same as saying there are 10-15 guys better than him. Crosby is quite easily still a top 5 player in the league.

Crosby won the Rocket without being top 20 in goals? Very high IQ post

 

[Satire]

Crosby won the rocket in 16-17....

I legit forgot about this. Like no excuses, I'm just trash. I still don't know if I'd rank him a top 10 candidate this season for goal scoring. I'd definitely still have him in my own personal top 3 of guys I want on my team.

Crosby won the Rocket without being top 20 in goals? Very high IQ post

He's that good man. Also read above - total trash poster here. I'll see myself out.

 

[Apotheosis]

I think Mantha, Matthews and Drai will give him a huge run for his money assuming they're all healthy. None of those three have had one of those tear streaks where it's unsustainable yet they're all at or around a goal per game to start the season. Mantha has that great first line, Matthews has a good first line and Drai has Connor freaking McDavid. Should be interesting.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

Crosby will not win a Rocket anymore because he simply doesn’t seem interested, the majority of the time, on shooting the puck. He’s a playmaker thru and thru and will always look for the best play for the team.

That’s why he is one of the top 2-3 players in the league, still to this day.

 

[zappa4ever]

Groundhog Day - same story year after year, start of the season a bunch go on a tear, half of them revert to normal 30g/year rate by game 20, a few keep the pace for 40+ games, at the end it's OV with another Rocket while others would've/could've/were on pace for (except for those pesky injuries and y'know... actually scoring as many goals)
who knows maybe this is the year the 650 catch the 1

 

[JasonRoseEh]

Correct, but still the most greedy empty net chaser in league history! The caps put him out there everytime even though they have far better players to use protection a lead, its greedy. Empty netters should not count in individual stats.

Not even close to true.

 

[Samzilla]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Ovechkin surpassed Esposito as the oldest rocket winner (well, scoring title winner) after last season.

On the one hand, normal rules don't apply to all-time greats so maybe Ovi keeps scoring at a ridiculous rate despite his age. On the other hand, age catches up to everyone.

It's close, but I'll take the field.