Will Ovechkin dethrone Lucky Luc as the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history.

[Be a Hab]

Luc Robitaille has a total of 1394 points in 19 seasons and that leads all Left wingers in NHL history. Myself I consider the best left wingers of all time to be Bobby Hull, Ted Lindsay and Frank Mahovlich. They all played in eras where scoring was not as frequent.

But the Question I have is Ovechkin going to be the all time Left Wing scoring leader.

Alexander Ovechkin has 529 points in 5 NHL season at 25 years of age. If he scores the same amount of points in the next 5 years he will be at 1058 points only 336 points behind Lucky Luc at the age of 30.

I believe that the only way Ovechkin will not beat Robitalle's record is if he gets injured. Ovechkin is a type of player that plays very hard and at times reckless but that’s what makes him the player he is. I do think he will keep scoring at a high pace and even exceed the 529 points in the next 5 years.

I would like to know what you think.

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[BenchBrawl]

Just a matter of predicting injuries.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Luc Robitaille has a total of 1394 points in 19 seasons and that leads all Left wingers in NHL history. Myself I consider the best left wingers of all time to be Bobby Hull, Ted Lindsay and Frank Mahovlich. They all played in eras where scoring was not as frequent.

But the Question I have is Ovechkin going to be the all time Left Wing scoring leader.

Alexander Ovechkin has 529 points in 5 NHL season at 25 years of age. If he scores the same amount of points in the next 5 years he will be at 1058 points only 336 points behind Lucky Luc at the age of 30.

I believe that the only way Ovechkin will not beat Robitalle's record is if he gets injured. Ovechkin is a type of player that plays very hard and at some time reckless but that’s what makes him the player he is. I do think he will keep scoring at a high pace and even exceed the 529 points in the next 5 years.

I would like to know what you think.

I agree. If Ovechkin plays a full 15 or 20 year career, he's going to shatter Robitaille's record. But who knows if he will?

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Ovechkin`s game is based on speed, exceptional lateral movement, a great shot and a reckless physical game. When his speed leaves him, likely in his 30`s and the injuries pile up, he will definitely slow down. Luc did not have this issue. He was exceptional at being in the right place at the right time, having great centers and not being physical. Given their styles of play, I don`t think Ovi will last to break his record.

 

[onlyalad]

I think it is possible to beat Luc. It will not only depend on injuries and age, but rules as well. The NHL wants more scoring, so I feel that this may work in Ovechkin's favor. Rule changes to increase scoring are looked at all the time. There are so many things that have to go your way to break this type of record; hard work, longevity/health and luck all play a part. If OV passes Luc, I will not be upset. Having watched the greatest scoring LW twice will be reward enough.

 

[Briere Up There*]

1300+ is asking a lot of Ovechkin. He plays with reckless abandonment in a lower scoring era. No doubt he's the better player, but I don't see him taking the point title away. I doubt he'll reach 668 goals as well.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

The only thing stopping him will be injuries.

 

[Derick*]

http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=dH95O

Luc scored 8.2% less in his first five seasons than Ovechkin has, so presumably that's how many fewer games Ovechkin will have to play to not pass him.

Luc played 1431 games, meaning Ovechkin will probably need around 1310, leaving him with 914 to go.

Ovechkin turned 25 this week, so if he plays until the spring before he turns 39 that's 14 more seasons. Meaning he'll need 65 games per season in his remaining seasons if he retires at 38 and his relative career point per game progression follows the same path.

I think he will.

 

[BraveCanadian]

I think Ovechkin certainly has the ability to, but as others have mentioned here.. his style of play doesn't lend itself to a long and injury free career.

The question is can he curtail some of the recklessness and still be as effective?

 

[Trottier]

I wouldn't bet against it.

But I'm much more interested to find out if he is ever going to lead his team to any notable success.

 

[unknown33]

But I'm much more interested to find out if he is ever going to lead his team to any notable success.

You mean you are interested to find out if some of his team mates start to show up in the playoffs so the Caps can have any notable success.

 

[BraveCanadian]

You mean you are interested to find out if some of his team mates start to show up in the playoffs so the Caps can have any notable success.

Yeah, seriously.

20g in 28 playoff games but yeah, he isn't givin' er!

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

You mean you are interested to find out if some of his team mates start to show up in the playoffs so the Caps can have any notable success.

That is what he means...A truly great player/leader will get the most out of his teammates/make them raise their game.

 

[Derick*]

That is what he means...A truly great player/leader will get the most out of his teammates/make them raise their game.

I don't believe this. I think the people we consider to be the ones who can do well teammates or not are generally the ones who were just lucky enough to have teammates. Maybe Gretzky or Lemieux could have, but they didn't have to, particularly the first.

Does Crosby win in 2009 without Malkin to score while he's being shut down? No way. Does Crosby score that overtime goal if Luongo and the rest of Canada hadn't been so much better than Nabokov and the rest of Russia? No way.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Let's start a new thread if this is what people actually want to talk about.

 

[JackSlater]

Ovechkin is only 865 points behind Robitaille right now, so an average of 87 points per season for the next ten seasons would put him past Robitaille. Since that is quite a reasonable expectation for Ovechkin, and it doesn't even take into account any production he may have after ten seasons, I think the consensus that he will pass Robitaille unless he is severely injured is correct. In terms of goals Ovechkin is 399 behind, so an average of 40 over the next ten years will suffice, which also seems quite likely.

 

[tony d]

Yes, I think he will. As others have said injuries may be the only thing in Ovechkin's way.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Ovechkin is only 865 points behind Robitaille right now, so an average of 87 points per season for the next ten seasons would put him past Robitaille. Since that is quite a reasonable expectation for Ovechkin, and it doesn't even take into account any production he may have after ten seasons, I think the consensus that he will pass Robitaille unless he is severely injured is correct. In terms of goals Ovechkin is 399 behind, so an average of 40 over the next ten years will suffice, which also seems quite likely.

once you crunch the numbers like that, it does look almost easily achievable. ovechkin is 25. barring something like a major knee injury, let's conservatively peg him at an average of 50 goals and 100 points for the next five seasons.

that gives him 519 goals and 1,029 points at 30. at that point, he will be 149 goals and 365 points away from the records. assuming he plays another five years after 30, he will only have to average 30 goals and 73 points a year for those five years. even if he wears down like a lot of speed-based players do around 30, those seem like pretty achievable numbers for a guy who has averaged 54 goals and 106 points in his career.

 

[SidGenoMario]

100% he does. There's no possible way he doesn't.

 

[seventieslord]

1300+ is asking a lot of Ovechkin. He plays with reckless abandonment in a lower scoring era. No doubt he's the better player, but I don't see him taking the point title away. I doubt he'll reach 668 goals as well.

He's 40% there and just turned 25.

 

[Big Phil]

In a way it's a shame Robitaille beat Hull for points and goals in the regular season for LWers. I realize the eras were different with Robitaille's being more high scoring of course. But with all due respect to Lucky Luc someone should knock him off that pedestal. He's a fine HHOFer but a better LW has got to snag those records IMO.

 

[Derick*]

In a way it's a shame Robitaille beat Hull for points and goals in the regular season for LWers. I realize the eras were different with Robitaille's being more high scoring of course. But with all due respect to Lucky Luc someone should knock him off that pedestal. He's a fine HHOFer but a better LW has got to snag those records IMO.

It's because of Hull's WHA years more than their eras. You could make his WHA stuff worth half as much and he'd still be ahead in career pro points.

 

[Briere Up There*]

He's 40% there and just turned 25.

So? He plays like an animal. I'm not dismissing it, it's definitely possible. I just don't see it happening.

 

[Regal]

Like others have said it seems like he has a good chance barring any serious injuries. You never know though. A decent amount of people would probably have given Kariya a fair shot at it when he was 25 as well (of course, Robitaille was still playing though)

Another question is whether he can top Lucky Luc's record for LW points in a season of 125

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I don't think this is quite the gimme people are suggesting. Ovechkin only has 44 more career points than Robitaille did after five seasons, and they started their careers at the same age. Goal-scorers typically peak in their early 20's and are already in decline by age 25 (at least in terms of goal production). If Ovechkin maintains a 50+ goal pace in each of the next five seasons, he would be bucking historical trend big-time. Assuming his goal production does drop off, is his playmaking strong enough to make up the difference? Quite possibly, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it either.