The Crosby-Ovechkin Debate
a sports column by Matthew Flanagan
As a child I was basically in love with Mario Lemieux. I was a Penguins fan. I loved Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Ron Francis and even, yes, Ulf Samuelsson and Tom Barrasso. It was, admittedly, extremely hard to love Barrasso both because he wasn’t altogether that good of a goaltender and he wore those God forsaken pads. When Mario retired (the first time) I cried. When Mario unretired (the first time) I cried.
I eventually moved away from cheering for the Penguins. They became a joke and without Mario around. Jagr became more and more unlikeable until his eventual departure. I was extremely excited when the Penguins were able to draft Crosby because I knew it meant their franchise had become relevant again. I was, once more, a Penguins fan reborn. Call me a fair-weather fan all you want, I don’t care. My love of a team is inextricably linked to the likeable players on said team. As much as I admired the Straka-led Penguins there wasn’t anything to cheer for and since I can’t immediately find Pittsburgh on a map I certainly can’t claim any geographical ties. So I moved on but came back. Crosby, tied with Luongo, is my favourite player.
Combined with that initial disclaimer I should also add that I am not a nationalist hockey fan. I don’t pick and choose based on where a player comes from. While I am thankful for the freedoms and opportunities Canada provides for me I still despise the Canadian state. I find it a bit foolish to cheer for a player or boo them because of an accident of birth. As much as I might hate to live in Russia (a hellhole) that doesn’t change how I felt about Pavel Bure. So, my love of Crosby and my dislike of Ovechkin is not fuelled by any nationalist sentiments at all.
The NHL, like it’s much much MUCH more successful NFL counterpart, has attempted to define itself in recent years through the lens of the Crosby-Ovechkin debate. Like the Brady-Manning debate in the NFL the NHL tries to force people’s eyes on hockey through a constant babble of “who’s the best”. The media, well the media I am able to watch, has taken it upon themselves to jump on top of Ovechkin’s shoulders. I have to hear statements from people like Mike Milbury celebrating Ovechking as “by far the best player in the league” and “the most exciting player in hockey.” This irritates me for a number of reasons. First, nobody gets to tell me who the most exciting player in a sport is. That’s my decision and if I think it’s Crosby, Phaneuf or Anze Kopitar that’s my choice. Second, Milbury, perhaps the worst hockey mind of all-time, doesn’t get to have an opinion about hockey. This guy could have had a team featuring Spezza, Heatley, Chara and Luongo (among many many others) but instead left the hockey world with a colossal mess. Third, and most importantly to call Ovechkin “by far the greatest player” requires an act of wilful ignorance I can’t even begin to describe. If someone thinks Ovie is the best there is that’s fine but to try and put him on another level is just moronic. There are a plethora of other players in the NHL who can either come close or can pass Ovie’s talents. For my money I would take Crosby over Ovechkin and now, finally, I will say why.
First things first. Yes, Ovechkin has more points than Crosby. He has more points than him for one simple reason; he has played more games than Crosby. A very modest investigation into the facts actually reveals that, if Crosby had played as many games as Ovie, Sid would likely have more points (this is based on the fact that Crosby has a higher points per game average). If Crosby hadn’t suffered a major ankle injury a few years ago he might easily have more points (more Harts too?) than Ovie. However, the number of points doesn’t really seem to be all that important when we consider that Malkin out produced Ovie just last year and still lost out on the Hart. Why? As far as I can tell its one word: Goals. Ovechkin is undeniably the best pure goalscorer in the league. He has it all and he is a legit threat to score every time he even sees a block of ice.
He does have his faults though. I don’t think Ovie could find the defensive zone with both hands and a flashlight. I also don’t think he is filled with any kind of profound respect for the safety of his opponents (recent developments have confirmed this). That being said, yes, Ovechkin is one of the best and if you like THE best (you decide). What angers me about this is that goals have become overblown while at the same time assists and playmaking in general has been trivialized. The goal in hockey has now taken the same place as the dunk in basketball or the home run in baseball. The NHL and its media lapdog have now done everything it can to dumb down the game of hockey to simple goal scoring so even the biggest numbskull can follow along without understanding any of the game’s nuances. That’s fine, it’s the NHL’s job to sell their game but that doesn’t mean I have to buy it. And I won’t.
Playmaking is JUST AS important as “finishing”. The ability to set up a goal is a necessary hockey skill and some players have more talent passing the puck than hitting that home run. I constantly hear how “some assists” are bogus and that argument has some merit. Yes, some are. However, are all goals pure and wonderful? What about garbage goals, goalie errors or those goals that simply would have never happened if the playmaker didn’t feather that pretty pass over? How many times has Crosby put the puck exactly where it needs to be? There are many times Crosby passes instead of shooting (and scoring) but just as many times those passes create scoring chances that never would have happened without him. Which player is more valuable to their team? It’s really difficult to tell. If I had to break the tie I would include Crosby’s recent faceoff winning percentage, it might not be as pretty as Ovechkin’s goals (but surely better looking than his dreadful shooting percentage) but winning a faceoff is a pretty important hockey skill.
Although I am confident in my stance that Crosby is a better hockey player than Ovechkin it isn’t my intention to convince anyone that Ovechkin is a bum. My aim was to narrow the divide between the two. Simply because one player gets assists and the other gets goals doesn’t indicate one player’s superiority over another. As long as a player is producing for their team what those points look like is meaningless. Also, there is a certain objective level of play that includes more than just Crosby and Ovechkin in the “who’s the best” debate. There are other players out there that someone might feel to be superior to Crosby and Ovechkin and that’s fine, I guess what’s really important is not letting Mike Milbury tell you anything about hockey.
