Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are the next Crosby and Ovechkin
By Adam Stocker
The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night, in a match up between first overall pick Auston Matthews and second pick Patrik Laine.
Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine were drafted with the thought that both players could turn around their struggling franchises. In many ways Laine and Matthews are similar to Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby who took the league by storm as rookies.
Matthews was drafted to be the savior of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is a hockey crazed city, where the teams’ fans have been planning its next Stanley Cup parade since for 50 years and counting. The Leafs have made the playoff once since the NHL lockout in 2004-05. For years, hope was bleak, the once proud franchise had become a joke around the league. That was, until they won the draft lottery and selected Auston Matthews. After Matthews’ four goal debut, Leafs fans were in a disbelieve, their savior had arrived.
The Winnipeg Jets were in a similar situation as the Maple Leafs. Since relocating to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011, the Jets have only made the playoffs once. The honeymoon period for the fans in Winnipeg was over. It was not good enough for the fans to just have their team back. The Jets fans were expecting the playoffs with the addition of Finnish sniper Laine.
All of this will likely have hockey fans reminiscing about the rise of another duo that has turned into hockey’s best rivalry: Crosby vs. Ovechkin.
If Tuesday night’s game is anything like the first game, the future of the NHL will be must watch TV.
The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby first overall in 2005. At the time of the draft, the Penguins were in serious financial troubles and the team was considering relocation after failing to get a new arena. The arrival of Crosby rejuvenated the franchise. Fast forward to now, and the Penguins have two Stanley Cups, Crosby has scored over 1,000 points and the team is financially success in their new arena.
The Washington Capitals selected Alexander Ovechkin first overall in 2004. The Capitals had gone to the Stanley Cup final in 1998, but the team had declined over the next six seasons and needed to rebuild. Ovechkin was expected to be the key to finally bringing Washington a Stanley Cup. Despite not winning the Stanley Cup like Crosby has. Ovechkin has scored more career goals and points.
The NHL lockout forced Ovechkin’s debut to be delayed. This helped Crosby and Ovechkin debut in the same season, unintentionally locking them onto the same career course thanks to the lockout.
Over the years, the Crosby and Ovechkin rivalry has been highlighted by high scoring games. In the most recent game between the two superstars, Pittsburgh beat Washington 8-7 in overtime. Ovechkin had two assists in the loss. While Crosby scored a goal and added three assists.
In the first Matthews Laine match up, the Maple Leafs jumped out to a 4-0 lead. But Jets came back to win 5-4 in overtime. Laine scored his first career hat-trick, including the overtime winner. If Tuesday night’s game is anything like the first game, the future of the NHL will be must watch TV.