Alex Ovechkin’s legacy is complicated, but certain
Alex Ovechkin’s legacy might be complicated, but he’s unquestionably one of the NHL’s greatest players of all-time.
Today’s culture revolves around winning championships. It’s ironic fans put athletes who want to win on blast when all they’re doing is pursuing what society focuses on so intently. To be fair, titles are the reason professional athletes do what they do. In its purest form, each sport is a competition between competitors. However, one significant downside to focusing on championships is individual greatness gets unfairly devalued.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is perhaps the NHL’s greatest victim.
The Great Eight has already etched his name in the record books on numerous occasions. He holds the Capitals franchise records for goals, points, even strength goals, power play goals, game winning goals, and shots on goal. Shortly, Ovechkin will claim Kelly Miller’s franchise record for games played and Peter Bondra’s record for hat tricks. His place as the greatest Capitals player of all-time has long been ensured. This throne is one he will most likely never relinquish.
Even off the ice, Ovechkin’s legacy in DC couldn’t be grander. He came to the nation’s capitol expected to save the Capitals and bring the cursed sports city its first championship since 1993. Alex Ovechkin has certainly tried to hold up his end of the bargain, making the Caps one of the NHL’s most popular teams. While he has yet to deliver on total promise, it’s hard to blame him for it and he still has time to prove the doubters wrong.
While Ovechkin has his doubters, his legacy is certain. Whether people like it or not, he could retire right now and be known as arguably the greatest goal scorer in NHL history. Ovechkin’s 0.62 goals per game trail only Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy among players with at least 750 games played. He’s even more impressive when compared to his peers. Since entering the league, he has the most goals per game in the NHL and his lead is by over 10 percent.
Another thing to admire about Alex Ovechkin is his durability. Not only does he score roughly six goals every 10 games, he also rarely misses games to begin with. Those two factors give Ovechkin a 177 lead in goals scored since entering the league. That’s the same difference between Jarome Iginla (in second place) and Wayne Simmonds in 72nd place. In a league where scoring has proven to be very difficult, Ovechkin consistently scores at a level far beyond his peers.
People might say all The Great Eight can do is score. If so, then isn’t it also true that all Patrick Roy did was prevent goals? Why not say all Joe Thornton has done is pass the puck? Even if you think Ovechkin is a one trick pony, his one trick is one extremely hard to do.
Most of his goals have come on the power play; his strategy is a very predictable one. Hover around the left faceoff circle and shoot the puck a bunch of times. Teams face him knowing what to expect and Ovechkin still manages to score goals at a rate far superior to his peers. Since entering the league, he has 202 power play goals. No one else has more than 130. In fact, Alex Ovechkin has more power play goals through his first 12 seasons than any other NHL player through their first 12 seasons.
There also exists this notion that Ovechkin isn’t clutch. It’s a loaded argument — one we’ve had with the likes of LeBron James and Peyton Manning. Defining clutch is an impossible task, but criticizing someone for not having that trait seems to be easy. Game winning goals are pretty good measure of being clutch, and through his first 12 seasons, only Phil Esposito has more than Alex Ovechkin’s 94.
It’s not only goals that Ovechkin brings at a historic rate. He also creates shots on goal like few others in league history. Nobody has more shots on goal per game in history than Alex Ovechkin’s 4.99. This doesn’t make him selfish, his main objective is to score goals. You can’t score without shooting (though the Calgary Flames might beg to differ). Everyone is trying to create as many shots on goal as possible. Ovechkin does it better than any player in history.
It’s also time to body check the narrative that Ovechkin is a poor playoff performer. Hockey is a team game and individuals cannot win Stanley Cups. Ovechkin’s numbers in the playoffs are outstanding, with 82 points in 84 playoff games. Six of his 41 postseason goals have been game winners. Chokers don’t get hat tricks when facing the best player in the world and they certainly don’t match the best player in the world goal for goal.
In 2009, against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, Ovechkin hardly choked.
But that’s just one game. Over his career, Ovechkin ranks 22nd all-time in goals per game in the postseason. He ranks above countless legends, including Mark Messier, Sidney Crosby, and Patrick Kane. Ovechkin also has a reputation for being a puck hog and only being a good shooter. This, also, is untrue, as he ranks 36th all-time in points per game in the postseason, just below Kane. Want someone to blame for Ovechkin’s lack of Stanley Cups? Take a look at the team around him and compare it to Stanley Cup winners. Crosby and Jonathan Toews needed great teams around them to win. Wayne Gretzky won zero Stanley Cups without Mark Messier, but this doesn’t change how The Great One is viewed.
Must Read: 25 most dominant NHL offensive players of all-time
Even if Ovechkin winds up being known as the NHL’s Dan Marino, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, number 13 is considered to be among the all-time greats at quarterback. His individual greatness led the Miami Dolphins to heights they wouldn’t have been able to achieve without him. Likewise, regardless of how you think Ovechkin’s has certain failures that affect his legacy, but it’s foolish to not openly acknowledge that he’s one of the greatest hockey players to ever skate in the NHL.
That’s how time will remember Alex Ovechkin, and we’d better appreciate his game while we can.