After a career-low year (32 goals, 85 points) in 2010-11 – ok, those totals would be pretty decent for all but a handful of players – Ovechkin this season sits way, way back in the pack in goal, points, and plus-minus. Worse, he actually looks uninspired, confused, and frustrated on the ice. He’s not clicking with his linemates, and apparently in the midst of a nasty lovers’ tiff with Caps coach Bruce Boudreau.
Stu Cowan, wiriting in the Montreal Gazette today, tosses out the idea that it’s Ovechkin’s massive 13-year, $124-million deal that’s dragging him down. Cowan makes a persuasive case – most convincing is his list of other massively overpaid/underperforming stars like Roberto Luongo, Vince Lecavalier, and the truly dismal Ilya Kovalchuk. Since Alex signed his deal, the theory goes, he’s joined this motley crew, either bowed beneath the weight of expectations or just plain ol’ fat and complacent…
Either way, he’s not the player he was, and the contrast with Sidney Crosby is black and white: while Ovie floats up and down his wing harmlessly, looking alternately uninterested and unimpressive, Crosby this week looks like he’s receiving shock treatment each time he’s on the bench, blasting out and dominating every shift with spark in his stride, practically owning the puck for half the game.
Stu Cowan may be right about Ovechkin. Maybe money here is the root of all ill. But I wonder if there’s another factor at work in Ovie’s current decline? I wonder if maybe he’s presently lost his joy in playing the game, and indeed in being Alex Ovechkin… He’s always seemed his best on the ice when he’s indulging his offbeat, hokey, occasionally obnoxious sense of fun off the ice. At his peak a couple of years ago, he seemed so unlike other NHL stars – notably the dutiful but mundane Crosby – in his interviews, his antics, and, yes, his grooming. Remember the goofy shootout competition at the All-Star game? Dumb, sure (but no dumber than the game itself) – and perhaps necessary for Alex, in order for him to also be able to get serious when it counted.
Now we’re not hearing much about any of Ovechkin’s off-ice foolery, womanizing, or goofy statements – and nor are we hearing about his scoring feats, his leadership, or about crowds at the Verizon chanting “Ovie, Ovie” the way they once did.
Hockey’s a job, sure – but it should also be fun. Here’s to Alex getting his mojo back, whatever it takes.
We love both Crosby AND Ovie here at BP. Trouble with Ovie is the weird team the Caps have built around him. If he was with a team like Detroit he would MAYBE be BIGGER than Sid. Chew on that thought for a while, hockey fans.
Crosby slogged; Ovie slipped: Stuck in the Puddle with You
The NHL’s annual Winter Classic, this year billed as a head-to-head match between the two best players in the world, instead came down to a different battle: the ice-maintaining capabilities at Heinz Field v the warm rain that dominated all day January 1 in Pittsburgh. We’re giving the nod to the rain.
Sidney Crosby and rival Alex Ovechkin both looked frustrated by the pace of the game. Neither player really shone, although as usual, Crosby outworked everyone on the ice and Ovechkin outshot everyone, both generating some good chances. But between the puddles and some tight checking (especially by the Capitals), the speed and brilliance of Crosby and Ovechkin were not the main story. As both stars were held pointless – Crosby for the second straight game after a 25-game, 50-point run – The Pens’ defensive miscues and the Caps’ goaltending were what decided things.
The real winner? The NHL and US television poobahs who insisted the outdoor game go ahead as scheduled to meet marketing and advertising commitments. A postponement would have meant a ton of money down the drain…but it might have made for a better game.
With September here, NHL training camps are opening – and the season not far behind. Here at BPITW, the question du jour in the Hockey department is whether Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin can continue this year basically unchallenged as either-or Best Players, or whether other stars (Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, Henrik Sedin, Duncan Keith, Steven Stamkos, Ryan Miller, etc.) can legitimately be considered as the best even though their individual skills aren’t as commonly lauded.
Toews: Olympic Gold, Stanley Cup champ, Conn Smythe winner - and the best this year?
Looking past reputation at actual performance is never easy – and neither is assessing whether highlight-reel goals versus things like leadership are more important. But when you look at what actually happened on the ice last year, the accomplishments of the Blackhawks’ young captain are pretty hard to ignore.
Ovechkin slides into the corner & onto the golf course
Washington Capitals’ star Alexander Ovechkin has had a sub-par spring.
First, there was the disaster that was Russia’s performance in the 2010 Winter Olympics: an Ovechkin-led team of Russia’s best & brightest potted easy goals against crap opposition but vanished, big-time, when the going got tough. Ovechkin himself appeared frustrated and impotent in Vancouver…much as he looked in Washington, as his heavily favoured Caps lost their final 3 playoff games against Montreal Canadiens to flame out spectacularly and take an early seat in the golf-course bar, from where they’ll watch the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Sean Gordon, writing in the Globe & Mail, says this: “And for all the plaudits the Washington Capitals winger has won for his alluring mix of power, skill and personality…he will now face serious questions as to his ability to marshal his team to victory. He’s also lost some ground to Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby in the best-player-of-his-generation discussion.”
Well said, Sean. The “best player” should not allow his team to collapse against a much weaker opponent.
