Alexander Ovechkin v. The World

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

There's ONE player in the entire NHL this season who is 40.

ONE.

to me the closest comparable is Brett Hull who played until he was 40 ( 41 technically if you want to count 7 games)

Hull had 25 goals when he was 40.

[Canada 02]

he misses Backstrom. Get him a skilled center and he will be fine

[GioforPM]

For no real reason - remember when Ovie got a hat trick against Montreal on their mom's trip?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1609666203642888193

[InternationalVillager]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

he misses Backstrom. Get him a skilled center and he will be fine

Kuznetsov is chopped liver?

[#-3]

Usually don't click into the twitter replies, how many Corey Perry jokes are there in the thread?

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

to me the closest comparable is Brett Hull who played until he was 40 ( 41 technically if you want to count 7 games)

Hull had 25 goals when he was 40.

Game is a lot faster now then it was back then (more scoring now on the other hand)

[Gemnoble]

Ovechkins falloff has been steep.

He's on pace for less then 20 goals. Gretzky had over 50 assists in his last season but Ovechkin might be looking at 25 points.

Especially coming off a 75 point season.

Genuinely wondering if the Russian embargoes have affected any shipments of state 'supplements' to Ovechkin.

[Gemnoble]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Ovechkin is on pace for 22 goals this year, which might leave at 844 by the end of the season. He will need another 50 if he is going to beat the Weiner. In other words 3 more seasons after this one.

I think he does it, I know it looks like he's lost a step ( he has) but any team would love the publicity, and playing until your 41 is not totally unheard of.

33 players have ever played at 41 or older. 14 of which have been 41 exactly. 2 players were within ten days of turning 41 when they retired.

16 goalies have ever played at 41 or older.

So out of roughly 8500 people to ever play in the NHL, 49 of them have been 41+. That's 0.57% of all players.

Unlikely is one word for it.

[Snuffleupagus]

When father time hits it hits hard, watching him a few times this year not only does it look like he's skating in mud he's fanning on one timers and missing the net far too often, twitch muscles look to be gone.

No record for you comrade

[Hack&Lube]

Being that he has made it clear that his best friend is still Putler, I'm no longer cheering for this record and hoping it stays with Gretzky.

[curves2000]

Sometimes in sports it's not just the body that may be given out, although I don't think it is in this case. His physical attributes relating to scoring goals such as his shot are still strong.

A lot of times what happens is the process for practice, training, the games and the recovery just get's tiring and you lose the fire. The travel, the prep, the diet, the discipline. Sometimes just life and family take a stronger priority.

Ovi still has a massive carrot stick that is dangling in front of him and I never thought he would break the record, and he may not. I will wait till next season to see if without a doubt he won't do it.

A guy like Iggy was slow but still had the shot and the fire. The decline for athletes approaching 40 is astronomical. NFL QB Tom Brady outlined his process and more in his book called TB12 Method:

He went into greater detail about how a lot of athletes train and how it's counterintuitive in the long run and the decline mid-late 30's is off the charts. The microfiber of the muscles and all that jazz. He was discussing this stuff and his training when he was in his early 30's with a goal of playing, excelling and winning championships in his mid 40's, which he achieved.

Ovi is allowed a bad season before everybody writes him off but it will be hard for him to do it just based on numbers and timing

[SutterBrother]

Meanwhile...

Sidney Crosby (IGGY!) is on pace for 51 goals. He would be the oldest player ever to score that many (Ovie had 50 at age 36).

This would cause him to hit 600 at EOY.

Feel free to change your answer to the poll! Doh.

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsb...ting-goal-pace

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by Gemnoble

Ovechkins falloff has been steep.

He's on pace for less then 20 goals. Gretzky had over 50 assists in his last season but Ovechkin might be looking at 25 points.

Especially coming off a 75 point season.

Genuinely wondering if the Russian embargoes have affected any shipments of state 'supplements' to Ovechkin.

He is prob pretty worried he will be sent to Ukraine when he retires.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by SutterBrother

Meanwhile...

Sidney Crosby (IGGY!) is on pace for 51 goals. He would be the oldest player ever to score that many (Ovie had 50 at age 36).

This would cause him to hit 600 at EOY.

Feel free to change your answer to the poll!

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsb...ting-goal-pace

TBF, Ovi did hit 800 before anyone else sniffed 600

[Locke]

Ovi's had off-years before, re-invented himself, and then come back and torn the game apart.

[SutterBrother]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

TBF, Ovi did hit 800 before anyone else sniffed 600

Doh.

[bdubbs]

I would have loved to see the alternate reality where Crosby didn't lose 1.5 years of his prime to his misdiagnosed neck issue. He was at a career best Pts/G rate at the time of his injury.

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by bdubbs

I would have loved to see the alternate reality where Crosby didn't lose 1.5 years of his prime to his misdiagnosed neck issue. He was at a career best Pts/G rate at the time of his injury.

Slightly off topic but it was actually Tom Brady and his people that actually ended up figuring out Crosby's issue being a neck issue, not a concussion specific issue.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/ice-hock...y-s-nhl-career

Tom Brady and his personal "body coach" and his performance enhancing teams were always kind of laughed at in some ways. The proof might be in the pudding as to how many athletes like Brady actually are able to perform at the level he did, well into his 40's.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by SutterBrother

Meanwhile...

Sidney Crosby (IGGY!) is on pace for 51 goals. He would be the oldest player ever to score that many (Ovie had 50 at age 36).

This would cause him to hit 600 at EOY...

What's that Sidney Crosby?

Phhhtttt. He's not even good enough for the illustrious Canadian Walk of Fame.

[butterfly]

Originally Posted by curves2000

Slightly off topic but it was actually Tom Brady and his people that actually ended up figuring out Crosby's issue being a neck issue, not a concussion specific issue.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/ice-hock...y-s-nhl-career

Tom Brady and his personal "body coach" and his performance enhancing teams were always kind of laughed at in some ways. The proof might be in the pudding as to how many athletes like Brady actually are able to perform at the level he did, well into his 40's.

To do what Tom Brady did requires an entire life of commitment and discipline which I think very few people are even capable of, let alone interested in.

Ovechkin is 38 and needs 68 goals. It's extremely possible still with a normal aging curve and nothing like Brady did. He just joined the 1,500 point club which only 15 other people are in.